Negaunee, MI – January 28, 2020 – The Negaunee Miners Boys Basketball team’s offense fell flat against the Iron Mountain Mountaineers in a 69-51 loss on Tuesday night. Iron Mountain’s two best players, Foster Wonders and Marcus Johnson, combined for 37 points but had a nice supporting cast around them. The Miners are now 10-1 on the year after its first loss, but there’s still a lot of basketball left to play. Jesse Anderson had the call from Negaunee’s Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium on Sunny 101.9.
1st Half:
It didn’t take long for defense and rebounding to be on full display, there was going to be nothing soft or weak in this game. Jake Dumais scored the first points of the game for Iron Mountain with an and-one, and the Mountaineers led 2-0. Both teams began to battle back and forth, and the Miners took a 5-4 lead after a 3-pointer from Jakson Sager. Iron Mountain’s secret weapon, Ricky Brown, was unconscious from 3-point range. He made three of them in the first quarter, but Negaunee kept hanging around behind the scoring of Sager and Alex Munson. Iron Mountain led 17-14 in the final minute of the quarter before Marcus Johnson made a circus shot for an and-one. At the end of the first, Iron Mountain led Negaunee 20-14. Great offense began to outplay good defense.
End of 1st: Iron Mountain Mountaineers 20, Negaunee Miners 14
Johnson started off the quarter with 3-point shot, and that put the Mountaineers up by nine. Jason Waterman answered on the other end with a basket, and Iron Mountain led 23-16. Negaunee tried to claw back into it, but Johnson and Foster Wonders were on a roll. Wonder was proving why he has multiple Division 1 offers, he was making tough shot after tough shot. Iron Mountain took its biggest of the game, 35-23, but Drew Lindberg made a huge 3-pointer to cut the deficit. Negaunee kept creeping closer and closer, getting the score down to 35-30 after a basket from Waterman, and two free throws made by Chas Kumpala. Wonders scored on the other end in the final seconds, and the Mountaineers led 37-30 at the break.
Halftime: Iron Mountain Mountaineers 37, Negaunee Miners 30
2nd Half:
Tony Feira got Iron Mountain off to a nice start in the second half with a jump shot, and they led 39-30. Drew DuShane had an answer for Negaunee with a layup, but the Mountaineers had too many answers. Johnson got fouled on a 3-point shot and made all three free throws, and suddenly the lead was back up to 12 again. Suddenly, the Miners went cold offensively, and the Mountaineers took advantage big time. Wonders couldn’t be contained, Feira and Dumais were cleaning up the offensive glass, and Iron Mountain took a 55-36 lead. The tall Mountaineers team got everything it wanted on offense, and the Miners couldn’t buy a bucket. Negaunee added a free throw, but the deficit was 18 points.
End of 3rd: Iron Mountain Mountaineers 55, Negaunee Miners 37
The Miners had one last gasp to come back in this game, cutting the lead to 55-41 with seven minutes left. That was the closest they would get, Iron Mountain controlled the clock and handled Negaunee’s full court pressure. The Mountaineers came to Negaunee on the road, and walked out with an impressive 69-51 win. The Miners dropped its first game of the season, and now have a record of 10-1. Sager led Negaunee with 15 points, while the Mountaineers were paced by Johnson’s 19 points.
Final Score: Iron Mountain Mountaineers 69, Negaunee Miners 51
NEXT GAME: The Negaunee Miners Boys Basketball looks to rebound in its next game on Friday, Jan. 31, when they travel to Manistique to take on the Emeralds! Jesse Anderson will be live from Manistique with the call on Sunny 101.9. The Elder Agency Pregame Show will begin at 7 p.m., with tip-off to follow at 7:15 p.m. Go Miners!
LISTEN – FULL GAME – MINERS VS MOUNTAINEERS ON SUNNY101.9
