Negaunee’s Trent Bell goes high for a layup over Manton’s Wyatt Baker during the Class C quarterfinal game played at Petoskey High School on Tuesday night. (James Gensterblum photo)

“This team never quit, and we just kept coming back and coming back.” — Dan Waterman, head coach, Negaunee Miners

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By JAMES GENSTERBLUM

Special to the Journal

PETOSKEY — “They just made one more great play than we did.”

There’s no better description than Negaunee coach Dan Waterman’s take on a classic that saw the Miners push opposing Manton to overtime on Tuesday night.

Negaunee came that close to advancing out of the Class C quarterfinals before a last-second jumper by the Rangers lifted them to a 51-49 victory in Petoskey.

Manton (21-4) advances to the Class C semifinals to be played at Michigan State University at 2:50 p.m. Thursday. The Rangers face Grand Rapids Covenant Christian (20-5) for the right to play in Saturday afternoon’s state championship game.

On Tuesday, Negaunee rallied three times from a big deficit, overcoming a 35-29 hole late in the third quarter and a 39-33 deficit in the fourth to tie the game at 42 and force overtime.

But the Miners’ biggest run came in erasing a 49-44 deficit with 44 seconds left in the extra period, beginning by getting a basket and a free throw from senior center Trent Bell with 35 seconds to play.

Then after a steal, Negaunee tied the game on a swashbuckling drive to the rim by senior Dre Tuominen with 17 seconds to go.

“The thing I’m most proud of is that this team never quit, and we just kept coming back and coming back,” Waterman said. “That’s the way these guys have been all season long, and I’m so proud of them for continuing to show that tonight.”

Ultimately, it was all for naught, as Manton’s Jayden Perry hit a 15-foot jumper with three seconds to play that proved to be the game winner for the Rangers.

“That’s what we preach to our kids defensively, make them shoot jumpers and get a hand in their face, and that’s exactly what we did,” Waterman said. “I don’t think there’s anything we could have done better there.

“Perry made it, and hats off to him and his team, they got the shot they needed to get, and they deserve the win because of it.”

Negaunee still had one more shot at the win, running a trick play with 2 seconds to go that switched inbounders and sent the first inbounder, Tuominen, deep.

Tuominen caught the ball at the 3-point line, but a defensive adjustment by Manton out of a timeout meant that he was heavily contested. The senior, named today to the Class C all-state First Team, couldn’t get the game-winning 3-pointer to fall at the buzzer.

“We had three timeouts there, and I thought the second time we came out of the huddle we were lined up perfectly and I thought the play would work,” Waterman said. “Credit to (Manton coach Ryan) Hiller, he saw something he didn’t like and called a timeout of his own, and moved a defender to the other side.

“I still thought we ran the play well and were able to get a decent shot off, it just didn’t fall.”

Both Bell and Tuominen, three-year starters and captains, starred in their final game trying to keep the Miners’ hopes of a Breslin Center trip alive.

Bell, named Second Team all-state, dominated the paint with his 6-foot-7 frame, finishing with 22 points, and Tuominen added 12, with both players playing key roles in all three of Negaunee’s late rallies.

“Those two guys put in a ton of time throughout their careers, and they didn’t want the dream to die tonight,” Waterman said. “They showed poise and leadership all night long, and I hope our young kids, on the floor, the bench and in the stands take note of that.

“That’s what it takes to get to this level of the tournament, and I hope those kids are inspired seeing that to go out in their driveways and chase those dreams.”

Jacob Ennett knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with nine points for the Miners, who struggled guarding the 3-pointer in the first half but turned things around defensively in the second half to give themselves a shot down the stretch.

Negaunee finishes the season 20-5, having made their fifth quarterfinal appearance in the last decade.

The Miners will bid farewell to Bell and Tuominen, who will both play in college next year, as well as starter Darius Provost, sixth man Mark Anderson and contributor Brock Aho, who missed the tournament run with an injury.

That said, the Miners return starters Jason Waterman, a freshman, and Ennett, as well as six others off the bench for another potential run next year.

“We’re going to be a different team next year, because you can’t lose a 6-7 center and a three-year starting point guard and replace that easily,” Coach Waterman said. “As I said, you hope that the tradition of this program and what these seniors have accomplished inspires the groups behind them to pick up the torch and keep it going.”