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Republic-Michigamme Hawks boys earn 1st high school basketball victory of season with 46-40 win at Baraga

BARAGA — Senior Kolin Conklin scored 16 points and junior teammate Eli Luokkala 13 as Republic-Michigamme won for the first time this season in a 46-40 victory at Baraga in a high school boys basketball game played Friday.

Both players went 2 for 2 at the free-throw line as the Hawks (1-15) made 11 of 12 there.

The excellent free-throw shooting was crucial as each team made 17 shots from the field, but the Vikings (2-12) hit five 3-pointers while R-M made just one, that by Luokkala.

Steele Jondreau paced Baraga with 11 points, nine coming in the second half, while teammate Presley Rasanen added 10, including a pair of triples that also came in the second half.

R-M jumped out early in this back-and-forth game, taking a 17-4 lead after one quarter. But the Vikings mounted a comeback in the middle two quarters, trimming its deficit to 23-15 at halftime and only 31-27 by the end of the third quarter.

But the Hawks fended off Baraga in the final period, helped by making 5 of 6 free throws then.

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Negaunee 76, Ishpeming 46

At Ishpeming, the Miners’ triumvirate of Jason Waterman, Drew Lindberg and Jakson Sager combined to score 63 points.

Waterman led the way — barely — with 22, while Lindberg had 21 and Sager 20. Linberg had three 3-pointers and Waterman one, but probably more impressive was their combined free-throw shooting — 15 of 17.

Negaunee made 21 of 25 for 84 percent from the line, while Ishpeming managed just 5 of 6.

Jacob Kugler led the Hematites with 13 points, while Ben Pruett and Breck Bell added 12 apiece. Pruett got all his points on a quartet of treys.

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Iron Mountain 84, Gwinn 51

At Gwinn, Modeltowners coach Jim Finkbeiner saw improvement from the first time his team played the Upper Peninsula’s No. 1 team in Divisions 1-3, a 70-20 Mountaineers win on Jan. 17.

“We had a much better effort than the last time we played them,” Finkbeiner said.

Gwinn actually held a six-point lead, 12-6, midway through the opening quarter before IM came back to go ahead 18-14 entering the second.

“(Iron Mountain) pressed the whole game, but for whatever reason, we didn’t adjust to it well to start the second quarter,” the GHS coach said about a period where his team was outscored 25-5. “We turned it over quite a bit and it led to a number of and-ones.”

The Mountaineers held a 43-19 advantage at halftime.

“That said, we played real well in the third quarter when we cut it to 14 points at one time,” Finkbeiner said.

But IM extended its advantage back to 23 by the start of the fourth, 65-42, when Foster Wonders hit four straight 3-pointers at the end of the third quarter.

Wonders finished with 35 points, while teammate Marcus Johnson added 25, including three triples.

James Harnick paced the Modeltowners (3-11) with 13 points, including a trio of treys, while teammate Reid Hill added 12.

Gwinn won the JV game 34-26.

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Forest Park 61, Superior Central 58 (OT)

At Eben, Tommy Showers made the play of the night to lift visiting Forest Park to a 61-58 overtime win.

With the score tied 58-58 and just three seconds remaining in OT, Showers took on a triple team and was able to score through contact and completed the three-point play at the free throw line to lift the Trojans (8-7, 7-5 Skyline Central Conference).

The Cougars (3-13, 1-11) had a chance to take the lead at the charity stripe on their previous possession but missed the front end of a 1-and-1 to give the ball back.

“It was just a great, great high school basketball game,” SC coach Harry Robbins said. “Crystal Falls is a great ball club. Earlier in the year we got beat 60-40 by them (on Jan. 10).

Parker Maki hit four triples and led the Cougars with 19 points. Will Carlson added 13, while Kyle Frusti chipped in 12. Michael Leppanen had 10.

SC, which lost the JV game, hosts Stephenson on Tuesday.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.

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