BIGFORK— North Woods junior guard Cade Goggleye hit his 1,000th career point here on Tuesday night, helping to lead the Grizzlies to a 77-59 victory over the Huskies. A fast start for the Grizzlies made the difference as they jumped out to an 18-2 lead in the first quarter, and held onto that margin the rest of way.

“Our defensive pressure created some opportunities,” said North Woods Head Coach Will Kleppe. Senior forward Tate Olson led all scorers, with 24 points, followed by Goggleye, with 18.

The Grizzlies took a 42-23 lead into halftime, a margin that the Huskies managed to trim to 11 thanks to five unanswered points with about eight minutes left in the game. But Kleppe called a timeout to slow Bigfork’s momentum and the Grizzlies responded with a seven-point run of their own to reclaim their comfortable margin.

Despite playing on the road, Goggleye had plenty of supporters on hand to witness his scoring milestone, which came during the second half. His family and friends almost didn’t get the chance. Goggleye had started the season needing 69 points to reach 1,000, and would almost certainly have reached the mark in the Grizzlies’ first game of the season had Kleppe not pulled him with ten minutes remaining. Goggleye had put on a scoring performance rarely seen in high school sports against a young South Ridge team in their season opener on Nov. 30. Goggleye racked up 15 three-pointers and a total of 62 points despite polishing the bench for much of the second half, leading his team to a 117-27 victory over the Panthers.

Kleppe said he wanted Goggleye’s family there to celebrate his milestone, and they had been unable to attend the game at South Ridge. “No one thought he would reach his 69 points in the first game,” said Kleppe. Goggleye’s blowout performance put him in the top five for most points scored in a high school basketball game in Minnesota, and tied for second for the most three-pointers in a single game.

So Goggleye reached his mark in Bigfork instead, with plenty of fans on hand to watch.

While Goggleye’s recent scoring has been impressive, the Grizzlies clearly don’t depend on any one or two big scorers. “We had nine guys score last night,” said Kleppe on Wednesday. In addition to Olson and Goggleye, senior guard Brendan Parson added 12 points, and Chase Kleppe and Trevor Morrison added seven apiece. Isaiah Squires and Ian Sherman each added three, Tanner Lokken added two, and T.J. Chiabotti scored one.

Nine players also scored in the Grizzlies’ blowout at South Ridge last Thursday. In addition to Goggleye, Olson tallied ten points, Dylan Chiabotti and Sherman scored nine apiece, and Squires added eight. Morrison added five and Parson tallied three.

The Grizzlies are on the road Friday, at Fond du Lac. before starting an eight-game home stand. They’ll host Nashwauk-Keewatin on Tuesday and welcome the Ely Timberwolves next Friday. Tip-off both nights is at 7:15 p.m.