The Negaunee boys basketball team never trailed Wednesday night, topping Westwood 44-32 in West PAC action.
Westwood was held scoreless until the 3:52 mark in the opening quarter before battling back to tie the game at eight. Negaunee split a pair of free throws to end the first quarter and led 9-8 after one. Negaunee maintained a slim lead through the second quarter and led 16-13 at halftime.
However, all of Negaunee sharpshooter Jason Waterman’s team-high 15 points came after halftime. The Miners ended the third quarter on a 10-4 run, capped by a Jackson Sager triple with two seconds left and led 32-22 after three. Negaunee led by as many as 13 points in the fourth quarter. Westwood got within single digits when Nathan Beckman knocked down a trey with 1:42 to go but could get no closer.
Ty Alderton led Westwood with ten points while Beckman added nine. The Patriots fall to 9-5 on the year and host Manistique on Friday. The Westwood junior varsity team topped Negaunee 57-32 earlier in the evening.