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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

North Woods, Ely to play Wednesday in sectional semi

David Colburn
Posted 3/8/20

HIBBING- The third-seeded Ely Timberwolves and second-seeded North Woods Grizzlies will do battle at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday at Hibbing Memorial Arena for the right to advance to the Class A Section 7 …

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North Woods, Ely to play Wednesday in sectional semi

Posted

HIBBING- The third-seeded Ely Timberwolves and second-seeded North Woods Grizzlies will do battle at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday at Hibbing Memorial Arena for the right to advance to the Class A Section 7 boys final and a shot at qualifying for the state tournament.

Ely followed up an 84-46 trouncing of Hill City on Mar. 4 with a hard-fought 73-58 win Saturday over Mountain Iron-Buhl to reach the semifinal. The Rangers refused to go quietly, as the game was hotly contested until the Timberwolves staged a late second-half surge to pull away.

North Woods, playing without forward Trevor Morrison, easily handled Cook County 93-67 on Mar. 4. Morrison returned to the lineup Saturday as the Grizzlies dominated the second half en route to an 88-63 triumph over Carlton.

Ely enters the semifinal contest with a 23-5 record; North Woods stands at 22-6. North Woods won the Dec. 13 regular-season matchup between the two, 77-66.

Both teams have been offensive juggernauts for much of the season. In wins against mutual opponents, the Grizzlies have prevailed by an average margin of victory of 39 points. The Timberwolves’ wins have been by an average of 26.

Each lost to Class AA Greenway – the T’wolves by 69-43, the Grizzlies by 71-63.

Top seeded Nashwauk-Keewatin and fifth-seeded Fond du Lac Ojibwe will play in the other Wednesday game. Semifinal winners will square off in the tourney final at 7 p.m. Friday at Hibbing Memorial Arena.

Look for individual reports of Saturday’s games and Wednesday’s semifinal on our website, timberjay.com.