Iron Mountain senior Oskar Kangas (0) blocks Norway senior Cole Baij’s shot on Friday at Mountaineer Gym. (Sean Chase/Daily News photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — All season long, the Iron Mountain boys varsity basketball team has dominated its competition. And it was no different on Friday, as the Mountaineers (4-0, 0-0) welcomed Norway (2-2, 0-1) to Mountaineer Gym.

Senior Oskar Kangas pitched in 27 points and senior Evan Copley added a career-high 16 points,as Iron Mountain breezed past the Knights, 66-32.

“The score at half was 34-12, that’s pretty good,” Mountaineers head coach Harvey “Bucky” Johnson said. “Defensively, I thought we played well. We gave up 18 points in the fourth quarter, that’s too much. We got a little lackadaisical with our defense in the fourth quarter.

“Even though we hit eight three-pointers, I don’t think we had enough. Norway’s got some athletes, they played hard, they competed. Which we knew they would. … Overall, it was a good win. We’ve got some things to work on and we’re moving on.”

While Norway rallied in the fourth quarter, there were areas that head coach Jeff Gallino wanted to see his team clean up moving forward.

“I thought our half-court execution wasn’t very good,” coach Gallino said. “Iron Mountain causes you to (have those issues) sometimes. But, I thought we made some poor decisions and had unforced turnovers that weren’t necessary.

“They’re a seasoned ball club. They’re well coached. They’re one of the best teams in the U.P. and you can tell.”

Iron Mountain senior Evan Copley kicked off the scoring in the first quarter with a right wing 3-pointer. That sparked the Mountaineers as Gerald Sampoll-Torres found Kangas on an alley-oop for a two-handed slam. Ian Marttila buried two 3-pointers and IM took an 11-2 lead.

Mason Trudeau, Bryce Adams and Anthony Pineda each scored two points in the first quarter as Norway went into the second frame trailing, 17-6.

The Knights tried to turn to senior Cole Baij and he made a layup early in the second. He ended the game with two points.

“We know he’s a heck of an athlete,” Johnson said. “He’s a (smart) kid, who’s big and strong. We knew he was their leading scorer, we were aware of that. For the most part, I thought the guys did a good job with him.”

Iron Mountain began attacking the rim aggressively in the second, and added 17 points to its total. The Mountaineers held Norway to six points, taking a 34-12 lead into the break.

“Aiden Ellis came in in the second quarter and gave us a real good spark,” Johnson said. “His help defense and his overall hustle. He got a nice steal for a lay up and did a couple really nice things for us. We need that spark. It was great.”

In the third quarter, Kangas pitched in 10 points, Copley added a 3-pointer and the lead continued to balloon. Defensively, the Mountaineers held the Knights to six points in the frame.

“I think I found my rhythm a little bit,” Copley said. “The whole game, they were closing out on me hard. When they changed to a zone, late in the game, I was able to step into my shot and hit it.”

Although the score wasn’t a positive for Norway after the third, the fourth quarter was. AJ Gallino and Elliott Kraemer each tallied multiple 3-pointers in the frame.

“Elliott hit a couple shots and then I hit a couple shots, we just fed off of eachother,” AJ Gallino said. “We ended up turning it around in the fourth.”

However, as the Knights began to heat up – so did Copley. He connected on a deep 3-pointer and then added two more in the frame.

“Oskar (Kangas) swung me the ball and was telling me not to shoot it,” Copley said about the deep 3-pointer. “But, I was wide open, so I had to shoot it.”

The spark from Copley pushed IM over the top as they picked up the 66-32 win.

Kangas’ 27 points led all scorers in the contest. He also had 13 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.

Iron Mountain also received contributions from Sampoll-Torres (6 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 steals), Brayden Kassin (4 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists), Marttila (11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal), Ellis (2 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal) and Copley (16 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal).

AJ Gallino and Elliott Kramer each led the Knights with nine points.

Norway also received contributions from Adams (2 points), Pineda (4 points), Trudeau (7 points) and Kaleb LaPine (2 points).

Through four games, the Mountaineers are outscoring their opponents by an average of 46 points per contest. However, Johnson isn’t letting this success go to his team’s head.

“We addressed that,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to be able to perform at crunch time. The kids, the coaches, all of us. … We’ve got two Marquette County teams next week. We don’t overlook anybody on our schedule at all. We’re getting ready for Ishpeming. They’re going to come in here hungry, but so will we.”

Both teams are back in action today. The Mountaineers face off with Ishpeming at home while Norway looks to bounce back against Niagara in Niagara, Wis.

“I know Martin is a good player and they have guys back, so it’s going to be a challenge,” coach Gallino said.

BADGERS 63, WILDCATS 37

NIAGARA, Wis. — With its perfect record on the line, the Niagara boys varsity basketball team welcomed Lena to town on Friday for a Marinette & Oconto Conference clash in Niagara, Wis.

The Badgers (4-0, 3-0) poured it on early and rolled to a 63-37 win over the Wildcats (2-2, 0-2).

“We did a nice job tonight and played well on defense,” Niagara head coach Terry Youren said. “Great team effort. Tommy Martin broke a 44-year-old scoring record held by Robbie Olson. The old record was1,219 points. He has 1,273 points, to-date.”

Niagara connected on three 3-pointers in the first half and took a 39-19 advantage into halftime. In the second half, the Badgers outscored the Wildcats 24-17 and picked up the win.

Gavin Neuens led Niagara with 16 points.

The Badgers also received contributions from Alex Tripp (3 points), Martin (13 points), Dante Stachowicz (6 points), Easton Holmes (2 points) Brayden Bartels (9 points), Cameron Schiefelbein (12 points) and Noah Wheeler (2 points).

Niagara welcomes Norway to town today.

TROJANS 83, ROCKETS 41

RAPID RIVER — Early in the season, the Forest Park boys varsity basketball team has passed every test place in front of them.

That continued on Friday, as the Trojans (3-0) went to Rapid River and dismantled the Rockets behind a 40-point performance from Vic Giuliani (0-5) en rout to an 83-41 win.

After taking a 23-16 lead into halftime, Forest Park out-scored Rapid River, 60-25 in the final two quarters.

Rapid River committed 27 turnovers compared to six for the Trojans.

Giuliani’s 40 points led all scorers in the contest. He also had 11 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and four steals.

Forest Park also received contributions from Izaiah Tarter (12 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists), Dax Huuki (7 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals), David McKissack (1 point, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal), Scotty Wagner (2 rebounds), Matthew Showers (6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block), Aiden Waldo (5 points, 3 steals) and Kevin Giuliani (18 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals).

The Trojans head to Menominee on Tuesday to face the Maroons.