ELY — The referees doled out some late-game charity to the Ely boys on Tuesday, and the Timberwolves took full advantage by draining four free throws in the final minute for a thrilling comeback for a 68-67 home court win over Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin.
The game was a back-and-forth tussle, with the Wolves leading by one at the half, 43-42, but falling behind 53-47 with 12:40 remaining. Less than three minutes later, Ely was back up 54-53, courtesy of the hot hand of Jack Davies, who drained a trey, a pair of free throws, and a mid-range jumper. A triple by Grant Chittum gave Ely a 64-59 edge with 6:35 left, but the Titans came roaring back with an 8-0 run and led 67-64 with just over three minutes to go.
But Ely’s stingy zone defense slammed the door closed from there, holding the Titans scoreless the rest of the way and setting up the dramatic final minute comeback. Davies was fouled in the backcourt with 54 seconds on the clock and went to the foul line, making the first and missing the second. A ball-handling error by the Titans leading to a backcourt violation gave the ball back to the Wolves with 35 seconds remaining.
Drew Johnson took the inbound pass and was fouled driving to the bucket. He calmly stepped to the line and tied the game with a pair of charities and 31 seconds left. The Titans tried to run the clock down for a final shot, but Johnson and Wyatt Tedrick double-teamed the ball handler, and Tedrick came away with the steal. Racing to the other end of the floor, Tedrick was fouled with three seconds remaining. The home fans grew tense as Tedrick’s first charity shot clanged off the rim, but with the game on the line the second dropped in to give Ely a 68-67 lead. After a time-out, the Titans tried a long inbound pass that Davies intercepted at the free throw line, and he dribbled out the clock for the big win.
Ely Head Coach Tom McDonald was pleased with his team’s resilience under pressure.
“They jumped out to a 9-0 lead after hitting three threes and I thought we recovered well after that,” McDonald said. “Jack really shot well in the first half and kept us in the game. He hit six threes in the first half and had 20 points.”
And he had plenty of praise for the team’s game-ending push.
“We played well defensively and made some big stops late in the game,” he said. “The steal by Wyatt was huge and I was impressed that he hit the second free throw after missing the first. It was nice getting the win against a big, athletic team.”
Davies led the team in scoring with 30, followed by Johnson with 18, and Tedrick with 13. Arturo Cameron came up big for Ely on the glass with ten rebounds.
Ely Holiday Classic
The Wolves started strong but ended weak in back-to-back games in the Ely Holiday Classic, upsetting previously unbeaten Two Harbors 59-48 on Dec. 29 before falling 80-55 to Cook County on Dec. 30.
Johnson poured in 32 points to lead the Timberwolves past Two Harbors.
Ely was tied with Cook County at halftime the following night, but the Vikings opened the second half with three straight three-pointers and pulled away. Davies scored 21 points while Johnson added 18.