–The Munising Mustangs Boys play on 1400am GTO Good Time Oldies and WQXO.com with Mike James!
02/27/2015 Munising High School, Munising, MI – Your Munising Mustang boys returned to the court on a beautiful late February day. Despite the gorgeous conditions outside, the Mustangs looked to take on the Manistique Emeralds. This game seemed especially important due to the fact that the Munising Mustangs had just suffered a painful loss two games ago, because of a questionable call from the referees. This was important due to the fact that the Mustangs were playing at the same venue where the loss happened, with the same referees. The tip-off was won by “big” Ben Stasewich, who moved the ball over to Andy Cooper, but the ball was stolen by the Emeralds who scored the first two points of the game. A give-and-go between Ben Stasewich and Alex Hill resulted in two quick points to make the score the Mustangs 7 and the Emeralds 5 with six minutes left in the first quarter. The Munising Mustangs came out of the gate with zero fouls in the first seven minutes of play, as compared to the four of the Manistique Emeralds. Nick Cercone had a great start to the night, accumulating seven points with just one minute left in the quarter.
First Quarter Score:
Munising Mustangs: 18
Manistique Emeralds: 14
The Munising Mustangs found themselves with their hands full with the Manistique Emeralds who nearly matched the Mustangs point for point in the first quarter. The speed of the Emeralds gave the Mustang players the most trouble, but Ben Stasewich was an integral part of the Mustangs defense, having two blocked shots in the first quarter, along with the five points he had. The Munising Mustangs, however, showed their true colors when they went on a nine-point, unanswered scoring run to make the score 27-17 with just over five minutes left in the half. The Mustangs found themselves in the double bonus, due to the Emeralds’ nine total fouls, and the Mustangs looked to continue their success. Andy Cooper slammed the ball through the hoop with one minute, thirty seconds left in the quarter. On the Emeralds’ in-bounds pass, Colin Immel was able to steal the ball and feed Andy Cooper the ball again, which he layed-up for two more quick points. The Mustangs continued their success into halftime, and the Manistique Emeralds looked-forward to the needed rest.
Second Quarter Score:
Munising Mustangs: 42
Manistique Emeralds: 19
As the Munising Mustangs took to the court after the halftime break, they appeared focused on winning the game and moving into the finals with the best record that they could. The Manistique Emeralds found themselves the victims of the Mustangs’ excellent defensive play. The Emeralds were unable to stop the Mustangs’ full-court press, and the Mustangs took advantage of that fact. Austin Kelto made an amazing pass to a charging Andy Cooper, who then was able to make an easy lay-up to make the score the Munising Mustangs 47 and the Manistique Emeralds 19. The Mustangs extended their lead to 53-21 when Colin Immel nailed a long three-point shot from downtown with two minutes left in the third. Andy Cooper had another great defensive play, with a steal from the Emeralds, which he then fed Nick Cercone with for an easy lay-up to make the score 58-21 with thirty seconds left.
Third Quarter Score:
Munising Mustangs: 58
Manistique Emeralds: 24
During the second and third quarters, the Munising Mustangs went on a 40-10 scoring run, and they looked to continue their success in the final quarter. Early in the fourth, the Munising Mustangs had a great allie-oop play, but the Mustang player who scored the basket was fouled, so the points were not counted. The foul put the Mustangs into the double bonus again, which they used to their advantage. Willy Seymore made a great defensive play when he stole the ball from the Emeralds, and he followed it up by driving to the basket for two points on a lay-up. The Manistique Emeralds found themselves victims of the Mustangs’ rebounding prowess, which was evident from the score difference, but the Emeralds effort was admirable. The sportsmanship that the Emeralds had was also apparent, as they continued their clean play, despite the difference in score. Willy Seymore kept his scoring success rolling, when he made a long three-point shot with under one minute and thirty seconds left in the game.
Final Game Score:
Munising Mustangs: 80
Manistique Emeralds: 33
