02/05/15 Gwinn, Michigan – The Negaunee Miners Boys Basketball team traveled to Gwinn, Michigan tonight to face the Gwinn Modeltowners. Carl Leander Johnson, the voice of the Negaunee Miners and Jesse Anderson were there to bring you all the exciting action on Sunny.FM.
The Modeltowners won the tip to start the game, but were not able score on the possession. Both teams struggled out of the gate offensively, but the Modeltowners would score first with a free throw to lead 1-0. In an electric environment provided by the fans, it was going to be a defensive battle right from the get-go. The Miners, without starting guard Ben Luke (illness), took a 4-3 lead on a couple of buckets by Jay Lori & Dre Tuominen. Negaunee was the more aggressive team in the opening frame and pushed that lead to 7-3 on a Tuominen three-pointer. Gwinn would lock down defensively and get a fast break layup to end the quarter, trailing 7-5 to the Miners.
The second quarter was a series of runs, as Negaunee got the ball down to Jay Lori and Trent Bell, who was making his varsity debut after being pulled up from JV earlier this week, and took a 12-5 lead. Justin Beauchamp of the ModelTowners wouldn’t let this game get away from his team that easily and knocked down a bucket and got an assist to bring the game to a 12-10 Miners’ lead. Trent Bell would knock down two more buckets, and was a defensive phenom in the lane, using his 6’4” frame to get a few rebounds and a massive block. With Rob Loy & Dylan Tasson in trouble, Negaunee relied on the Dre ‘n Jay combination to build up their lead, outscoring the ModelTowners 9-5 down the stretch of the first half to go into the break up 21-14.
The Miners would fire out of the gate on a great move by Jay Lori down low to push Negaunee’s lead up to nine, but a Norman three-pointer for Gwinn was exactly what they needed, pulling the home team within six. Both teams would score seven points in the third, making it a quiet start to the second half, Negaunee leading 28-21.
The fourth quarter was the opposite of the competitive game we saw through three quarters. Negaunee and Gwinn both had foul troubles (Tasson, Bell, and Loy each had 4; Beauchamp and Johnson had four each for Gwinn), so both teams were at the line frequently. Where Negaunee made their free-throws, Gwinn struggled from the line. After a few nice takes from Negaunee’s sophomore point guard, the Miners opened up a double digit lead, and the wheel’s began to fall off for Gwinn. A technical foul was called on head coach Darren Sinnavae, and then another on senior Justin Beauchamp after he acquired his fifth foul. These lead to three straight trips to the line, and Negaunee capitalized. Negaunee would coast to the victory, holding down the ModelTowner attack to just four points in the fourth quarter, and eleven in the second half.
The Negaunee Miners defeated the Gwinn Modeltowners (43-25) on Sunny.FM.
The boys were led by the tag-team becoming known (at least by this broadcaster) as Jay ‘n Dre. Jay Lori & Dre Tuominen each had 14 points, with the former pulling in over ten rebounds en route to another double-double this season. The most exciting story from the game was the debut of Trent Bell, a 6’4” sophomore who has been eating JV teams alive this season, and managed to have an impressive game in limited minutes and offensive knowledge. Bell finished with 6pts, 3reb, 2assts, and a monster block in the first half.
Join Jesse Anderson & Jake Forchini tonight Friday February 6th, 2015. The Negaunee Miners Girls Basketball team are travelling to Norway, Michigan to face the Norway Knights. The Honor Credit Union Pre-game Show will start around 7:30pm and the game at 8:00pm on Sunny.FM.
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