Devils lose opener; Panthers beat rival Gladiators

SOLON SPRINGS, Wis. — Solon Springs defeated Ironwood 66-52 in the season opener for the Red Devils’ boys basketball team Monday night.

Ironwood coach Pete Lewinski said the game was close throughout the first half, but Solon Springs went up by seven points by halftime.

"But we came out flat in the second half and they went ahead by 12 points," Lewinski said. "We cut it to 54-47, but that's the closest we got. Their big guy (Jens Gehl) was real good. He had 23 points and we had no answer for him."

Lewinski said Tony Wiemeri was "the bright spot" for Ironwood with 18 points, including four 3's. Lewinski said Cody Schwartz, Ethan Roehm and Tommy Lundin did some good things in the game.

"We had 26 turnovers and that's too many to win a game," Lewinski said. "We got out-rebounded 46-35 and didn't ball-handle well or run our offense well."

Ironwood (0-1, 0-1) hosts South Shore in another conference game on Thursday at 7:15. South Shore has most everyone back from last year's team and is considered one of the favorites in the Indianhead Conference.

Solon Springs — Jens Gehl 23, Aaron Pfister 1, Caden Smith 9, Chase Latvila 15, Nicholas Zofel 14, Christian Zelwood 5. FT's: 16-39, Fouls: 14, Fouled out: none, 3-pointers: Latvila 3, Smith 1..

Ironwood — Ian Averitt 5, Jacob Joki 2, Griffen Revoyr 10, Tony Wiemeri 18, Ethan Roehm 2, Josh Joki 3, Cody Schwartz 4, Tommy Lundin 4, David Benson 4. FT's: 8-13, Fouls: 26, Fouled out: Revoyr, 3-pointers: Wiemeri 4, Josh Joki 1, Revoyr 1.

Solon Springs 37 66

Ironwood 30 52

—Pat Krause

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REPUBLIC — Wakefield-Marenisco played well in its season opener rolling over Republic-Michigamme 69-43 in a Copper Mountain battle on Monday night.

Coach Terry Fetters said Republic-Michigamme started out well, hit some shots and took a 7-3 lead early one.

"We started slow," Fetters said. "I think we had the first game jitters. In the second quarter, we did a little better and got stronger as the game went on. We may have taken them a little lightly. They are better than other years."

W-M's Mason Saubert had an outstanding shooting night scoring 24 points with six triples. "Jacob Suzik was a beast inside making 10-12 field goals and he dominated the inside," Fetters said. Tony Merconti made a 3 and played aggressive defense for us. He had a good game."

The Cardinals (1-0, 1-0) host Bessemer in a rivalry game on Thursday at 6:30.

Republic-Michigamme — River Schumate 5, Dillon Hannenan 12, Chris Morgan 6, Kasey Bell 8, Jake Carlson 8, Andrew Bolander 4. FT's: 11-22, Fouls: 22, Fouled out: Bell, 3-pointers:Hanneman 2.

Wakefield-Marensico — Bailey Ribich 12, Jacob Suzik 22, Mason Saubert 24, Erik Hakamaki , Jake Lane 3, Tyler Merconti 7. FT's: 17-26, Fouls: 20, Fouled out: Brett Heil, 3-pointers: Saubert 6, Ribich 2, Lane 1, Merconti 1.

W-M 12 28 46 69

R-M 9 21 35 43

—Pat Krause

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Ewen — In another back-and-forth contest in the Ewen-Trout Creek and Ontonagon rivalry, the Panthers persevered 53-48 in a Copper Country conference game Monday in Ewen.

"All the games have been like that," E-TC coach Brad Besonen said. "It's hard to get any kind of separation."

Jake Witt led the Panthers with 28 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. He showcased his versatility by knocking down two 3s and slamming home multiple dunks.

"The first half he was really sticking jumpers and his pull-ups were falling," Besonen said. "He got to the rim really well."

With E-TC's Noah Nordine dealing with foul trouble, E-TC was left with just two bigs and forced to play Witt and Jaden Borseth for much of the game. Both teams' offense trailed off as the night went on. After a 38-35 E-TC halftime lead, the teams combined for just 28 second-half points with the Panthers holding a 15-13 advantage.

"You could tell everyone was starting to feel their legs in the second half and neither team shot well," Besonen said.

Tanner Balcomb led the Gladiators with 17 points, and James Domitrovich added 11 points.

"Balcomb has a good mid-range jumper, and he can put it on the floor and get to the rim, too," Besonen said.

The Gladiators had success slipping their big men on screens to beat the E-TC defense, forcing Besonen to go to a 2-3 zone. From there, the Panthers were able to limit Ontonagon's inside attack. Ontonagon's duo of Domitrovich and Balcomb combined for just five second-half points.

"We did a good job of taking away free-throw line extended and the blocks where they were having success," Besonen said.

Next, E-TC will head to Hancock on Thursday; Ontonagon goes to Republic on the same day.

Ontonagon — Polakowski 5, Weisinger 2, Domitrovich 11, Buzzo 2, Howard 2, Menigoz 3, Blake 3, Balcomb 17. F: 10; Fouled out: None; Free throws: 7-13; 3-point field goals: Balcomb, Menigoz, Domitrovich.

E-TC — Eli Nordine 8, Driesenga 2, Noah Nordine 6, Jaden Borseth 9, Witt 28. F: 14; Fouled out: None; Free throws: 4-7; 3-point field goals: Witt 2, Jaden Borseth, Noah Nordine, Eli Nordine.

Ontonagon 13 35 42 48

E-TC 18 38 47 53

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CHASSELL — The Chassell Panthers wasted no time getting the 2017-18 season started. Chassell outscored Watersmeet 34-9 in the first quarter before cruising to a 72-30 Copper Country conference victory Monday in Chassell.

Elijah Soumis led the Panthers with 21 points, while Abe Gockenbach added 13 points. The Panthers shot 52 percent from the field and were 3 of 6 from 3-point range.

"Great way to start the season for us," Chassell coach Bill Sleeman said.

Devin Kinnunen paced the Panthers with 11 rebounds, and Aaron Barnes tallied eight rebounds.

Next, Chassell hosts Baraga on Thursday.

Watersmeet — Barajas 2, McKinney 4, Geshick 2, Winkka 9, T. McGeshick 2, Romenesko 3, Caron 8. F: 7; Fouled out: None; Free throws: 5-6; 3-point field goals: Caron 2, Romenesko.

Chassell — Warren 6, Hokenson 8, Gockenbach 13, Kytta 7, Barnes 7, Tuomi 4, Soumis 21, Kinnunen 6. F: 6; Fouled out: None; Free throws: 5-7; 3-point field goals: Gockenbach, Kytta, Barnes.

Watersmeet 9 14 21 30

Chassell 34 46 66 72