ESCANABA — It was a tough way for the Escanaba boys to go out here Monday night as they dropped a gut-wrenching 49-48 basketball decision to the Houghton Gremlins in a Division 2 district opener.

The victory sends the Gremlins (16-6) to tonight’s semifinal contest at Kingsford (14-6), which tips off at 7. The Eskymos finished 7-15.

Esky used its final time-out before taking the ball out of bounds with 12 seconds remaining.

Sophomore guard Terrance Nolan then stole the inbound pass and dribbled into the lane for the game-winning jump shot with four seconds left.

“This is not an easy one to live with,” Esky coach Jake Berlinski said. “To win a game like this you have to make a play. It’s unfortunate, but sometimes the breaks don’t go your way. It’s sad for our seniors to go out that way. It was definitely a well played game. The kids battled all the way. Kudos to them. They made the play.”

Junior Hayven Sandoval-Nolde drained a pair of free throws to give the Eskymos their 48-47 lead with 27.9 seconds remaining, setting the stage for a hectic finish.

“You never give up because you never know what’s going to happen,” Gremlins’ coach Jared Lawson said. “We won by 11 at our place (Feb. 13), although it was a tighter game than the score indicates. Jake does a great job with his kids. They’re going to be a tough team for the next few years.”

Things began to look promising for the Eskymos after taking a 41-32 advantage on a 20-foot jumper from the right wing by Sandoval-Nolde.

The Gremlins began the chip away at their deficit in the fourth before tying the score at 41 on a pair of gifters with 2:11 left to play.

Esky regained the lead on two free throws by freshman Connor Asgaard at 1:58.

Houghton went ahead 44-43 on a 22-foot jumper by Nolan 13 seconds later.

A jumper from the left corner by senior Lennox Peacock gave the Eskymos a 46-44 lead on their next possession.

Nolan answered with a 20-foot jumper from the left wing, sending the Gremlins ahead 47-46.

The Gremlins played a tight man-to-man defense for nearly three quarters before they made some changes.

“They were kind of picking apart our 2-3 zone,” Lawson said. “You’ve got to make a change at some point. In a district tournament, you don’t expect to go the whole game without making adjustments.”

The score was tied at 26 nearly midway through the third stanza before the Eskymos scored nine unanswered points, gaining a 35-26 cushion on an 18-foot jumper by Asgaard.

Esky scored the game’s first nine points on a trio of three-point shots, including a jumper from the right corner by Peacock and a pair of 20-footers by Sandoval-Nolde.

A pair of gifters by Nolan got the Gremlins on the board, who then trimmed their deficit to 9-4 on a jumper from the boulevard by senior center Mason Mayo.

Sandoval-Nolde put Esky up 11-4 on a 10-foot jumper before Houghton rallied to tie the score at 16 on a layup by junior guard Alex Hebert.

The second frame consisted of little scoring as Houghton took a 22-21 lead into the halftime locker room.

Esky drained all nine of its free throws and committed 10 turnovers. Houghton had 11 miscues and finished 9-of-12 from the line.

“That’s really good for us,” Berlinski said. “It was a good, solid basketball game. It was a game of runs. They pressed us in the fourth quarter and we didn’t handle it real well. They’re a real good, physical basketball team. They know their strengths and definitely play to them.”

In the end, Houghton found a way to overcome adversity.

“We had a couple guys go down with injuries,” Lawson said. “Our sixth guy went out with a concussion and we lost another guy to foot injury during the game and our big guy fouled out, but our guys worked hard and got it done.”

Esky started this month with three straight victories, including a 73-43 triumph at Bark River-Harris Feb. 4.

“That was kind of a turning point,” Berlinski said. “We talked about playing our best basketball at the end of the season and played a real good last month of the season.”

Peacock, who drained five 3-point shots, led the Eskymos with 18 points. Sandoval-Nolde added 17.

Hebert was Houghton’s leader with 24 points and Nolan finished with 19.

Houghton 16 6 10 17 — 49

Escanaba 16 5 20 7 — 48

Houghton — Nolan 19, Hebert 24, Lounibos 2, Mayo 4. FT: 9-12; F: 14; Fouled out: Lounibos; 3-point field goals: Nolan 3, Hebert 3.

Escanaba — Sandoval-Nolde 17, Hejmej 3, T. Asgaard 6, Peacock 18, C. Asgaard 4. FT: 9-9; F: 16; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Peacock 5, Sandoval-Nolde 3, Hejmej.