FIELD TWP — The North Woods boys extended their losing streak to six games this week as they tallied losses against Mt. Iron-Buhl on Friday, 88-31, and Littlefork-Big Falls on Tuesday, 83-42.
At home against the Rangers on Friday, North Woods got schooled on the art of team chemistry and passing as the more experience MIB squad sliced and diced their way to a commanding 29-8 lead, with North Woods getting scores from Caleb Rutchasky, Cedar Holman, and Elias Sheffer. The Grizzlies continued to struggle as the Rangers kept pouring it on, with a late 15-footer by Sheffer and a charity by Holman making the score 47-17 at the half.
Rutchasky got the Grizzlies out the blocks in the second half with a score on their first possession, but by the time Sheffer notched the teams second score, the Rangers had extended the lead to 48-21, with no signs of letting up. While the home crowd was subdued as the Rangers piled on points, they got a lift in the waning minutes when Elwood Spears stepped outside and canned a triple. TaySean Boshey-Wilkerson scored the Grizzlies’ last point from the free-throw line in the 88-31 loss.

Littlefork-Big Falls
The Grizzlies got on the board first against the Vikings when Boshey-Wilkerson intercepted a pass and drove the length of the court for a contested acrobatic layup. A mid-range jumper by Andrew Hartway put North Woods up 4-3. For the first three minutes, things were clicking on both sides of the ball for the Grizzlies, but over the next six minutes the Vikings took control. A scoreless streak from the floor finally ended with a Boshey-Wilkerson fast break that made the score 21-7. Spears gave North Woods a lift in the waning moments of the first half with a three-ball and a deuce under the bucket, but the Grizzlies were still looking at a 41-24 deficit at the break.
A 12-2 run by the Vikings to start the second half snuffed out any real possibility of a Grizzlies comeback, but North Woods continued to show good hustle, particularly on the offensive glass, where they often got multiple shots at the basket. But it was just too much LBF as the Grizzlies took their ninth loss of the season against two wins.
Scoring for the Grizzlies was not available by press time.