The Iron Mountain Mountaineers boys basketball team celebrates after winning the MHSAA Division 3 District 66 championship with a convincing 79-48 victory over Menominee on Saturday afternoon at the Mountaineer Gymnasium. Foster Wonders holds up the trophy above his teammates as head coach Harvey "Bucky" Johnson joins the celebration.(Theresa Proudfit/Daily News photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — Foster Wonders drained a career postseason-high 44 points, including eight three-pointers, as Iron Mountain overwhelmed Menominee, 79-48, in the MHSAA Division 3 District 66 championship game Saturday afternoon at the Mountaineers Gymnasium.

What looked to be a competitive game between two of the top five teams in the U.P. only lived up to that billing for a half.

“One we regrouped in the locker room, Foster said to the guys, ‘This is the last half of basketball we’re ever going to play in this gym,’ and that struck a chord with everyone, and we were all ready to go,” said Mountaineers veteran head coach Harvey “Bucky” Johnson.

At the start, both teams came out in man-to-man defense — a very aggressive, in-your-face type for Menominee.

“We hoped to stick to our game plan and make them play defense at first to feel things out,” said Menominee head coach Sam Larson. “We got some good looks at first, but we dug ourselves into a 12-5 hole.”

The Maroons were pushing the tempo, with point guard Aiden Bellisle — who scored 14 points — using a quick first step to get past IM defenders to the basket or dishing the ball to Cooper Conway down low.

Conway also scored 14 points in the contest.

Iron Mountain ran their offense in the customary way, working the ball around for Wonders, or passing to an open outside shooter. The home team took a six-point lead into the second stanza.

With the score 19-13 at the 5:47 mark of the second quarter, the Mountaineers made two quick baskets to prompt Larson to call a timeout. Despite Larson’s efforts to rally his team, Iron Mountain’s lead began to grow, eventually to double digits.

With 52.8 seconds remaining in the first half, and his team leading 34-23, Johnson called a timeout. On Menominee’s ensuing possession, Conway hit a three-pointer.

At the buzzer of the second quarter, Brody Waara of the Maroons hit a long trey to tighten up the Mountaineers’ halftime lead to seven points.

“I was happy with our lead going into halftime, because Menominee is a good basketball team,” Johnson said. “They have multiple guys that can score the basketball, and something you don’t see often is they have multiple guys that can shoot threes.”

As the third quarter began, Wonders immediately hit a three-pointer. The pace and momentum dramatically shifted in favor of the Mountaineers.

With a barrage of baskets and intense defense, the Mountaineers soon built a 25-point lead. Wonders scored 17 points in the third quarter alone.

“When the best player on the floor is the person mainly responsible for a scoring run like that, we have to try to limit their other players, and we couldn’t do that, either,” Larson said. “Things spiraled out of control for us.”

Wonders sits at 2,136 career points, 44 away from becoming the boys’ all-time leading scorer in U.P. history.

“Foster’s 44 points today, I hope nobody ever takes that lightly,” Johnson said. “Foster Wonders is an incredible basketball player and he and our team want us to keep this run going. The third quarter was an effort from everyone, even the assistant coaches on the bench. Marty (junior varsity coach Robin Marttila) and Kyle (Johnson) and Rick (Olds) each gave me something to use or was pointed out to me at different points,” Johnson said.

By the final quarter, the Maroons had fallen too far behind.

“The physicality of the game was a huge difference maker, especially (Bryce) Pietrantonio and (Jurgen) Kleiman, as well as their first-half offensive rebounds. That killed us,” Larson said. “Their role players are so good, too, that’s what makes Iron Mountain such a good team.”

Johnson, meanwhile, said the Maroons can look forward to good things next year.

“Menominee’s team is mostly juniors, but they don’t play like juniors,” he said. “That’s a great basketball team. But our seniors, plus one sophomore, made a statement today, especially with our third quarter. It was so critical for us to play them on our home court, for our seniors to have a memorable game on a Saturday afternoon in late March.”

The Maroons finish the season at 9-5, while the Mountaineers remain undefeated at 15-0. Iron Mountain advances to MHSAA Division 3 regional play, with a trip to Gladstone High School on Tuesday to take on Division 3 newcomer Painesdale-Jeffers.

Jeffers (18-1) defeated Westwood, 63-56, Saturday night. Tip off from Gladstone on Tuesday will be at 6 p.m. Central.

Menominee 9 20 6 13 — 48

Iron Mountain 15 21 24 19 — 79

MENOMINEE: Badker 3, Waara 9, Theuerkauf 2, Bellisle 14, Schultz 3, Codun 3, Conway 14; FT: 11-14; F: 15; Fouled Out: Schultz; 3-point FG: Waara 2, Bellisle, Codun, Conway.

IRON MOUNTAIN: Colavecchi 2, Dumais 4, Basanese 6, Kleiman 4, Pietrantonio 9, Brown 8, Evosevich-Hynes 2; Wonders 44; FT: 8-10; F: 15; 3-point FG: Wonders 8, Basanese, Brown 2.