Negaunee’s Mark Anderson, top, knocks the ball away from Munising’s Josh Huotari during their Class C district tournament game Wednesday night at Gwinn High School. (Journal photo by Rachel Oakley)

“Our guys feed off him succeeding, and it makes everyone else do a little better. — Dan Waterman, Negaunee coach, on senior Trent Bell

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GWINN — Negaunee’s Trent Bell was a force to be reckoned with on the basketball court Wednesday night in Gwinn.

He led all scorers with 25 points as the Miners downed Munising 65-41 in the Class C district tournament semifinals.

Negaunee head coach Dan Waterman said he’s hoping this win is just the beginning.

“It’s Step 1 of the district trail,” Waterman said after his team improved to 17-4. “We’re proud of how our kids came out and shot the ball out of the gate.

“It was fortunate for us because Munising came out on fire, but I was pleased with the effort we gave from start to end.”

Bell solidified the Miners spot in this year’s district championship game after the disappointment of their team falling short in the first game of the postseason a year ago.

Waterman said the senior was a dominating force, as he continuously cut through the paint and got to the basket.

“We knew we had a mismatch,” Waterman said. “They didn’t have the length and size to match up with Bell.

“We got it to him early and often, and he took it to the basket. He took a few bumps along the way, but he converted at the free throw line.

“Our guys feed off him succeeding, and it makes everyone else do a little better.”

Bell and freshman Jason Waterman controlled Negaunee’s offense in the first half, with Bell racking up 16 points in the first half alone while Waterman scored 13 before the break.

The Miners led 23-16 after one quarter before running away in the second.

That’s when Munising’s offense went quiet, scoring just five points off two baskets from Jesse Mattson. Meanwhile, Negaunee scored 16 points in that time, with layups from Darius Provost and Bell in the closing moments to take an 18-point lead, 39-21, to the locker room.

“We started keeping them in front of us and not letting them get all the way to the rim,” Waterman said. “Munising was driving to the bucket and collapsing our defense in the first quarter, and we did a better job taking that away before halftime.”

Munising head coach Terry Kienitz said the Miners, who had three players score at least 17 points, were too potent for the Mustangs (16-5) to keep up.

“Negaunee was making outside shots throughout the first half,” Kienitz said. “They had a few guys who seemed to be always open no matter who we attacked.

“We wanted to pound it in, attack and get to the free throw line, but we didn’t get as many chances as we wanted.”

The Mustangs opened the second half with a 7-2 run, but Negaunee’s Dre Tuominen helped get the lead back to the halftime margin of 18 as the 6-foot senior guard scored seven points in the period. Negaunee’s advantage was 50-32 headed to the final eight minutes.

Tuominen, who finished as Negaunee’s No. 2 scorer with 21 points, tacked on seven in the fourth for the Miners. Jason Waterman finished with 17.

Cade Contreras paced Munising with 12 points and Anthony Mattson had 11.

The Miners face Ishpeming in the district championship at 7 p.m. Friday back in Gwinn. It was the Hematites who knocked 19-1 Negaunee out of the tournament last season.

“We have to come out aggressive on offense again,” Waterman said. “We’re going to have to do a better job of containing them off the dribble.

“(Ishpeming) has a lot of really good players, so we’re going to have to be focused and ready to go.”

Ray Bressette can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 251. His email address is rbressette@miningjournal.net.