–The Munising Mustangs Boys play on 1400am GTO Good Time Oldies and WQXO.com with Mike James!
01/23/2015 Marquette High School, Marquette, MI – Excitment was palpable in the air as the Munising Mustangs were set to take on the Marquette Redmen in varsity high school basketball. The stage looked to be set for a great contest between the two teams, with the Munising Mustangs record being 8-0 overall and the Marquette Redmen record being 8-1 overall. The Marquette Redmen won the toss but couldn’t convert on the next play, and it was apparent that defense would be a key factor in the game. Marquette scored the first points of the game on a long three point shot, which was immediately followed-up by a quick run down the court and a good lay-up by Ben Stasewich to even the score. Austin Kelto drained a three point shot just before the quarter ended.
First Quarter Score:
Munising Mustangs: 7
Marquette Redmen: 12
The second quarter opened with the Marquette Redmen winning the toss, but the Munising Mustangs were able to steal the ball away and get two points to bring the them even closer to the Redmen. Penalties became a problem for the Munising Mustangs, accumulating 7 fouls for the team with 4:00 left in the half. The defensive showing from both teams kept the score very low, even through all the penalties. Ben Stasewich had eight points in the first half of the game.
Second Quarter Score:
Munising Mustangs: 16
Marquette Redmen: 25
The Munising Mustangs were able to win the tip at the start of the second half, but they were unable to do anything with it. The frustration of the Munising Mustang players was intense, and the fans seemed to agree with them. Multiple times, it seemed that a Marquette Redmen fouled a Munising Mustangs player, only to have nothing called. The play became even more rough as the Mustangs began to close the gap between the two teams with two minutes left in the quarter.
Third Quarter Score:
Munising Mustangs: 26
Marquette Redmen: 29
The final quarter of the game started as the Munising Mustangs won the toss and moved the ball down the court to get two points, which brought them to only one point behind the Marquette Redmen. The fervor in the crowd turned into an uproar as Garrett Blank was called for an offensive foul when he went up for a quick two-point shot. The Munising Mustangs fought back to tie the game at 34 when they intercepted a pass and scored two quick points with two minutes left in the game. Ben Stasewich scored two more points on the next drive to make the score 36-34 with 1:21 left in the game. Nick Cercone made two free throws with :30 seconds left and gave the Mustangs a very small cushion which they rode the rest of the game out on.
Final Game Score:
Munising Mustangs: 38
Marquette Redmen: 36