FIELD TWP — There’s no place like home when a team is trying to shake off a losing streak that stretched back to December, and the North Woods boys took full advantage of the opportunity by dominating Fond du Lac on Thursday, 96-57, and taking down International Falls on Tuesday, 77-68.

It’s rare that a 4-10 team would be the favorite in a road game, but with a 68-54 win against the Grizzlies in early January, the Ogichidaa of Fond du Lac had the edge on paper against 2-17 North Woods.

But that’s why they play the games, and the Grizzlies came to play in this one. TaySean Boshey-Wilkerson got North Woods on the board first with a rainbow trey, but the score remained close with the Grizzlies leading 11-8 at the 12:29 mark.

That’s when North Woods put the hammer down, delivering a bone-crunching 17-0 run over the next four minutes that included scores by Cedar Holman, Omari Mohamed, Elias Sheffer, Andrew Hartway, and two more triples by Boshey-Wilkerson. It was an emphatic “not in our house” statement that set the tone for the rest of the game, as the Ogichidaa continued to struggle against a swarming North Woods defense that turned rebounds and turnovers into points on the other end of the court. The Grizzlies led 49-26 at the break and were nearly as dominant in the second half as they cruised to their first win since Dec. 15, 96-57.

Nowhere was the beatdown better evidenced than on the boards, where North Woods outrebounded Fond du Lac 51-26. Half of the Grizzlies’ points came in the paint, contributing to a red-hot 49-percent shooting average, while North Woods also hit 36 percent of their three-point attempts.

There were plenty of points to go around in this one, with Boshey-Wilkerson leading the way with 23 points and five triples. Holman drained 20, Mohamed notched 19, and Hartway added 18.

 

I-Falls

If Thursday’s win was sweet, Tuesday’s win over the Broncos may have been even sweeter in the way the Grizzlies beat the Class AA foes from the north, dishing out as many blows as they took and wresting control late to claim the nine-point win.

The Grizzlies pulled even at 14-14 on consecutive treys by Boshey-Wilkerson, but were trailing again at 27-20 with about five minutes left in the half. Baskets by Mohamed, Holman, and Boshey-Wilkerson and a free throw by Hartway reeled the Broncos back in, cutting the I-Falls lead to 29-27. The Broncos expanded the lead to six, but a triple by Boshey-Wilkerson and a steal and score by Mohamed in the last 22 seconds of the half made the deficit just one at the half, 33-32.

North Woods grabbed the edge early in the second half on scores by Mohamed, Sheffer, and Boshey-Wilkerson, taking a six-point lead at 41-36. But no lead was safe, as the Broncos were back in front 49-48 with 11 minutes left. The lead changed hands multiple times after that until a Sheffer charity gave North Woods a slender 58-57 lead with just over six minutes remaining, and the Grizzlies would not trail again. The Broncos were within two at 70-68 with a minute and a half left when Boshey-Wilkerson and Hartway stepped up big to give North Woods some breathing room. After Boshey-Wilkerson drained a pair of charities, Hartway made a critical shot block on the other end, and Boshey-Wilkerson raced downcourt with the ball for a layup that made the score 74-68. Hartway’s play was part of a final defensive effort that shut out the Broncos in the last 90 seconds of the game as the Grizzlies claimed a hard-fought second consecutive win, 77-68.

Boshey-Wilkerson was on a tear for the Grizzlies, scorching the net for six trifectas and scoring a whopping 32 points to lead all scorers in the game. Holman and Sheffer were the other two players in double digits for North Woods with 12 each.

This young Grizzlies team is benefitting from continued hard work despite the long losing streak, showing a higher level of confidence and precision in their offensive sets and passing while stepping up their play on defense. A Friday home contest against 1-18 Mesabi East was an opportunity for the Grizzlies to add another to the win column before entering a slate of four tough opponents to close out the regular season.