HIBBING- An exciting season of North Woods boys basketball came to an inglorious end on Saturday in Hibbing, where the Grizzlies were overwhelmed by powerhouse Cherry 97-39.
The highlight of the day for Grizzlies fans was North Woods junior Mya Kinsey performing the national anthem – things went south for the Grizzlies quickly from there.
The Tigers roared out of the box with a devastating 18-0 run to start the game. When senior Jonah Burnett finally got the Grizzlies on the board five minutes into the game, any hopes North Woods fans had of hanging close with the Tigers were replaced with questions of how bad the final beatdown might be. Everything was working for Cherry, from their inside scoring game to star Isaac Asuma draining NBA-range three pointers. North Woods could manage only a free throw by Burnett and a pair of charities by Evan Kajala as the Tigers steamrolled their way to a 36-5 advantage. A deuce and a trey by Talen Jarshaw got the Grizzlies to double digits at 39-10, but the Tigers weren’t about to loosen their grip on the game, largely holding the Grizzlies in check with dominating defense as they kept pouring on the points to lead by a crushing 62-19 at the half.
Luke Will had a driving score to get the Grizzlies on the board first in the second half, but for the next 11 minutes Burnett was the only offense for North Woods, hitting a trey, three deuces and three free throws. Cherry sent in their first wave of reserves with 12 minutes remaining, leading 87-28, and went deeper into its bench after the clock started running continuosly. Louie Panichi finally broke into the scoring column with a pair of charities with six minutes to go, North Woods reserve John Carlson tallied a free throw, and Keenan Whitney canned a trey from the top of the key for the Grizzlies’ final hoop of the season in the 97-39 loss.
Burnett scored almost half of the team’s points with 19, as the Tigers held scoring threats Will and Panichi to single digits and well below their season averages. Cherry put five players into double figures, led by Asuma with five three balls and 21 points.
It’s the second consecutive year the Tigers have bounced the Grizzlies out of the sectional tourney in the quarterfinals, last year winning 105-76 on the way to the Class A state championship.
Chisholm
After a heated narrow 80-78 win at Chisholm on Feb. 23, the atmosphere in the standing room only gym at North Woods last Thursday for the rematch was electric with anticipation of another extreme battle. What they got instead was a full display of the Grizzlies’ offensive and defensive prowess, as the home team scored a decisive 79-57 win.
The final margin in no way reflected the intensity of play on the court. This was full-speed high energy basketball, with the Bluestreaks grabbing an early 6-5 edge. But two baskets by Burnett, a fast break and a drive by Panichi, and a Burnett dunk fueled a 10-2 run that put North Woods up 15-8, and the Grizzlies never trailed again. Defending the perimeter against the three-ball that had been Chisholm’s most effective weapon in the first game, the Grizzlies made the Bluestreaks play their game at their tempo as they gradually pulled out to a 38-35 lead at the half.
A pair of Chisholm treys gave the Bluestreaks’ fans hope that they would start lighting it up from outside, but the Grizzlies remained firmly in control. An acrobatic drive by Hartway, a pair of charities by Burnett and a hoop by Evan Kajala put North Woods up by 21 at the nine minute mark, 64-43, and with reserves collecting ample playing time late, the Grizzlies closed out the 79-57 win to advance to the quarterfinal round of the tourney.
Turnovers illustrate just how intense the struggle was, as North Woods turned the ball over 24 times while forcing 29 Chisholm errors. The Grizzlies had a solid edge in turning those miscues into points, however, outscoring Chisholm 29-10.
Burnett once again led the North Woods scoring attack with 27 points. Panichi was close behind with 22, and Will had 11.
Burnett has been near the top of the MN Boys Basketball Hub list of state scoring leaders for all classes this season, and was ranked sixth on Tuesday after weekend sectional play. At 813 points for the season and with lower-ranking players also done for the season, Burnett will finish in the top ten in the state and may well have enough of an edge to hold on to sixth.
The Grizzlies finished the season with a record of 22-6, improving on last season’s 17-11 mark.