Rural Insurance (Eagle River, WI) scored on buzzer beater to knock off Baxter Fishing 63-61 to wrap another great weekend of Spring Thaw Basketball on Sunday. Jared Joki (Baxter Fishing) made two pressure-packed free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining to tie the score at 61. Rural Insurance called timeout and executed a full court inbounds play resulting in a made layup by Ryan Gengrich (Rural Insurance) for an exciting finish.
Men’s Division 1A:
Rural Insurance’s win culminated an undefeated weekend for the Men’s 1A Division Champions. In the final game, Ryan Gengrich finished with 18 points and Jake Buchanon 17 points to lead Rural Insurance. Kadin Baxter with 25 points led Baxter Fishing, Adam Libertoski scored 9 points and Josh & Jared Joki each tallied 8 points. Ryan Gengrich was selected the MVP for Division 1A.
Men’s Division 2B:
The Ojibwe Legends were the Men’s 2B division champions due to a forfeit in the championship game. Midway Rentals & Service earned 2nd (Chetek, WI) place. Justin Cobb of the Legends was selected MVP for his play throughout the weekend.
Women’s Division:
The Iron Nugget defeated Trenary Toast 41-30 to claim the Women’s Championship. Kylee Hewitt led the Nugget with 13 points while Jaana Aukee added 10. Stephanie Boyer-Lovell led Trenary with 13 points. Emily DiGiorgio was selected MVP for her consistent play throughout the weekend games.
“The 2024 Spring Thaw was another successful event for Gogebic Community College and Samson basketball. The Samson Spring Thaw continues to be a solid fundraiser for the basketball program and an excellent community service event for our area. With 22 teams comprised of many players traveling to GCC from outside our region, there were countless smiles, handshakes, and hugs taking place throughout the weekend. A big thank you to the team sponsors, the players, and fans that supported & participated in this 4-day tournament. Lastly, another huge shout-out of thank you for all the volunteer officials, game workers, gate keepers, & concession workers that helped make this another SPRING THAW to remember! “ ~Coach Dennis Mackey
