For Wolves, two out of three isn’t bad

Despite a tough loss in triple-overtime, Ely’s high school boys basketball team was largely satisfied with its performance in the 13th Annual Ely Holiday Tournament.The Timberwolves finished second in the four-team round-robin event, winning two contests and having several chances to win a third.After an opening round victory over Two Harbors, the Wolves fell 64-58 in three overtimes to tournament champion Cromwell on Dec. 29, then finished off the tournament with a 78-72 victory over Silver Bay the following day.“It was a surprise,” said Ely Head Coach Tom McDonald. “Coming in and knowing that Two Harbors was winless I thought we were going to get one, but to win two and almost get three, that was big for us.”Ely’s middle game in the three-day event was its most exciting.The Wolves led Cromwell (8-1) for much of the second half and part of the second overtime session, but the Cardinals persevered and held on until outscoring Ely 7-1 in the third extra-session.Ely gave the Cardinals a run despite the absence of two key players. Sophomore guard Pat Lekatz was injured against Two Harbors and missed the rest of the tournament, while senior Nick Furnstahl was in foul trouble for much of the game.Eric McDonald led the Wolves with 20 points, but Ely got big outings from sophomores Bryan Cole (12 points) and Ben Povhe (11). Sophomore guard A.J. Pope also logged extensive minutes for the first time this season, and a fourth sophomore - Jacob Wognum - continued to provide inside help off the bench.The teams were tied at 20 at the half and Ely opened up a slight lead in the second stanza.Cromwell, which got 17 points from John Ammesmaki, came back down the stretch to force overtime.“We had the ball with a two point lead and turned it over,” said Tom McDonald.It was 54-54 after the first overtime and Ely led 57-55 in the second overtime but couldn’t hang on to the lead.Cromwell finally took over in the third overtime.Steve Milkovich added seven points and Furnstahl wound up with three for Ely.“I thought our matchup defense caused a lot of problems for them,” said Tom McDonald.Ely 78, Silver Bay 72The finale presented a contrast in styles.Silver Bay had the big edge down low with 6-6 Jack Connor and 6-5 Steve Rohloff, while the Wolves countered with a three-point shooting barrage.In the end, Ely hit just enough three-pointers to prevail.Eric McDonald and Ben Povhe combined for 15 treys and 62 points as the Wolves pulled it out.“They were so big inside, what else were we going to do?” asked Tom McDonald.Ely went 15-for-44 from beyond the arc in the game, and hot streaks from Povhe and Eric McDonald were the difference.Povhe, who had a career-high 26 points, had five triples in the first half as Ely led 36-35.Silver Bay went on a 9-2 run to take a 44-38 lead early in the second half, but the Wolves countered with a 26-5 run of their own, punctuated by long-distance bombs from both Eric McDonald and Povhe.Eric McDonald had a game-high 36 points and was perfect (nine-for-nine) from the free throw line.Rohloff scored 28 points and Connor poured in 24 for the Mariners (3-5).After the tournament, Ely was off until a Friday night home game against Littlefork-Big Falls. The Wolves are at Babbitt-Embarrass Tuesday night.“At the beginning of the year, we had a bunch of new kids and no idea how competitive we might be,” said Tom McDonald. “I like where we are and what direction we’re going right now.”