Ely edges Knights, retains Brick

The Ely Timberwolves survived a late collapse Tuesday night, recovering in time to eke out a 71-69 high school boys basketball victory over Babbitt-Embarrass and retaining the Gold Brick in the process.After the Knights rattled off nine straight points to take a 69-68 lead with under a minute to play, Eric McDonald regained the lead for the Wolves on a drive to the basket.The senior, who led all scorers with 35 points, was fouled on the play but calmly sank two free throws with 28 seconds left. After a tie-up at center court put the ball back in the Wolves’ hands, McDonald added an insurance free throw.Babbitt-Embarrass (1-8) had one last chance, but Brett Bjornrud’s three-pointer rimmed out in the closing seconds.Ely (6-3), which won for the fifth time in six outings and held on to the newly-revived traveling trophy, seemed fortunate to escape the John F. Kennedy Gymnasium with a win.Head Coach Tom McDonald agreed.“I thought they outplayed us the whole way,” said McDonald. “I thought we played better games... But we could have just folded up when they came back. Somehow we got it done. Eric got fouled on the drive and I thought the tie-up was big, because it gave us another point.”After spotting the Knights a 13-4 lead in the opening four minutes, Ely came back to take a 38-31 lead by halftime.Eric McDonald had 17 points in the opening 18 minutes, while sophomore Ben Povhe drained three three-pointers and had 11 of his 12 points in the first stanza.Babbitt-Embarrass, which had four players reach double figures, was hampered by foul trouble and was hurt when junior Derek Siebert picked up three fouls in the first half.Eric McDonald hit back-to-back triples and the Wolves quickly opened up a double-digit lead in the second half.But the Wolves couldn’t put B-E away and the Knights hung around.Trailing 68-60 with 3:30 to play, the Knights warmed up. Brett Bjornrud’s three-pointer cut the gap to five and the Knights went to work on defense.Both Brett and Seth Bjornrud, as well as Siebert, came up with steals in the closing minutes.Siebert and Seth Bjornrud scored to cut the gap to one, and the Knights took the lead when Matt Goedderz drove down the lane and banked one in.The foul trouble came back to haunt the Knights at the end. Seth Bjornrud fouled out with just over a minute left while Siebert followed on McDonald’s game-winning drive.The Knights, who played without injured starter Tyler Blomberg, had a balanced attack with Goedderz topping the squad with 17 points, and Seth Bjornrud (16), Brett Bjornrud (15) and Siebert (14) right behind.“They’re in every game,” Tom McDonald said of the Knights. “They just haven’t found a way to get some wins.”For the Wolves, Povhe and Nick Furnstahl (11 points) reached double figures.Both Furnstahl and senior Ryan Bagnal had seven rebounds, and Eric McDonald dished out six assists.With the win, the Gold Brick stays in Ely’s hands until the 2006-2007 season. The Wolves beat Tower-Soudan for the traveling trophy and successfully defended against the Knights. No other schools are involved.Wolves 86, Littlefork-Big Falls 71Ely sizzled from the outside, knocking down 16 three-pointers (in 40 attempts), with Eric McDonald drilling eight on his way to a game-high 35 points.The teams traded runs, and the Vikings were within two points with six minutes left before the Wolves pulled away.Eric McDonald hit six straight free throws to help preserve the win.Pohve added four three-pointers and finished with 18 points. Pat Lekatz and Furnstahl had two triples each and added 14 and 12 points, respectively. Steve Milkovich poured in seven points.Ely led 41-39 at the half, but twice lost double-digit leads before salting the game away.“The last two games we’ve been giving up runs like crazy,” said Tom McDonald. “It seems like we get some breathing room and they storm right back.”