Escanaba senior Nick Garcia attempts to collect the call during a game against Alpena on Nov. 25, 2024 at Escanaba High School. ("The Big Dog" Mitch Vosburg/Daily Press)

ESCANABA — The Escanaba boys had issues with Negaunee’s man-to-man defense in the second half in a 64-42 non-conference basketball loss here Tuesday night.

Negaunee, noted for its man-to-man, improved to 1-1 after dropping a 55-26 decision at Kingsford last week. Esky dropped to 2-1.

“We knew that going in, but got caught flat-footed a couple times,” Esky coach Tom Gereau said. “We did a better job handling the ball tonight. This is the first time we faced a man-to-man. It was good to see that because the GNC (Great Northern Conference) is pretty much strictly man-to-man. They started doubling us more at guard in the second half. We just have to get more confident in what we’re doing on offense. They got after us more than the first two teams.”

Negaunee, which started in a zone, gained a 19-7 lead on a 15-foot jump shot by senior guard Jordan Guenette late in the first quarter.

Esky closed within 23-17 on a lay-in by Javon Stevenson with 3:27 left in the second stanza.

The Miners, however, extended their lead to 31-18 on a jumper from top of the key by senior guard Baron Heslip late in the second.

A floater from the lane by Lennox Peacock enabled the Eskymos to shave their deficit to 31-20 with 20 seconds remaining before halftime.

Negaunee opened the third frame with a 14-1 run, surging to a 45-21 advantage on Guenette’s 20-foot jumper from the left wing.

Esky responded with a 10-2 run, cutting its deficit to 47-31 on Peacock’s jumper from the boulevard late in the third.

Guenette, however, turned an offensive rebound into a layup to put the Miners up by 18 points going into the fourth.

“He’s a strong player,” Negaunee coach Brad Nelson said. “When he feels it is when he’s playing defense. I thought the third quarter was the ball game. We’re a fast, athletic team, only our execution wasn’t very good tonight. I thought we took a step in the right direction, but we have a long way to go.”

The Eskymos were still within 49-33 following a pair of free throws by Peacock in the opening moments in the fourth.

Negaunee responded with nine unanswered points, building an insurmountable 58-33 cushion on a jumper from top of the key by senior forward Holden Meyer with 6:19 left to play.

“We had a couple good spurts,” Gereau said. “When they made their runs, it took us a while to get our little runs. Although, it’s a long season. Every night we’re going to learn something new about ourselves and our capabilities. We haven’t seen much of that kind of ball pressure yet. We’re working on our toughness and playing back-to-back games.”

The Eskymos visit Bark River-Harris tonight at 7:30 and host Kingsford in their GNC opener Friday. They were led by Stevenson’s 10 points.

Guenette led a balanced attack with 20 points. Heslip tossed in 16. Meyer added 12 and sophomore guard-forward Kyle Waterman had 10.

“We have a lot of things we need to improve on,” Nelson said. “It’s only December. We’ll come around.”

The Miners committed 11 turnovers and the Eskymos finished with 10.

Box score

Negaunee 19 12 18 15 — 64

Escanaba 10 10 11 11 — 42

Negaunee — J. Guenette 20, Mager 2, Engstrom 2, E. Guenette 2, Waterman 10, Heslip 16, Meyer 12. FT: 6-10; F: 17; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Meyer 3, J. Guenette 2, Heslip.

Escanaba — Stevenson 10, Peacock 8, Jupe 3, Fields 8, Morgan 7, Asgaard 4, Noel 2. FT: 11-21; F: 11; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Fields 2, Jupe.