Iron Mountain senior Gerald Sampoll-Torres (10) dribbles behind his back while Ishpeming junior Grady Gauthier (4) tries to stay in front of him on Monday in Mountaineer Gym. (Sean Chase/Daily News photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — Although the 2024-25 basketball season is still in its infancy, the Iron Mountain boys varsity team has been on an impressive run.

The success continued on Monday, as the Mountaineers (5-0) welcomed Ishpeming to Mountaineer Gym.

From the opening tip, Iron Mountain was too much for the Hematites to handle and the Mountaineers easily picked up a 70-41 win in their West PAC-East Division opener.

“I don’t think we got off to the greatest start, to be honest,” IM head coach Harvey “Bucky” Johnson said. “But, we weathered the storm and were up 19 at the half and won by 29. We were better in the second half. We played OK.”

While there were areas where Johnson would like to see his team improve, the free throw line wasn’t one of them. The Mountaineers finished the game 12 for 12 from the line.

“Our free throw shooting was outstanding,” Johnson said. “We were perfect. That’s really big. I thought we rebounded the ball well. Give Ishpeming some credit. Those kids played hard. They’re competitive and they’re hard-nosed. … It was a good test for us.”

After dominating its opponents in its first four games, Iron Mountain knew it was in for a test against an athletic Ishpeming squad. A test which they passed with flying colors.

“Early in the year, they were diamond-pressing teams with a zone trap,” Johnson said. “They did that a little bit tonight, but they were mostly just picking up man-to-man full court on Gerald (Sampoll-Torres). I thought at times we attacked that well and at times we pulled it back. You’ve just gotta make sure in a situation like that that you don’t get too wild with what you’re doing.”

The Mountaineers opened the first quarter with seniors Oskar Kangas and Sampoll-Torres leading the way. Kangas had 10 points, Sampoll-Torres pitched in seven and Iron Mountain took a 19-9 lead into the second.

“I was just trying to pound it in the paint,” Kangas said. “At times, we tend to jack up threes, a little too much. After the Norway game, it was an emphasis. Sometimes, we need to pound the ball in the paint.”

Ishpeming senior Caden Luoma was held scoreless in the first as sophomore Brayden Kassin blanketed him on defense.

“Over the summer, we told him right away, ‘This is your year to guard every team’s best player,'” Kangas said. “So in the summer, you’re going to guard every team’s best player and you’ve got to work your butt off for 32 minutes straight.”

While that would be a lot of pressure for a sophomore, he’s not the Mountaineers’ only weapon on defense.

“Brayden’s long, he’s athletic, he’s smart, he’s going to work hard,” Johnson said. “Our help defense was good at times and not so good at other times. Luoma had 10 in the second quarter and nothing in the first quarter. … I thought we had an opportunity, a couple times, to help out and stop him from getting to where he wanted to go.

“Overall, he’s accepted his role and he’s going to work hard. And then, we’ve got Aiden Ellis, who we can throw in there. He’s scrappy as heck and works hard. That’s a good combination. We like that rotation right now.”

Kangas took over the second quarter, scoring 13 points in the frame, and the Mountaineers held a 41-22 advantage at the break.

Ian Marttila pitched in six third-quarter points allowing Iron Mountain to take a 21-point lead into the final frame.

Kangas was held scoreless for much of the fourth.

Then with a minute remaining in the game, he got a chance to seal the deal.

“I drove baseline and saw their help defender coming, but it was late in the game and I was anxious to get (a dunk),” Kangas said. “So I was going to try and dunk it no matter what.”

In practice, Kangas has simulated this situation multiple times. So when he rose up, there was only one goal in mind — finishing the dunk.

“Everytime I go up for a dunk, I try to throw it down as hard as I can,” Kangas said. “That’s one where you’re in the gym, practicing an in-game scenario. That’s something I’ve tried to do before shooting around with myself.”

Kangas converted the one-handed dunk and Iron Mountain locked up a 70-41 win. He ended the game with 33 points, 16 rebounds, two assists and two steals.

The Mountaineers also received contributions from Sampoll-Torres (15 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block), Kassin (7 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal), Marttila (10 points, 5 rebound, 1 steal), Ellis (2 rebounds, 1 assist), Evan Copley (5 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists) and Collin Punzel (1 steal).

Now Iron Mountain turns its attention to Friday’s road contest against Marquette.

“We’ve been trying to get Marquette on our schedule for a while, we just haven’t been able to make it happen,” Johnson said. “We saw an opportunity to pick up a non-conference game against one of the top teams in the U.P. We know they have athletes and we know they’re deep. … It’s important we get off to a good start and handle their initial pressure. But, we’re going to impose our will right back at them. We want to throw the first punch and that’s going to be our mindset.”

KNIGHTS 66, BADGERS 54

NIAGARA, Wis. — After falling to Iron Mountain, the Norway boys varsity basketball team bounced back on Monday against Niagara.

Senior Cole Baij pitched in a career-high 33 points and the Knights (3-2) rolled to a 66-54 win over the Badgers (4-1, 3-0) in Niagara, Wis.

“(It was a) good team win,” Norway head coach Jeff Gallino said. “Cole had an exceptional game. He was able to find his spots against their zone and we had good contributions from all six players.”

Although Niagara started the game slowly, head coach Terry Youren was happy with his players’ fight.

“Norway played an excellent game,” Youren said. “They shot great and hustled on defense. I’m proud of my players, because we came out flat and gave them a big lead, but we came out in the second half and made it a game.”

The Knights connected on five 3-pointers and scored 41 points in the first half while holding the Badgers to 25 points.

In the second half, Niagara out-scored Norway 29-25 but it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit.

Norway received offensive contributions from AJ Gallino (11 points), Bryce Adams (7 points), Anthony Pineda (7 points) and Mason Trudeau (8 points).

Tommy Martin led the Badgers with 28 points.

Niagara also received contributions from Gavin Neuens (12 points), Dante Stachowicz (4 points), Cameron Schiefelbein (8 points) and Christian Anderson (2 points).

The Badgers are back in action on Thursday as they head to Coleman, Wis., while Norway heads to Powers to face North Central. The Knights are also on the road on Friday as they head to Rapid River to battle the Rockets.

MUSTANGS 40, NORDICS 36

MUNISING — The North Dickinson boys varsity basketball team found itself locked in an overtime battle with Munising on Friday.

However, the Nordics couldn’t keep pace with the Mustangs in the frame and fell 40-36.

Both teams scored 14 points in the first half and 20 in the second half. Munising out-scored the Nordics 6-2 in overtime.

North Dickinson was led by sophomore Trenton Kramer with 14 points.

The Nordics also received contributions from Ty King (8 points), Tyler Fleming (3 points), Brady Jungwirth (3 points), Mason Anderson (4 points) and Spencer Kramer (4 points).

North Dickinson faced Stephenson on Tuesday and will return to action Thursday at home against Gwinn.