Tom McDonald liked what he saw last Friday night at International Falls, His Timberwolves started strong and never struggled, displaying impressive defensive pressure and plenty of offense in an 81-29, season- opening high school boys basketball victory over the Class AA Broncos.
Ely applied the gas from the opening tip, creating turnovers and scoring easy bucket and building a 40-14 lead by halftime.
“I didn’t know what to expect going into the first game but was impressed with how the team played,” said McDonald, Ely’s longtime head coach. “I thought we played well from the start. We jumped out on them with our pressure and hit some shots and never looked back.”
Senior Drew Johnson, one of three returning starters from a Wolves team that reached the Section 7A quarterfinals last season, picked up where he left off.
Johnson not only had a game-high 28 points, nearly outscoring the Broncos by himself, but he flirted with a triple-double and wound up with eight rebounds and six assists.
Fellow senior Jack Davies also found his range, scoring 16 points with five assists.
Johnson and Davies will likely form a potent scoring combination for the Wolves during the 2025-26 campaign, but they should have plenty of support.
Wyatt Tedrick, the third returning starter, had nine points and five rebounds in the opener and sophomore Grant Chittum picked up seven points with four steals.
Ely also got a boost from eighth-grader Jacob Vanderbeek, who knocked down three second-half three-pointers and wound up with nine points in his first varsity action.
The Wolves dominated and sent the game into running time in the second half. “Falls has been a place we have always struggled at and it was nice to go there and play well,” said McDonald.
• Tuesday’s game with Floodwood was postponed because of weather concerns and was made up Thursday, after deadline. Ely also hosted Mesabi East on Friday.
• The week ahead may be one of the most difficult of the regular season, starting with a Monday night matchup, on the road, with number-one ranked Class A powerhouse Cherry.
Road tilts with North Woods (Dec. 18) and Cook County (Dec. 19) follow, before some time off in advance of the annual Ely Holiday Tournament, slated for Dec. 29-30. Ely will be joined by Two Harbors, Cook County and Mt. Iron-Buhl at that event.
