The Ely Timberwolves just couldn’t hang on.
The high school boys basketball team’s bid to return to the section semifinals for the first time in six years was cut short at the end of a wild Section 7A quarterfinal match up, as Barnum stormed back in the final five minutes to pull out a 67-66 victory over the Wolves Saturday afternoon at the Hibbing Memorial Arena.
Barnum, the number-four seed, erased a 58-48 deficit in the final five minutes, ratcheting up its pressure defense to stun the fifth-seeded Wolves.
Ely, which finished 21-8, nearly tied it up at the end of regulation but Drew Johnson’s long-range bomb was ruled a two-pointer instead of three and the Wolves came up a point short.
“We were up 10 with 5:10 left, and we had only four turnovers up to that point,” said Ely Head Coach Tom McDonald. “Right around that time they put on a full court press, and we had five turnovers.”
Barnum (23-5) took a 62-61 lead late in the contest and the margin held up, and the Bombers moved on to a 7A semifinal date with top-seeded and defending champion Cherry.
Ely, which tangled with Barnum for the first time in more than 40 years, came out firing early with Johnson leading the way, The senior hit six three-pointers in the opening half and had 23 points in the first stanza and 27 in the game.
“Drew hit those threes in the first half and kept us ahead,” said McDonald.
The Wolves were up 28-24 at halftime and slowly built that lead. Barnum, which had a huge size advantage, countered and took a 48-47 edge and Ely responded with an 11-0 run powered in part by senior Jack Davies.
Ely grabbed a 58-48 lead and its fans smelled an upset, but the Bombers soon regained the advantage with the help of their press.
Barnum closed the gap to 61-57 with 2:27 to go and took the lead following an Ely turnover with under two minute left.
“We turned one over right under the basket and they hit a couple of threes late,” said McDonald.
Barnum took a 67-64 lead and Ely got the ball back, with Johnson knocking down the basket that came just short of tying the game.
“We had three team fouls with 12 seconds left and we had to foul to get the ball back,” said McDonald. “Grant (Chittum) threw Drew a good pass and he weaved through, set his feet and nailed one, and one ref called it a three and one saw his foot on the line and called it a two.”
Johnson finished with a gamehigh 27 points and Davies nailed five three-pointers and added another 21 points. Ely finished 12for-31 from three-point range.
Sophomore Arturo Cameron finished with 10 points and four rebounds, while junior Wyatt Tedrick added eight points with six rebounds. Leo McKrahl also snared six rebounds for the Wolves.
Johnson also had 10 rebounds with five assists.
The loss ended a surprising season for the Wolves, who racked up 21 wins and picked up a playoff win in the process.
“I think this is one of the most overachieving teams I have had,” said McDonald, who has guided the program since 1990. “I didn’t expect this kind of season after losing Caid (Chittum). I didn’t know what direction we would go but we were competitive in almost every game. To get to 21 wins is remarkable.”
