Munising senior Carson Kienitz (2) battles for a possession of a loose ball with Menominee junior Tanner Theuerkauf during a MHSAA Division 3 district semifinal basketball on Feb. 26, 2025 at Munising High School. (Mitch Vosburg/Daily Press)

MUNISING — Pressure and postseason basketball pair like peas and carrots.

Whether it’s the pressure of the crowd, the pressure of the moment or the pressure of achieving glory, pressure surrounds every crevice of postseason basketball.

Pressure also bled onto the court. In this case, it was Menominee’s intense half court pressure that wore down Munising in the games finals eight minutes for a 47-38 Maroons district semifinal win.

“We knew (Munising) didn’t have that big of a rotation,” Menominee junior Tanner Theuerkauf said. “We just kept grinding it out. We knew they’d get tired. We wore them down.”

For the entire game Menominee made one thing apparent — once any of Munising’s guards crossed the half court line they were met with immediate pressure. Munising seniors Trevor Nolan and Carson Kienitz had centimeters of breathing room if they were lucky.

It was a risky plan, especially with multiple Maroons with at least three fouls entering the fourth. In fact, Theuerkauf picked up his fourth foul with 6:47 to go.

Yet, the Maroons refused to back off. They knew that Munising rolls with five players. Not much help was coming off the bench.

“We felt that if you bring it for four quarters you will wear them down,” Menominee coach Sam Larson explained. “Their guards are tough. Nolan and Kienitz did a great job of handling our pressure. But we did force some turnovers in the fourth quarter because we kept coming (after them).”

Menominee ultimately wore down the Mustangs. After trailing the entire game and down 33-25 to start the fourth quarter, the Maroons exploded. Shots finally began to fall.

The Maroons tied the game at 35 thanks to a Theuerkauf triple with 4:25 to go. A 3-pointer from Jacob Schultz and a steal turned into a layup from Kaiden Bell put the Maroons ahead 40-36 with 3:31 to go.

A 15-2 run to capture momentum and never look back.

“It was a great effort all around,” Theuerkauf said. “Brody Daigneau, a freshman, coming off the bench and doing the things he does. He played about 25 minutes tonight, and that’s crazy to do as a freshman. All props to him.”

Larson also had some juggling to do in crunch time. Especially if he wanted to prevent Thereurkauf from committing his fifth foul.

So, similar to hockey, Larson made quick changes for Theuerkauf’s spot on the floor. On the majority of the Maroons’ offensive possessions, Theuerkauf was on the floor. When the Maroons knew they needed a stop on defense, Theuerkauf was pulled to avoid that critical fifth foul. In his place, Larson relied on Bell, the team’s lone senior.

He also brings a veteran presence, physicality and, according to Larson, is a good on-ball defender.

“Guys have a tough time getting past him,” Larson said of Bell. “We wanted to use him in that role to apply pressure and take stress away from Tanner, especially with all the foul troubles we were having.”

For a competitor like Theuerkauf, it was a grueling experience to sit on the bench during multiple key defensive moments.

“I wanted to be in there, but I did what they (needed me to do),” Theuerkauf said. “It was nerve wracking, but we got it done.”

After leading for a majority of the game, Munising mustered five points, all off free throws in the fourth quarter. No shots were made from the floor in the final five minutes by the Mustangs.

“We got tired,” Munising coach Terry Kienitz said. “It was hard to get open, hard to make a pass, hard to get into our sets. The ball pressure ended up being too much.”

And for the majority of the game everything appeared to be going Munising’s way. The Mustangs led 5-0 after the first quarter, not allowing the Maroons to make their first shot until Schultz hit a 3-pointer with 5:54 to go left in the second quarter.

Yet, Menominee never wavered.

“I wasn’t happy with the volume of 3-pointers we were shooting, but I was alright with it because our defense was keeping us in (the game),” Larson said. “I knew how hard we were playing defensively, and at some point it was going to break open, get a couple of buckets and get rolling. It took us a little while to do that, but eventually we did that. Going into halftime only down four we felt like we were in a pretty good spot.”

Now the Maroons return to a district championship game. They will face Iron Mountain at 7 p.m. Friday in Iron Mountain.

It’s a rematch of last year’s district championship game, a thrilling 51-49 Maroons win. The Mountaineers also have a 64-48 win over the Maroons in Menominee on Feb. 3.

“Everyone knows what that’s like,” Theuerkauf said. “I hope we have a good practice (on Thursday), come out ready Friday and have a lot of energy.”

Box score

Munising 5 11 17 5 — 38

Menominee 0 12 13 22 — 47

Munising — Kienitz 8, Nolan 8, Dusseault 14, Connaughton 6, Lindquist 2; FT: 9-15; Fouls: 15; 3-point baskets: Nolan 2, Connaughton 1

Menominee — Komp 2, Beal 3, Schultz 9, Theuerkauf 15, Bell 3, Daigneau 2, Butler 13; FT: 10-14; Fouls: 17; Fouled out: Beal; 3-point baskets: Theuerkauf 2, Beal 1, Schultz 1, Butler 1