ELY— Two Timberwolves players tallied career highs here Tuesday night and junior Joey Bianco was one rebound short of a triple-double as Ely wrapped up the Wrens 73-51 to improve their record to 9-6.
“It was a great team effort against a quality opponent,” said Ely Head Coach Tom McDonald. Four Ely players hit double digits in scoring, the first time that’s happened all season. Junior Jason Kerntz led the team, with a career high 21 points, and senior Mason Davis hit a career-high 14 points. Bianco, who has been Ely’s leading scorer this season, connected for 19 points, and added ten assists and nine boards, for an impressive overall performance. Senior Harry Simons added 16 points to round out the double-digit scoring for Ely. Junior Erron Anderson led in rebounds, with ten.
Tuesday’s win was the second in a row against strong competition. The Wolves, on Saturday, edged visiting Duluth-Marshall 58-56 in a hard-fought contest that came down to the final seconds. “We played well defensively and hit some big shots down the stretch against one of the better teams in our section,” said McDonald.
Ely had the opportunity to pull away at times, but they struggled at the charity stripe, hitting just two of ten tries. “We’ll need to get better at that,” said McDonald.
Bianco had a big game, pouring in 30 of Ely’s 58 points. Simons added 16 points and Davis added ten, while Anderson again tallied ten boards.
The Wolves were set to host Littlefork-Big Falls on Friday. They’ll face Carlton on the road on Tuesday.