MARQUETTE, MI – 2/9/2015 – We have passed the halfway point of the season. It seems like December 2nd was just a couple of weeks ago and we were talking about the promise of each team looking forward into the season. Where we saw potential MPC champs disappoint, we’ve seen others rise up and take a firm hold in their regular season championship hopes. Both undefeated teams fell last week, to opposing schools. The Ishpeming ladies fell to Iron Mountain, and the Hematite boys returned the favor by knocking out the, then 13-0 Mountaineer boys team by three in Ishpeming. So we won’t have any in-conference undefeateds for the first time in a couple of years.
The Negaunee boys have rebounded from a 17 point snafoo against the Mountaineers to put up big wins against Houghton, Manistique, and in Gwinn. The boys from the west end won’t shouldn’t fret too much, as they’ve dominated 13 opponents to date, and are still a force to be reckoned with. Besides their impressive win, the Hematites also went up north to take on the Gremlins, and came away with a six point win, their fourth straight. Hopefully they’re not developing a pattern, as they started off the season with four straight wins, lost four straight, and are now on their current four gamer. They’ll have a tough stretch coming up, as will their two biggest rivalries in Westwood & Negaunee. It’s rivalry week in the twin cities. Negaunee will play both Ishpeming & Westwood and the latter two will play each other on Monday.
After starting off the season 7-0 in the MPC, the lady Hematites finally received a chink in their armor, falling to the Mountaineers by two at home, then avoiding another upset in Gwinn when a game-winning ModelTowner shot in overtime was waved off and escaping with a 38-37 win. After falling to the 1-10 Patriots earlier in the week, the Norway Knights were able to defend their home court in dominating fashion over the Negaunee Miners who have dropped four straight games. On the outside of the MPC, the invading Redettes have handled the MPC with ease thus far in 2014-2015, not dropping a game.
We’re coming down the stretch now, and the girls’ side of things appear to be Ishpeming’s to lose, where the Miner & Mountaineer boys have a comfortable two-game lead over the rest of the conference and are setting up a showdown on March 3rd in Lakeview Gymnasium. That’s a ways off though, they still have to play the games after all. So here we go!
MONDAY 2/9
Girl’s Basketball
- No Games
Boy’s Basketball
- Westwood Patriots @ Ishpeming Hematites ISH: 44 WW: 43
TUESDAY 2/10
Girl’s Basketball
- Iron Mountain Mountaineers @ Westwood Patriot IM: 44 WW: 43
- Calumet Copper Kings @ Negaunee Miners CAL: 48 NEG: 40
- Ishpeming Hematites @ Gladstone Braves GLAD: 41 ISH: 33
Boy’s Basketball
- Gwinn ModelTowners @ Norway Knights NOR: 54 GWN: 37
- Escanaba Eskymos @ Iron Mountain Mountaineers IM: 56 ESKY: 37
WEDNESDAY 2/11
Girl’s Basketball
- Gwinn ModelTowners @ Manistique Emeralds GWN: 51 MAN: 25
Boy’s Basketball
- Negaunee Miners @ Westwood Patriots NEG: 44 WW: 20
- Manistique Emeralds @ Ishpeming Hematites ISH: 42 MAN: 30
THURSDAY 2/12
Girl’s Basketball
- Norway Knights @ Ishpeming Hematites ISH: 59 NOR: 41
- Iron Mountain Mountaineers @ Negaunee Miners IM: 55 NEG: 51
Boy’s Basketball
- No Games
FRIDAY 2/13
Girl’s Basketball
- Manistique Emeralds @ Westwood Patriots WW: 43 MAN: 30
Boy’s Basketball
- Manistique Emeralds @ Westwood Patriots WW: 64 MAN: 38
- Norway Knights @ Iron Mountain Mountaineers IM: 57 NOR: 30
- Ishpeming Hematites @ Negaunee Miners NEG: 53 ISH: 36
MPC STANDINGS (Through 2/15)
Girl’s Basketball
- Ishpeming Hematites (13-3; 9-1)
- Iron Mountain Mountaineers (9-7; 8-2)
- Negaunee Miners (7-9; 5-4)
- Gwinn ModelTowners (10-6; 4-4)
- Norway Knights (10-7; 4-6)
- Westwood Patriots (3-12; 3-6)
- Manistique Emeralds (1-16 0-10)
Boy’s Basketball
- Iron Mountain Mountaineers (15-1; 9-1)
- Negaunee Miners (11-3; 7-1)
- Ishpeming Hematites (10-5; 5-4)
- Gwinn ModelTowners (8-6; 5-5)
- Westwood Patriots (6-8; 4-5)
- Norway Knights (5-10; 2-7)
- Manistique Emeralds (2-12; 1-9)
Be sure to keep up with all of your MPC standings & schedules here on Marquette’s newest voice in sports: Fox Sports Marquette!
-Carl Leander Johnson
