Escanaba sophomore Hayven Sandoval-Nolde (50) attempts a layup during the fourth quarter of a game against Gladstone on Feb. 21, 2025 at Escanaba High School. This shot gave the Eskymos a 50-49 lead with 25 seconds remaining in a 52-49 win. (Mitch Vosburg/Daily Press)

ESCANABA — It’s Escanaba and Gladstone, did you really expect anything other than drama and bodies flying?

Round two between the Eskymos and Braves saw no shortage of dramatics, physicality and a nightmare scenario for those in the stands who accidentally forgot to take their blood pressure medication before entering Escanaba’s gymnasium.

Behind late-game heroics from young players, the Eskymos rallied for a comeback 52-49 win over the Braves on senior night.

“It’s an emotional game, especially tonight,” Esky coach Tom Gereau said. “Between the rivalry and the last night for the seniors to be in their home court there’s just so many emotions for these guys. To try to rein it in, control it and point it in the right direction… I mean, that’s what we’re going for, and it didn’t start off very good for us. It was a tough start, but we turned it around and we pulled out a win in a tough, gritty game.”

Esky (9-13) trailed for nearly the entire game, struggling to come up with an answer to contain Gladstone sophomore Lonnie Davey, who got hot from the floor against Esky’s man defense in the first half with 14 points and a trio of 3-pointers for 14 first half points for a 31-26 Braves lead at the half. The Braves maintained that momentum in the second half, claiming a 47-40 lead after sophomore Gabe Sadler split a pair of free throws with under five minutes left in the fourth quarter.

But there was no way that the Eskymos were letting the Braves (6-16) spoil senior night, right? Down 49-46 with 40 seconds left, the answer to that particular question was unclear, kind of looking at one’s reflection in a puddle of filthy mud.

Then sophomore Braden Cooper knocked down a pair of free throws. The deficit shrank to 49-48. The home crowd began to roar with anticipation.

Esky senior Adam Prey was forced to use his final foul with 30.2 seconds left, sending Gladstone center Aaron Hughes, standing at 6-foot 4 and committed to play offensive line at Northern Michigan University. And while Hughes is an absolute menace in the trenches, he wasn’t successful at the free throw line.

He missed the first free throw long and left. The second bounced short off the rim, ricocheted off the hands of Hughes and Esky senior Alex Morgan before being gathered by Esky’s Hayven Sandoval-Nolde.

He bolted down the middle of the floor like a toddler trying to escape the clutches of his mother while holding a chocolate chip cookie he wasn’t supposed to have. He moved to his right for a straight shot at the rim, forcing Davey, the lone defender in his way at this point, to be adjacent to Sandval-Nolde on his left hip. Gladstone junior Owen Gereau sped up to and flanked Sandoval-Nolde on his right.

Two Braves and an Eskymo sprint toward a basket. The ball poked free. Sandoval-Nolde and Owen Gereau both reach for it in mid air.

Somehow, someway, Sandoval-Nolde didn’t shoot the ball, but rather pushed it forward like a setter navigating a pass to an outside hitter. And somehow, someway, the ball banked perfectly off the middle of the backboard and through the hoop.

Folks wearing orange and black broke into absolute pandemonium. After trailing since losing a 6-3 lead in the first quarter, the Eskymos led 50-49 with 25 seconds left.

“There’s just a lot of emotion on that one,” Tom Gereau said. “(Sandoval-Nolde) struggled in the first half, especially the first quarter. He just wasn’t locked in. And boy, that second half, especially in the fourth quarter, our guys really locked in for the seniors.”

The Braves did have a few tries to reclaim the lead.

With 11.6 seconds to go the Braves inbounded the ball fresh out of a timeout. Freshman Alex Prins maneuvered with the ball in hopes of setting up an open look for Davey.

But his pass was offline, landing in Gladstone’s bench. Esky got the ball with 5.3 seconds left.

Cooper split a pair of free throws with 4.8 seconds left to push the lead to 51-49. Davey attempted to inbounds the pass to Prins, but the Braves misfired once again.

Prins couldn’t coral the ball. His attempt to save it saw him step out of bounds. Esky ball with 3.1 seconds left.

“I know that we’ll be spotlighted for those late game turnovers, but there’s a lot of things we can clean up in the first, second and third quarters,” Braves coach Jake Kiesby said. “It stings. I thought we were in control for most of (the game). Give credit to Escanaba for continuing to battle. But yeah, it stings for our guys.”

Senior Nick Garcia stepped to the line a second later, splitting a pair from the line to clinch the Eskymos’ regular season sweep over the Braves after earning a 38-36 win on Dec. 20, 2024 in Gladstone.

“I know how much they appreciate it right now,” Tom Gereau said. “They’re going to enjoy it tonight.”

After a physical, nail biting rivalry game, the regular season showdowns between Gladstone and Escanaba officially came to a close for the 2024-25 season. In celebration, the two will play again.

The Eskymos and Braves collide in a district quarterfinal matchup at 6 p.m. Monday at Gladstone.

For the Braves, it’s a chance to knock off the Eskymos in a high-stakes game on their home floor.

“It’s a new game,” Kiesby said. ” I’m excited. I hope the guys need to flush (the loss) away quick, we have two great practices and get ready for Monday.”

For the Eskymos, it’s an opportunity to earn three wins over Gladstone in one season.

“To beat a team three times… you saw how hard it was to do it twice,” Tom Gereau said. “To do it three times..  it’s gonna probably be just as hard, if not harder (than winning the first two).”

Box score

Gladstone 15 16 9 9 — 49

Escanaba 8 18 11 13  — 52

Gladstone — Gereau 4, Davey 24, Prins 8, Rexford 2, Sadler 5, Hughes 4, Farnes 2; FT: 12-18; Fouls: 18; Fouled out: Sadler; 3-point baskets: Davey 4, Gereau 1

Escanaba — Garcia 6, Jacques 2, Prey 2, Fields 3, Morgan 6, Noel 2, Sandoval-Nolde 7, Cooper 11, Asgaard 13; FT: 8-15; Fouls: 20; Fouled out: Prey; Technical fouls: Esky bench (player not listed in scorebook); 3-point baskets: Garcia 1, Fields 1, Sandoval-Nolde 1; Asgaard 1