Boys basketball: IM comes back to beat Negaunee
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NEGAUNEE -- Foster Wonders and Marcus Johnson combined for 41 points in a 50-41 win over Negaunee on Friday.
Wonders had just six points at halftime, which Iron Mountain trailed by seven points.
The Mountaineers are 2-0 after beating Gladstone earlier in the week, while Negaunee fell to 0-2.
Iron Mountain head coach Bucky Johnson credited the Miners for a first-half performance that kept his team on their toes.
“The game plan that (Negaunee head coach Dan) Waterman put together was fantastic,” he said. “He had his kids prepared and we weren’t really ready and we were settling for shots in the first half that weren’t good. I give credit to Negaunee. They played really hard and competed.”
Johnson said the second-half surge was a key in the win as well as senior guard Jaden Vicenzi containing Negaunee junior guard Jason Waterman, who was held to six points.
“Obviously in the third quarter, we came out and erased a seven-point deficit," Johnson said. "We erased it very quickly and that was key. Jaden also played good defense on Jason Waterman and I give a lot of credit to him for that.
“We’ve just got to settle and be a little bit more patient. I thought we got into our offense better in the second half and made some shots.”
Iron Mountain came out surging in the second half with the first 10 points of the third quarter. Wonders got things going with a jumper before Johnson hit a 3-pointer from the right side to pull within 23-21.
Wonders hit a pair of free throws shortly after to tie the game, and gave his team its first lead since the first quarter with a triple after that to put the Mountaineers up 26-23.
Negaunee finally answered with a free throw and a layup from junior guard Drew DuShane to notch things up again at 26-26. Iron Mountain followed that up with consecutive buckets from senior forward Charlie Gerhard and Wonders.
The Miners pulled within one on a jumper from Larson, but the score ended up being 32-29 after three with Wonders getting one final layup before the end of the frame.
Negaunee pulled within five in the fourth quarter, but was unable to regain the lead as the Mountaineers ran out the rest of the clock.
Negaunee head coach Dan Waterman said he was proud of the way his team hung tough against a strong Iron Mountain squad that returned all of its starters from last season.
“I’m happy with all of my guys,” he said. “We knew Iron Mountain is a good team, but we also know that we’re a good team. It’s different than last year and even though our record is 0-2, the growth in the game of our players should have been evident.”
With the Mountaineers holding Waterman to six points, the Miners were forced to go to other players including junior guards Drew Lindberg and Jakson Sager.
“We went away from Jason because Drew and Jakson were playing so good,” Waterman said. “We have other options and Drew stepped up and hit shots.”
The teams battled to a 10-10 draw after one quarter of play before the Miners jumped ahead in the second 23-14, which included two triples from Lindberg, a layup from junior forward Jake Larson, and three free throws. The Mountaineers managed two more points before the half on free throws from Vicenzi making it a 23-16 Miners lead at the break.
Iron Mountain shot 10 of 25 from the field, while Negaunee was 18 of 54. The Mountaineers were 18 of 23 at the free throw line, while the Miners went 7 of 11.
Lindberg led the Miners with 18 points, while Sager and Larson added seven. Vicenzi and Gerhard were the only other scorers for the Mountaineers, with five and four points each.
Negaunee travels to Escanaba on Tuesday, while Iron Mountain hosts Manistique.