–The Munising Mustangs Boys play on 1400am GTO Good Time Oldies and WQXO.com with Mike James!
02/09/2015 Munising High School, Rapid River, MI – It was a blustery cold February day when the Munising Mustangs were set to play the Rapid River Rockets in what was sure to be an exciting, in-conference match-up. The Munising Mustang boys came into the night with a record of 13 wins and zero losses, and the Rapid River Rockets entered play with a record of one win and 12 losses. It was a cold night, but action inside the Munising Mustang gymnasium was sure to be hot! The Mustangs won the tip-off, and they were able to drive the ball down the court to start the game. Ben Stasewich put the Munising Mustangs onto the scoreboard with an easy lay-up off of the opening tip. Colin Immel assisted in the scoring by making the first three point shot of the night on a long jumper from the corner with just a few minutes left in the quarter. The offensive showing continued with Ben Stasewich when he made an incredible dunk at the end of regulation in the first quarter to make the score the Munising Mustangs 30 and the Rapid River Rockets 1.
First Quarter Score:
Munising Mustangs: 30
Rapid River Rockets: 1
The action of the first quarter carried-over into the second quarter as the Munising Mustangs were able to drive the ball down the court and score two quick points. Garrett Blank did an amazing job on defense, wrangling several rebounds and making multiple key passes out of the paint that resulted in points for the Mustangs. The number of fouls for both teams remained fairly low throughout the first half, despite the high score of the Munising Mustangs, which showed the great sportsmanship of the Rapid River Rockets. Andy Cooper made a huge play when he threaded the ball between two Rapid River Rockets players to get the ball to Alex Hill who then scored two points on a jump shot halfway through the quarter. Alex Hill earned the title “Mr. Defense” from announcer Mike James when he was able to steal the ball from a Rockets player who then fouled Alex Hill for two free shots. The entire Munising Mustangs team only had seven total fouls throughout the first half of play.
Second Quarter Score:
Munising Mustangs: 44
Rapid River Rockets: 14
With half of the game gone between the Munising Mustangs and the Rapid River Rockets and with a 38-point difference in score, the Rapid River Rockets’ players were fighting on courage alone. Despite the large gap between scores, both the Mustangs and the Rockets continued to play a respectful, exciting game, when it could have turned ugly quickly with fouls and poor sportsmanship. This was also an opportunity for the younger Munising Mustang players to get some very valuable live playing time. A key player for the Mustangs was Austin Kelto, who assisted the Mustangs to an even greater lead at the end of the third quarter, when he intercepted a Rapid River Rockets’ pass and drove the ball to the hoop.
Third Quarter Score:
Munising Mustangs: 68
Rapid River Rockets: 24
The great example of sportsmanship that the game between the Munising Mustangs and the Rapid River Rockets turned out to be continued into the final quarter of play, with both teams having under nine fouls in the second half of play. Even with a large point gap, the Rapid River Rockets continued to fight, and with four minutes left in the game and a running clock, the Rapid River Rockets scored a three-pointer from downtown to bring them three points closer to the Munising Mustangs. Willy Seymour did an excellent job for the Munising Mustangs in the fourth quarter, adding several points to the Mustangs total. Sean Sutherland also assisted the Mustangs to their win, when he was able to get an excellent rebound and put that rebound in for two, plus one due to a foul on the Rockets. Michael Graves scored the last points of the game for the Munising Mustangs, when he hit a short jumper at the end of regulation.
Final Game Score:
Munising Mustangs: 80
Rapid River Rockets: 35
