GMG freshman Colin Teske shoots between Meskwaki defenders Gilberto Ramirez (1) and Eleron Youngbear during the second half of Monday’s Iowa Star Conference South Division basketball game at Meskwaki Settlement School. Photo by Noah Rohlfing

A standout showing from GMG senior Mykel Ratliff kept Meskwaki boys’ basketball from staging a comeback Monday night, as the Wolverines held on for a 56-46 victory to improve to 7-10 and 5-6 in Iowa Star South play. With the loss, Meskwaki drops to 2-14 and 2-10 in ISS play.

Back and forth early action resulted in a slim GMG advantage after the first quarter — but in the second quarter the lead reached double digits for the first time. Leading by as much as 14 points, the Wolverines had a 41-30 advantage at the halftime break.

GMG coach Kyle Jorgensen said he’s found a way recently to get his players off to hot starts in games.

“I felt confident,” Jorgensen said. “We play our best ball when we’re down, so I had to come in and tell them, ‘We’re down 20 so keep playing that way,’ and they come out hot. I don’t know why it’s that way.”

Ratliff was the key to everything working for the Wolverines on offense, scoring a game-high 28 points and proving instrumental in helping GMG navigate Meskwaki’s pressing defense. Jabari Woodbury chipped in with 12 points of his own to supplement the offense, and Brenden Becker hit two 3-pointers.

Photo by Noah Rohlfing

Meskwaki head coach Garrett Bear said the Warriors had some communication issues on defense at times and gave up too many layups out of their press, which he said was a “pick your poison” situation late in the game as they tried to create turnovers and close the gap on the scoreboard.

Multiple times in the second half, Meskwaki got within five or six points only to be pushed back by a five-point spurt from the Wolverines to get the gap back up to double digits. Garrett was pleased with how the team played against GMG’s zone defense for most of the night, particularly when Larnell Bear or one of the team’s other guards was able to get into the paint and create looks for others. The Warriors had a very balanced scorebook, with three players in double-figures and four with seven points or more. Gilberto Ramirez scored a team-high 13, while Larnell and Dayvin Guevara scored 10 each. Kingston Davenport added seven points.

“Anytime you play against a zone, that’s what you stress is taking quality shots,” Garrett said. “Usually more times than not when that works out, the scoring is going to be more balanced. Not that I expected it, but it’s nice when you do. It lets you know that they’re moving the ball, sharing it.”

Up next for the Warriors is a visit to Tripoli Tuesday night, while the Wolverines head to division leaders Baxter on Tuesday.

GMG 56, Meskwaki 46

GMG (7-10, 5-6) — Mykel Ratliff 10 7-10 28, Zach Burgess 0 0-0 0, Kooper Gill 2 0-0 4, Jabari Woodbury 3 5-6 12, Abe Dieleman 1 0-0 2, Kaleb Gill 1 0-0 2, Brenden Becker 3 0-0 8, Patrick Savadty 0 0-0 0, Colin Teske 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 20 12-16 56.

MESKWAKI (2-14, 2-10) — Eleron Youngbear 1 0-0 2, Gilberto Ramirez 6 0-0 13, Larnell Bear 4 2-5 10, Dayvin Guevara 5 0-0 10, Zayton Weninger-Brown 2 0-0 4, Kingston Davenport 3 0-1 7. TOTALS 21 2-6 46.

GMG 15 26 7 8 — 56

MESKWAKI 12 18 13 3 — 46

3-Point Goals-GMG 4 (Becker 2, Ratliff, Woodbury), Meskwaki 2 (Ramirez, Davenport). Team Fouls-GMG 9, Meskwaki 13. Fouled Out-none.