FIELD TWP- Coming off a Friday loss at Red Lake, the North Woods boys basketball team took out any lingering frustrations on a hapless Nashwauk-Keewatin five at home on Tuesday, winning 75-33 in a contest that wasn’t as close as the final score suggests.
Stifling full-court pressure was the key as the Grizzlies scratched and clawed their way to a 17-0 lead before the Spartans finally connected on a hail Mary three-ball at the 11:54 mark. N-K wouldn’t sink another shot from the field until the second half.
This was the same N-K lineup that beat North Woods by 39 points in summer league action, albeit without many of the Grizzlies’ regulars on the floor, but still, the turnaround was stark and impressive. When the Grizzlies weren’t scoring on fast breaks generated by steals and turnovers their offense was crisp. Whether it was Louie Panichi slashing down the lane, Talen Jarshaw scoring on the baseline, or Jonah Burnett ripping the net from beyond the arc, North Woods was nearly unstoppable. Burnett’s three-ball at the 6:18 mark put the Grizzlies up 38-3, and he followed that with another trey and a breakaway dunk that brought roars from the home crowd. The only mercy the Spartans received was the halftime buzzer and time to lick their wounds from being pummeled 52-7 in the first half.
Evan Kajala got the Grizzlies rolling in the second half with a corner trey, but the Spartans answered right back with a deuce, a sign the second half wouldn’t be quite as dominating for North Woods. With Grizzlies Head Coach Andrew Jugovich substituting liberally, the defense was a bit more porous and the offense not as sharp. North Woods was up by 51 points, 71-20, when Jugovich emptied his bench, and the Spartans responded with a token run in the final four minutes to pull within 42 at the finish.
Burnett led the Grizzlies in scoring with 23 first-half points and 27 for the game, followed by Jarshaw with 18 and Panichi with 11.
Jugovich was enthusiastic about the Grizzlies’ first half smackdown, but less so about the second half.
“We played really good defense the first half with plenty of steals and fast breaks,” he said. “In the second half I wanted them to be hungry, but it’s hard playing with a massive lead. To be great you have to be able to keep the intensity up no matter what, whether you’re down 50 or up 50.”
Red Lake wins 95-68
The Red Lake Warriors couldn’t have been much hotter from the field than they were when North Woods came calling last Friday, and the Grizzlies had no answers, falling 95-68.
The game stats weren’t all in the Warriors’ favor. North Woods had more rebounds, more steals, fewer turnovers and fouls, and took eight more shots than the Warriors.
But it’s the shots that drop that count, and after North Woods took a 12-10 lead on a pair of Burnett free throws, Red Lake got hot while North Woods did not. The Warriors’ Gerald Kingbird Jr. brought the most heat, scorching the nets, shooting 15-of-24 with five three-pointers for 37 points. Red Lake knocked down 52.6 percent of their shots on the night overall as they slowly but surely put the squeeze on the Grizzlies, leading 40-26 at the half. North Woods couldn’t find the touch from the field, hitting just 31.4 percent, a performance hampered by a tough Red Lake defense that notched 13 blocked shots. The Grizzlies also had a subpar night at the charity stripe, going 9-of-20 for 45 percent.
Burnett had a strong game in a losing cause with 29 points, and Panichi and Luke Will had 13 each.
“They shot the lights out,” Jugovich said. “(Jack) Brown and Kingbird did not miss and a lot of them were contested shots, so I have to give it to them. If we make our shooting percentage and they’re not as hot, it’s a game.”
Jugovich did find a silver lining in the Grizzlies’ effort.
“We never gave up,” he said. “The fight was there, the diving on the floor, the hustle. The defense was there the entire time, no matter what. The boys never gave up.”
The Grizzlies were scheduled to be back on their home court Thursday against Moose Lake, followed by a Friday road tilt against Northland-Remer. North Woods will be on the road again on Monday against Carlton-Wrenshall, their last game before the holiday winter break. The Grizzlies are entered in the Chisholm Holiday Tourney on Dec. 29-30.