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Wolves top Lions, then bow out due to COVID

Jordan Price
Posted 3/24/21

ELY— During most playoff runs, only one team can claim to have ended with a win. Ely found another route to that claim, however, after an outbreak of COVID ended their playoff run after a …

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Wolves top Lions, then bow out due to COVID

Posted

ELY— During most playoff runs, only one team can claim to have ended with a win. Ely found another route to that claim, however, after an outbreak of COVID ended their playoff run after a first-round 65-50 victory over Lakeview Christian last Thursday.
Ely struggled to field a team as it was against Lakeview. The Timberwolves were missing nearly half of their team along with two starters, and it made for a closer contest than might otherwise have been the case against the Lions.
“We were down to four varsity players to start the game along with four guys brought up from the JV team, so it was quite the game we played with that lineup,” said Head Coach Tom McDonald.
Indeed, the game was a nail-biter throughout the first half with the teams knotted at 28 at the break. The Wolves grabbed some breathing room early in the second half with a 10-0 run, fueled by eight straight points, including two treys, from seventh-grader Jack Davies.
But senior Emmett Faltesek, in what turned out to be the final game of his high school basketball career, led the way offensively with a career-high 31 points. Senior Brock LaTourell notched 15 points while senior Will Davies added ten. Senior Riley Bishop collected nine rebounds and Gavin Marshall added five boards in his first varsity action.
But the latest COVID outbreak, which has spread like wildfire through the Ely schools, forced the team to call it quits after last week’s game. A much-anticipated rematch with rival North Woods, that had been set for Saturday night, was canceled as the Wolves were forced to bow out of the Section 7A playoffs.
The Wolves ended their season with an impressive 12-6 record.