The Munising Baptist Bobcats led throughout the first three quarters as they faced the Ojibwe Eagles on Tuesday, Jan. 10 in Munising. But an early foul out by star Bobcat Ryan Swift opened up the door for a major comeback, resulting in the Eagles winning 60-48 at the Mather Gymnasium.
Munising Baptist found themselves in trouble early in the final quarter after Ryan Swift picked up two personal fouls in seven seconds. The senior missed the last 6:58 of regulation, where Ojibwe was able to go on a 12-0 run before Dylan Swift put back a rebound. The Eagles outscored Baptist 22-5 in the final frame.
“It’s an every man steps up mentality,” Munising Baptist Head Coach Paul Johns saying. “You lose your senior and then your playing a seventh grader in that space. But it’s a learning experience to see what our team looks like next year.”
Baptist struggled to hit from midrange to start the contest, going 0-13 on twopoint baskets in the first six minutes of the game. Two free throws and two baskets from behind the arc from Ryan Swift allowed the Bobcats to go ahead early. A late turnover made it 28-21 Bobcats, cutting the home team’s lead from 11 to seven before the break.
In the second half, the shooting guards for both teams started making a bigger impact, with Jonny MacArthur getting numerous good looks on cuts down the lane and Ojibwe’s Nathaniel Malloy creating multiple steals in the third quarter. The floor was more spread out as the Eagles attempted to use their speed, cutting the lead to five heading into the fourth.
Ojibwe was able to cause some problems with strong drives from Henry Lyon and Andrew LeBlanc. The pair combined for 37 points in the contest, using the high glass to avoid block attempts from Michael Maloney and Dylan Swift. The two also created a lot of second-chance opportunities by getting offensive rebounds for the Eagles.
The Bobcats now sit at 3-3 after the loss, putting them in the middle of the NLL standings. Munising Baptist also split a series against the Mackinac Island Lakers on the island last weekend and travelled to Grand Marais on Thursday night. The game against the Polar Bears will be in next week’s edition.
“This kind of gutwrenching loss will make us hungry for the next game,” Johns said.
