The Hematites had four players in double figures, including 33 points from senior John Wheeler and 20 from senior Kenny Ambuehl.

But it was Hematites freshman Kian Gauthier who hit the game-deciding free throws near the end of the second overtime that lifted Ishpeming to its final lead.

The Braves held a 44-30 lead in the third quarter that disappeared quickly on a 21-2 run by the Hematites. Wheeler scored eight points during the run for Ishpeming. Senior Grady Gauthier and Kian Gauthier each had 3-pointers to close out the run as the Hematites took a 51-46 lead.

“We came out a little sluggish in the first half,” Kian Gauthier said. “We stepped it up at the end. We know we are a team that can be dangerous at the end of games and we just kept fighting and it is a great win for our team.”

Ishpeming freshman Kian Gauthier shoots and makes his second of two free throws just before the end of the second overtime to lift the Hematites to a one-point lead they’d preserve for a season-opening 82-81 win at Gladstone on Monday evening. (Daily Press photo by Adam Hinch)

Kian Gauthier drove hard to the basket for a layup to extend the Hematites lead to its largest margin, 61-53.

The Braves closed the fourth quarter on a 10-2 run to send the game to OT — they hit a 3-pointer from the wing by junior Lonnie Davey and a monstrous dunk by sophomore Will Inghram as well as the free throws from Alex Prins after he was fouled shooting a triple.

“You can’t ask for more excitement for a first game than to go two overtimes,” Braves assistant coach Bob Prins said. “Credit to Ishpeming, they played hard all night long, they never stopped, they just kept pushing and sent it to overtime and got the game-winning free throws.”

Wheeler started the first overtime scoring for Ishpeming as he drove hard to the basket for the lay-in and the foul. He made the free throw to complete the traditional three-point play and put the Hematites up 72-69.

“This was a big win for us tonight,” Wheeler said. “We got swept by them last season, so to come out here on the road and beat them in their gym was huge for us and I’m proud of our team.”

Grady Gauthier connected on a 3-pointer to extend the Ishpeming lead to 75-69.

The Braves closed out the first overtime on a 5-0 run to force OT No. 2. This time, the Braves took a four-point lead early in this extra period as Davey and Braidyn Miron each had layups to put the Braves up 80-76.

Grady Gauthier then made a layup and hit a pair of free throws to retie the game 80-80. After Inghram split a pair of free throws to put the Braves back up 81-80, Kian Gauthier was fouled coming up the floor to put the Hematites on the free throw line. Making both put the visitors back up by a point and proved to be the winning margin as Gladstone’s last-second shot fell short.

“They have really good guards here in Gladstone,” Hematites coach Paige Yoho said. “Kian started off slow, but I told him at halftime the shots he was taking were good and that those shots will go down in the second half, and that was key for us down the stretch.”

The Braves return to action tonight when they host Marquette, while Ishpeming comes home to host Westwood at 7:15 p.m. Friday.

Ishpeming 82, Gladstone 81 (2OT)

Monday at Gladstone

Scoring by quarters:

Ishpeming 11 11 26 21 7 6 — 82

Gladstone 14 16 16 23 7 5 — 81

Individual scoring & team statistics:

ISHPEMING — G. Gauthier 13, Gleason 2, Ambuehl 20, K.

Gauthier 14, Wheeler 33. FT: 16-27; Fouls: 14; Fouled Out: None; 3-pointers: Ambuehl 5, G. Gauthier 3, Kian Gauthier 1.

GLADSTONE — Brunette 2, Miron 2, Davey 31, Prins 16, Inghram 23, Reynolds 7. FT: 13-17; Fouls: 24; Fouled Out: Prins; 3-pointers: Davey 4, Prins 2, Inghram 2.