Iron River, MI – February 8, 2021 – The Negaunee Miners Boys Basketball team opened up its 2021 season on Monday night, traveling to Iron River to face the West Iron County Wykons. In a back and forth game, Negaunee came up short 47-44 to drop to 0-1 on the young season. Jesse Anderson had the call live from Iron River on Sunny 101.9.
1st Half:
Negaunee started its season off strong after three straight buckets by Nick Jacobetti to give the Miners a 7-2 lead. After trading baskets with Iron River, Jacobetti and Gerald Johnson scored for Negaunee to extend the lead to 13-4 after one quarter of play.
End of 1st: Negaunee Miners 13, West Iron County Wykons 4
West Iron County got its offense going in the second quarter from beyond the 3-point arch. Nathan Thomson and Justin Nelson drained 3’s to cut Negaunee’s lead to 13-10 midway through the second. The Miners broke their scoring spell with a pair of Johnson free throws to give Negaunee a 15-10 lead. Thomson and Mitch Ballinger hit two more consecutive 3-pointers for the Wykons, and West Iron led for the first time, 16-15. Eli Luokkala answered back for the Miners on the other end of the floor, giving Negaunee back the one-point lead with 30 seconds left in the half. The Wykons hit a fifth 3-pointer of the second quarter in the final seconds, and took a 19-17 lead over Negaunee into the locker room.
Halftime: West Iron County Wykons 19, Negaunee Miners 17
2nd Half:
Miners started the second half scoring first with Mason Sager dropping in a 3-point bucket to put the Miners on top 20-19. Both teams each got into some foul trouble as the Wykons sent Luokkala to the line. Luokkala was able to build the Miner’s lead to 21-19. Thomson then took over for West Iron putting up a 3-point shot of his own to take back the lead 24-21. The game maintained a quick pace as the teams went back and forth with baskets and keeping the game tight through the third quarter. Negaunee took the lead at the end of the third by a score of 34-30.
End of 3rd: Negaunee Miners 34, West Iron County Wykons 30
Headed into the fourth and final quarter of the game, Negaunee struck first once again, building up their lead to 36-30 over the Wykons. West Iron would answer back however by putting up a few scores of their own, tying up the game at 36-36. The fouls were adding up for both teams, and the Wykons sent Negaunee’s Jacobetti to the free throw line and allowed the Miners to take the lead once again. The final quarter of the game was filled with fouls as both teams repeatedly went to the free throw line. Free throws decided the game in the end as West Iron County was able to hold on to their lead with a 47-44 win.
Final Score: West Iron County Wykons 47, Negaunee Miners 44
NEXT GAME: The Negaunee Miners Boys Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday night, when they travel up to West Ishpeming to take on the Westwood Patriots! Jesse Anderson will have the call live from Westwood High School, beginning at 7 p.m. with the Elder Agency Pregame Show, and tip-off to follow at 7:15 p.m. Go Miners!
