MARQUETTE, MI – 1/26/2015 – Nearing the halfway point of the season, the MPC continues to be full of surprises. With just two undefeated teams left (Iron Mountain boys; Ishpeming girls), the chances of claiming the conference championship are fading for a couple of teams. After a hot start to the season, the Ishpeming boys have now dropped four games straight, three of which were in-conference games. The defending co-MPC champion Westwood Patriot girls can’t seem to find their groove after the departure of senior Elizabeth Dauphinais-VanBuren and have fallen to 1-8 on the season and are now 1-4 in conference play; four games behind the conference-leading Hematites. The Iron Mountain boys are off to one of their best starts in school history, starting off an impressive 9-0. They’ll welcome in the Miners on Tuesday for the toughest test of the season for both teams, one of which will come out as first in the MPC. The same goes for the Lady Hematites tonight, as they’ll travel to Negaunee to take on the Miners in Lakeview. Without further adieu, here is this week’s schedule:
MONDAY 1/26
Girl’s Basketball
- Ishpeming Hematites @ Negaunee Miners ISH: 46 NEG: 37
- West Iron County Wykons @ Norway Knights NOR: 50 WIC: 40
Boy’s Basketball
- No Games
TUESDAY 1/27
Girl’s Basketball
- Gwinn ModelTowners @ Westwood Patriots
GWN: 41 WW: 29
Boy’s Basketball
- Westwood Patriots @ Norway Knights
WW: 49 NOR: 30
- Negaunee Miners @ Iron Mountain Mountaineers IM: 33 NEG: 17
- Ishpeming Hematites @ Gladstone Braves ISH: 63 GLAD: 46
WEDNESDAY 1/28
Girl’s Basketball
- Negaunee Miners @ Escanaba Eskimos ESKY: 61 NEG: 51
Boy’s Basketball
THURSDAY 1/29
Girl’s Basketball
- Westwood Patriots @ Ishpeming Hematites ISH: 38 WW: 32
- Norway Knights @ Manistique Emeralds NOR: 52 MAN: 29
- Mid-Peninsula Wolverines @ Gwinn ModelTowners GWN: 47 M-P: 33
Boy’s Basketball
- Iron Mountain Mountaineers @ Westwood Patriots IM: 41 WW: 34
- Houghton Gremlins @ Negaunee Miners NEG: 67 HOU: 49
- Norway Knights @ West Iron County Wykons NOR: 63 WIC: 41
FRIDAY 1/30
Girl’s Basketball
- Iron Mountain Mountaineers @ Escanaba Eskimos ESKY: 64 IM: 44
Boy’s Basketball
- Manistique Emeralds @ Negaunee Miners NEG: 68 MAN: 31
- Gwinn ModelTowners @ Munising Mustangs MUN: 53 GWN: 39
MPC STANDINGS (Through 1/31)
Girl’s Basketball
- Ishpeming Hematites (11-1; 7-0)
- Negaunee Miners (7-5; 5-2)
- Iron Mountain Mountaineers (6-5; 4-2)
- Norway Knights (8-4; 3-3)
- Gwinn ModelTowners (8-5; 2-3)
- Westwood Patriots (1-10; 1-6)
- Manistique Emeralds (1-12; 0-6)
Boy’s Basketball
- Iron Mountain Mountaineers (11-0; 8-0)
- Negaunee Miners (8-3; 4-1)
- Gwinn ModelTowners (7-4; 4-3)
- Ishpeming Hematites (5-4; 2-3)
- Norway Knights (4-6; 1-5)
- Westwood Patriots (3-5; 1-3)
- Manistique Emeralds (2-7; 1-5)
Be sure to keep up with us here at Fox Sports for all of your MPC coverage. If you’d like to see what has happened in past weeks, just click on the links below:
Most teams have finished up most of their non-conference schedule, and we’ll start getting to the meat of the MPC schedule. With two huge games this week, we may either clear up the championship picture or cloud it right back up.
-Carl Leander Johnson
