Marquette’s Marius Grazulis, right, blocks Ishpeming’s Darius Yohe in the third quarter of their high school boys basketball game played at the Hematites' gym on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)

“Our guys didn’t have a lot of energy … in the first half but … came out and had a three- or four-minute run that dictated how this game went.” — Brad Nelson, head coach, Marquette boys basketball

—————–

ISHPEMING — Inside scoring was the key to victory for the Marquette Senior High School boys basketball team with 6-foot-10 junior center Marius Grazulis leading the way with 18 points in the Redmen’s 55-41 victory at Ishpeming on Tuesday night.

The No. 2 Class A-B-C team in this week’s Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association poll, Marquette improved to 10-5 while No. 5 Ishpeming dropped to 8-6.

MSHS head coach Brad Nelson said his team peaked late after a slow start.

“I thought the first three quarters our offense was playing out of pace and favored (Ishpeming), and that’s not normally what we like to do,” he said. “We like to score 60 to 70 points per game and they held us in the first half.

“Part of it was we weren’t pushing it, I thought our guys didn’t have a lot of energy on either end of the court in the first half but we addressed that at halftime, came out and had a three- or four-minute run that dictated how this game went.”

IHS head coach Anthony Katona said his team played a much better game than the first time they saw Marquette on Jan. 16 (a 73-46 MSHS win), but fourth-quarter turnovers and inside scoring from the Redmen cost his team.

“We’ve just been doing what we have been in practice and executed a little better than the first time we played them,” he said. “We cracked down on the defensive end, made them work the ball around and kept them from … open shots on the outside. Most of their scoring was down low (tonight).

“The game got away because we turned the ball over late in the game and Grazulis was the difference maker there late in the third and early in the fourth quarter.

“Just like we’ve been doing all season, we’ve got to get back to it at practice (today) and work hard. We’ve got Manistique on Friday and can’t overlook them, so we’ll practice hard, try to make this late run in the season and get ready for districts.”

Junior guard Bryce Brazeau put the Redmen on the board to begin the game, laying it up and in on a pass from Grazulis.

Senior guard Dondre Yohe followed that up with a 3-pointer to give the Hematites their first lead.

After three more lead changes in the period, Marquette ended the first quarter with a 10-7 lead.

The Redmen pulled ahead 17-11 in the second quarter before the Hematites scored six straight point to tie it 17-17, culminated by a dunk from senior guard and Northern Michigan University recruit Hart Holmgren.

Brazeau answered the call with a triple to put Marquette up 20-17 at the half.

Holmgren scored a triple out of the locker room to tie it 20-20 to begin the third. After that, Marquette scored the next seven points before Ishpeming was right back in it with the following six, making the game 27-26 on a 3-point play by Holmgren.

Two free throws and a 3-pointer later, this one from junior forward Darius Yohe, and the Hematites pulled ahead 31-27.

However the Redmen ended the third with a 35-31 lead, and wouldn’t surrender that lead.

Up 39-36 in the fourth, the Redmen got four consecutive buckets from four different players on Hematite turnovers, making it an 11-point lead at 47-36, the largest lead of the night for either team.

Junior guard Ethan Martysz added 10 points for Marquette while junior guard Raffy Millado had nine. Holmgren led Ishpeming with 26 points while each Yohe added five.

Marquette hosts Negaunee on Thursday while Ishpeming travels to Manistique on Friday.

Ishpeming won the JV contest 60-47.

Email Ryan Spitza at sports@miningjournal.net.