Iron Mountain has been less than hospitable to their MPC compadres thus far this season.MARQUETTE, MI – Well after a brief hiatus from work, I have returned, and boy did I miss some good basketball while I was off. Iron Mountain boys continued their fast start, a few teams picked up some nice out of conference wins, and the return of the Boys Hematites marked the true start of the MPC Basketball season. Here is the composite schedule starting from the New Year until this upcoming Sunday (January 18th). Happy New Year!
FRIDAY 1/2
- Girl’s Basketball
- No Games
- Boy’s Basketball
- Kingsford Flivvers @ Ishpeming Hematites ISH: 43 KING: 38
SATURDAY 1/3
- Girl’s Basketball
- Manistique Emeralds @ Big Bay de Noc MAN: 42 BB: 38
- Boy’s Basketball
- Manistique Emeralds @ Big Bay de Noc BB: 55 MAN: 53
The girls of Gwinn will finally get their chance to get off the losing schneid in the MPC with 10 of their last 12 games being in conference.MONDAY 1/5
- Girl’s Basketball
- Manistique Emeralds @ Escanaba Eskimos ESKY: 69 MAN: 38
- Boy’s Basketball
- No Games
TUESDAY 1/6
- Girl’s Basketball
- Negaunee Miners @ Iron Mountain Mountaineers IM: 48 NEG: 40
- Marquette Redettes @ Gwinn ModelTowners MAR: 52 GWN: 38
- Boy’s Basketball
- Norway Knights @ Ishpeming Hematites ISH: 58 NOR: 41
- Manistique Emeralds @ BarkRiver-Harris Broncos BRH: 63 MAN: 45
WEDNESDAY 1/7
- Girl’s Basketball
- No Games
- Boy’s Basketball
- No Games
THURSDAY 1/8
- Girl’s Basketball
- Ishpeming Hematites @ Norway Knights ISH: 51 NOR: 36
- Gwinn ModelTowners @ Munising Mustangs GWN: 55 MUN: 29
- Boy’s Basketball
- Westwood Patriots @ Iron Mountain Mountaineers IM: 66 WW: 36
- Escanaba Eskimos @ Negaunee Miners NEG: 57 ESKY: 50
- Houghton Gremlins @ Gwinn ModelTowners GWN: 62 HOU: 57
The Negaunee Miners boys picked up a very decisive conference victory in Ishpeming on Wednesday January 14th.FRIDAY 1/9
- Girl’s Basketball
- Manistique Emeralds @ Negaunee Miners NEG: 57 MAN: 31
- Iron Mountain Mountaineers @ Kingsford Flivvers KING: 49 IM: 38
- Boy’s Basketball
- Norway Knights @ Gwinn ModelTowners GWN: 43 NOR: 41
- L’Anse Purple Hornets @ Ishpeming Hematites ISH: 61 L’A: 42
MONDAY 1/12
- Girl’s Basketball
- Westwood Patriots @ Bark River-Harris Broncos BR: 59 WW: 28
- Boy’s Basketball
- Bark River-Harris Broncos @ Iron Mountain Mountaineers IM: 63 BRH: 18
- West Iron County Wykons @ Norway Knights NOR: 50 WIC: 25
Manistique will look to remove the notion that their gym is a safe-haven for road teams as we transition into the mid-season.TUESDAY 1/13
- Girl’s Basketball
- Iron Mountain Mountaineeers @ Norway Knights IM: 52 NOR: 43
- Ishpeming Hematites @ Superior Central Cougars ISH: 46 SC: 15
- Boy’s Basketball
- Munising Mustangs @ Manistique Emeralds MUN: 67 MAN: 41
WEDNESDAY 1/14
- Girl’s Basketball
- No Games
- Boy’s Basketball
- Negaunee Miners @ Ishpeming Hematites NEG: 32 ISH: 26
- Gwinn ModelTowners @ Westwood Patriots GWN: 49 WW: 36
THURSDAY 1/15
- Girl’s Basketball
- Ishpeming Hematites @ Iron Mountain Mountaineers ISH: 63 IM:48
- Negaunee Miners @ Gwinn ModelTowners NEG: 42 GWN: 34
- Boy’s Basketball
- No Games
With a combined record of 3-8, the Westwood Basketball community will look to make a splash once they hit the bulk of conference play.FRIDAY 1/16
- Girl’s Basketball
- Houghton Gremlins @ Westwood Patriots HOU: 47 WW: 44
- Norway Knights @ Stephenson Eagles NOR: 59 STE: 54
- Gladstone Braves @ Manistique Emeralds GLAD: 58 MAN: 23
- Boy’s Basketball
- Iron Mountain Mountaineers @ Gwinn ModelTowners IM: 49 GWN: 46
- Manistique Emeralds @ Norway Knights MAN: 46 NOR: 42
- Negaunee Miners @ L’Anse Purple Hornets NEG: 61 L’A: 34
MPC STANDINGS (Through 1/15)
GIRLS
- Ishpeming Hematites 7-1 (4-0)
- Negaunee Miners 5-3 (4-1)
- Iron Mountain Mountaineers 4-4 (3-2)
- Norway Knights 4-4 (2-3)
- Westwood Patriots 1-5 (1-2)
- Gwinn ModelTowners 4-5 (0-3)
- Manistique Emeralds 1-8 (0-4)
BOY’S
- Iron Mountain Mountaineers 6-0 (4-0)
- Negaunee Miners 4-2 (2-0)
- Gwinn ModelTowners 5-1 (3-1)
- Ishpeming Hematites 4-1 (1-1)
- Norway Knights 3-4 (1-3)
- Westwood Patriots 2-3 (0-2)
- Manistique Emeralds 1-5 (0-3)
You can catch Jesse Anderson (#7) and myself for the Miners coverage on Sunny.FM!Iron Mountain has run the conference out of the gym so far this season on the boys’ side. They have yet to play Negaunee or Ishpeming however, and that will be two tough games for them. Gwinn will get their shot at them this Friday night at home, and are a very different team that lost by nearly 20 points back in December.
Mike Plourde (Right) & Bob Nadeau (Left) have had some good basketball to call this season as the Hematites have lost a combined two games on 98.3 WRUP!For the girls, Ishpeming has done well so far, only losing to a good Gladstone team, but they are like the Mountaineers on the boys’ side. They have yet to face off against the top teams in the conference (Negaunee or Iron Mountain), however they’ll be tested in Iron Mountain tonight. However, the MPC is going to be a battle ground. Gwinn may have yet to win a game, but they’ve only played two, and Westwood has had an absolutely brutal schedule thus far and will turn it around more likely than not. Be sure to keep up to date with us here on Fox Sports Marquette!
-Carl Leander Johnson