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MUNISING — If there’s one thing the Munising High School boys basketball team learned from last season, it’s to never take games for granted because the next one could very well be your last.

That’s what happened to the Mustangs last March as they were set to play Negaunee in an MHSAA Division 3 district tournament championship game when the season abruptly came to an end because of the coronavirus pandemic.

That memory really stuck in their minds after the multiple postponements of this season. Nevertheless, the Mustangs persisted and played their first game during the second week of this month. In an interview the day after that game, head coach Terry Kienitz said the delays haven’t had much of an effect on his players.

Munising's Kane Nebel, center, shoots a layup between Mid Peninsula defenders, from left, Ben Lehtikangas, Sam O'Neal and Zach Englund on Feb. 14, 2020, in St. Nicholas. (Escanaba Daily Press photo by Justin St. Ours)

“I don’t think it bothered them as much,” he said. “We had our first game yesterday and they looked pretty good. They look (in) midseason form already. It didn’t take them long to kind of make adjustments on the defensive and offensive end, but all around having their legs under them and not sucking too much wind, they actually looked like they were already in midseason form.”

Munising lost some key players to graduation, but Kienitz says he still has some players who can fill in those holes in the lineup.

“I lost (Josh) Huotari, (Austin) Killips and (Jason) Cornish, so I lost a lot of our offense and a lot of our team,” he said. “But I’ve got Jesse Duran and Kane Nebel. They were the other starters and they were underclassmen last year. So they’ve got some time under their belts on the varsity level.

“We’ve got some decent seniors, they were juniors last year, they were on the bench and they contributed. We’ve got Ethan Lakosky coming in late in districts and he started to come around and help us out, and Caden Kienitz, my boy. Our seniors are going to help those guys out.”

The season has already started and not surprisingly, Kienitz said the Mustangs were ready to go emotionally before the opening tip.

Munising's Kane Nebel, left, drives against Bark River-Harris' Johnnie Robinette during their MHSAA Division 3 district tournament game played in Harris on March 9, 2020. (Escanaba Daily Press file photo)

“When the news came out that we could start contests on Feb. 8, I came to practice that day or the next day and told them that our athletic director said we’ve got three games next week,” he said. “He wants to know if we’re ready and they’re ready.

“It was game time. That’s all they cared about. They were jumping around the gym excited and ready to go. So regardless of we only had one practice at that point, they were ready to play basketball.

“That’s what I always talk about to these guys, the ones that put in a little extra work during the summer, that their reward comes when it’s game time. Like they love being in the gym and they like scrimmaging and playing with their friends, but the hard work and all that is rewarded when it’s game time.”

Ryan Stieg can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 252. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.net.

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