ELY — The final regular season game for the Ely boys provided a preview of their first round matchup in the Section 7A tournament that started Wednesday, with the Wolves winning the front end of the double bill over Fond du Lac at home, 60-43.
Senior guard Tyler Fritz got the start alongside fellow seniors Jack Davies and Drew Johnson, and early on it looked like the Wolves might run the Ogichidaag out of the gym with a 13-5 lead, but Fond du Lac steadied the ship and made a game of it in the first half. A Johnson putback with five minutes left had the Wolves up by 12, but by halftime Fond du Lac had cut that to seven at 32-25.
In the second half the Wolves’ shooting warmed up and coupled with stout defense they gradually pulled away for the 60-43 senior night win. Johnson led the team with a big double-double, 27 points and 13 rebounds.
Wyatt Tedrick scored 20.
“It is always tough to see Senior Night come and go because these guys have done a lot to put our team where it is at now,” said Ely Head Coach Tom McDonald. “Tyler had a really nice shooting game, which was great to see, and he also had a nice game defensively. Jack has been in an Ely varsity uniform for a long, long time, a five-year starter, so it was difficult to see him play his last regular season game here. And Drew has had a phenomenal senior season and has been so good for us on both ends of the floor.”
As for the game itself, McDonald noted the team’s slow start.
“It was a bit of a struggle in the first half – we shot really poorly but played defense well,” he said. “The second half we continued to play good defense but definitely shot the ball better. We didn’t allow FDL to get going at the three-point line, which is big against them. I thought the aggressiveness of Wyatt was key again and Drew really shot well throughout the game.”
Seeded fifth, the Wolves drew another home matchup against No. 12 Fond du Lac on Wednesday.
The winner of that game will take on the winner of the Barnum and Hill City/Northland game on Saturday in Hibbing.
Update
The Wolves scored a  78-50 win over Fond du Lac on Wednesday to advance to the next round of the tournament on Saturday.