North Woods and Ely boys both advance in Section 7A tourney

REGIONAL— Both North Woods and Ely easily advanced in Section 7A boys basketball tournament action on Wednesday.

At the North Woods School, the top-seeded Grizzlies had little difficulty with South Ridge as they cruised to a 86-46 win over the sixteenth-seeded Panthers. Meanwhile, in Ely, the sixth-seeded Timberwolves looked solid in an 87-44 rout over Hill City.

Both teams now move forward to quarterfinal action on Saturday at UMD. North Woods will take on Mt. Iron-Buhl at 1 p.m., while Ely will face Lakeview Christian Academy at 7:15 p.m. LCA beat Ely 67-51 back on Feb. 12, so the Timberwolves will likely have their hands full against the third-seeded Lions, who finished the regular season at 15-7-1.

The Grizzlies routed MI-B 84-47 in their only previous meeting this season, back on Jan. 11.