CLOQUET— Under most circumstances, against most teams, the Timberwolves would have headed home from here last Friday night with another game in the win column.
“We actually played okay offensively,” said Ely Head Coach Tom McDonald. Ely senior Caid Chittum poured in 35 points, one of his best performances in weeks, while two other Ely players reached double digits. But a never-ending barrage of three-balls made the Ojibwe unstoppable as they outpaced the Wolves 97-79.
“We had no answer to their three-point shooting,” noted McDonald. “They were 18 of 28 on threes and it didn’t matter what defense we played they just shot the ball so well and every one of their starters shot well. We had only six turnovers so it was a pretty clean game for us and we shot okay, but not like they did.”
Chittum was red hot for Ely, shooting 15 of 20 from two-point range, but it wasn’t enough to keep pace with Fond du Lac’s outside shooting. Junior Jack Davies added 14 points for Ely, while junior Drew Johnson added 12. “Junior Tyler Fritz came off the bench to go three-for-three on threes to finish with nine,” said McDonald.
With the loss, Ely wraps up its regular season at 16-9, good for eighth seed in the Section 7A boys basketball playoffs. The Wolves were set to host 11th-seeded McGregor on Wednesday evening, after the Timberjay’s weekly press time. With a win, the Wolves would likely face a major challenge against three-seed Mt. Iron-Buhl on Saturday, March 8, at Esko High School. The Rangers were set to face 14th-seeded Nashwauk-Keewatin on Wednesday.