ELY— Timberwolves shooters were as cold as ice at times here on Tuesday, but that didn’t keep them from overpowering Silver Bay in a 60-27 rout to improve their record to 14-11 with just one game remaining in the regular season.
“We jumped out to a 24-1 lead and never looked back,” said Ely Head Coach Tom McDonald. “We played well defensively all night and fought through some bad shooting to get the win.”
Junior guard Joey Bianco was on target, as usual, pouring in 28 points to outpace the entire Silver Bay team. Bianco, who surpassed the 1,000-point mark last week in a game against South Ridge, has led Ely consistently all season. He added nine rebounds and seven assists in Tuesday night’s contest, while senior guard Harry Simons added 13 points and junior forward Erron Anderson posted nine boards.
But other Ely shooters struggled much of the night. “We were three for 28 on three-pointers and will need to shoot much better than that to finish the season,” said McDonald.
Bianco had another big game on Saturday, scoring 30 points and grabbing six rebounds as Ely hosted Mt. Iron-Buhl, now 14-2 in the section. Ely put up a battle, but the Rangers came away with a 78-70 win. Even so, McDonald saw plenty that he liked. “It was nice to see us compete with one of the better teams in the section,” he said. Simons also had a strong night, posting 23 points and six rebounds, while Anderson grabbed his usual seven boards.
On the road last Friday, Ely struggled with South Ridge’s inside height, falling 64-49 to the Panthers. The score belied a game that was actually close until the final minutes. “They pulled away in the middle of the second half,” said McDonald. “We just couldn’t handle their size as they have two 6’-9” players inside.”
Bianco led the way for Ely, scoring 20 points, including his 1,000th, which came early in the second half. He posted seven rebounds as well.
The Wolves will host Fond du Lac Friday night in what looks to be their final home game of the season. McDonald said he expects Ely will be seeded tenth in the Section 7A playoffs, which start next Thursday, so they’ll likely be on the road. Most likely opening round opponents include either Northland-Remer, Chisholm, or South Ridge.