MENOMINEE — Sublime defense ruled the night as the Menominee boys basketball team snuffed out Gibraltar 54-24 in the Maroons’ regular season finale on Thursday.
Menominee (16-6) held the Vikings to single-digit scoring totals in all four quarters and did not allow a single Gibraltar player to hit double-figures.
Braden Sitte led the Vikings with nine points including a free throw to give Gibraltar (5-18) its one and only lead of the game less than two minutes into the first quarter.
Gibraltar was able to stay within seven at halftime but the wheels fell off in the second half, with Menominee outscoring the Vikings by a 17-2 margin in the third quarter to build a 39-17 lead.
“I thought that, across the board, everyone on our team came in and gave us some good defensive minutes,” Menominee coach Sam Larson said. “There was a moment in the second quarter where I thought we got a little lethargic, but we snapped back into it in the third quarter. Our pressure really bothered Gibraltar tonight.”
Menominee’s offense simmered throughout the first half before catching fire in the third quarter, as the Maroons scored nearly as many points in the frame as they had in the entire first half (22).
Tanner Theuerkauf scored nine of Menominee’s first 11 points to begin the third quarter en route to a game-high 19-point performance.
Sitte hit a layup to pull the Vikings within 13 with just over five minutes to go in the third quarter but Menominee reeled off 20 unanswered points to make it a 50-17 affair midway through the fourth quarter.
“When we play aggressively and everyone on the floor is squaring up, cutting hard and moving without the ball, our offense looks really good, but then we go on stretches where we’re not doing that,” Larson said. “We looked funky offensively in the first half, but then it seemed like we swung the ball top-side much better in the second half.”
Connor Coduti backed up Theuerkauf with a 12-point outburst while Nathan Schlutz pitched in nine and Gable Buck added five.
Thursday’s game was also Senior Night for Coduti, Buck, Schultz, Trevor Theuerkauf, Landan Bardowski, Eli Beal and Tyler Smith, something Larson reflected on afterwards.
“We don’t like to think of Senior Night on Senior Night because we’re hopeful that we still have a lot of season left,” he said. “However, the reality is that it’s the last regular season home game for seven kids that have been very special to our program. They are probably the most competitive group that I’ve ever been around. They love to win, and they really hate to lose, and it’s impressive how much that fuels them.”
Up nextMenominee: The Maroons open District playoffs on Wednesday, either at home against Gwinn or on the road at West Iron County.
Menominee 54, Gibraltar 24Menominee 10 12 17 15 — 54
Gibraltar 6 9 2 7 — 24
Menominee: Ta. Theuerkauf 19, Coduti 12, Schlutz 9, Buck 5, Tr. Theuerkauf 3, Bardowski 2, Kaiden Bell 2, Nathan Komp 2; FTs: 7-7
Gibraltar: Sitte 9, Aaron Brey 5, William Lecy 4, Liam Lindenberg 3, Braden Kita 2, Jeffrey Mize 1; FTs: 4-8
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