Ely’s high school boys basketball team is finding its stride.
The Timberwolves ran their win streak to five games with back-to-back road triumphs in four days.
After a blowout 92-58 win against Hill City-Northland, Ely had to grind a bit on Tuesday but still emerged from Bigfork with a 69-60 victory.
The Wolves, who haven’t lost since a Dec. 30 holiday tournament encounter with Cook County, are now 9-3 overall and ranked sixth in a deep pack of contenders in Section 7A.
Three of the last four wins have also come away from the friendly confines of the Memorial Gymnasium.
“It was nice to get a couple of wins on the road at Remer and Bigfork,” said Ely Head Coach Tom McDonald. “We pulled away in the second half against HCN and probably shot the best of the season in the second half.”
Leading by just nine points at the half, the Wolves ran away from HCN in the second stanza, hitting nine threepoint baskets to open a huge lead.
“We hit nine threes that allowed us to stretch the lead and I thought we did a good job defensively against their size and athleticism,” said McDonald.
Senior Drew Johnson was the Wolves’ top scorer with 29 points, while fellow senior Jack Davies poured in another 27.
Wyatt Tedrick (11 points) and Leo McKrahl (10) both hit double figures and Max Brandriet snared nine rebounds.
The Wolves had a tougher time of it at Bigfork.
“It was a close game the entire way,” said McDonald. “We led by two at half and then made a run to get the lead up to 12 late in the second half...we took better care of the ball in the second half and also defended and rebounded better. Bigfork was quick and scrappy and played us well.”
Johnson again led the scoring chart with 26 points, while Tedrick (20) and Davies (14) were right behind to provide the bulk of Ely’s offense.
Sophomore Arturo Cameron had 10 rebounds for the Wolves.
• Ely blew out an overmatched team from Duluth’s Stella Maris Academy on Jan. 9, rolling 103-30.
The Wolves were up 13-0 before the Sentinels knew what hit them and it was 60-13 by halftime.
• Thursday’s game at Mt. Iron-Buhl, completed after deadline, was the first in a series of encounters for the Wolves in the next few days.
Home games with Duluth Marshall (Saturday) and North Woods (Monday) follow, and Ely travels to McGregor Tuesday before returning home for a Jan. 23, Winter Frolic Week contest against Littlefork-Big Falls.
