Iron Mountain's Marcus Johnson, center, holds up the Class C Region 24 trophy after the Mountaineers defeated Calumet on Wednesday, March 14, 2018, in Marquette, Mich. Foster Wonders, top, and Jaden Vicenzi, right, look on. (Adam Niemi/Iron Mountain Daily News)

MARQUETTE — Iron Mountain used the third quarter to springboard past Calumet to win its first regional championship since 1994.

The Mountaineers (23-1) got a couple steals off the press and put together a rally in the opening minutes of the third quarter en route to a 56-44 win.

“We didn’t play our greatest game, but there’s a lot of pressure at this stage of the game and we’re happy to be moving on,” Iron Mountain head coach Bucky Johnson said. “I’m proud of my team. First time since 1994 we’ve won a regional at Iron Mountain so we’re proud of that.”

Iron Mountain advances to the state quarterfinal against Maple City Glen Lake (22-2) at 6 p.m. EDT Tuesday in Petoskey.

Iron Mountain outscored Calumet 16-6 in the third quarter, extending a 33-25 halftime lead to a 49-31 margin after three quarters.

“Just had a tough time getting through some screens. They run a lot of sets. (Foster) Wonders was able to get a couple shots off. They just do what they do,” Calumet head coach Mike Ojala said of the third quarter. “They’re hard to guard when they execute that stuff. On the other end, we had a couple turnovers against that press. We had a one minute span there where we just kind of fell apart a little bit. A little bit of frustration set in. We got it back together and hit a couple shots.”

Yet again during this postseason run, the young Iron Mountain starters took control in big moments. But don’t let the youth fool you.

Wonders, Iron Mountain’s 6-foot-4 freshman who already has an offer from Northern Michigan University, led the team with 19 points. Junior Charlie Gerhard had 13 points.

Mid-Peninsula Conference Player of the Year Marcus Johnson, a sophomore, had 12 points. He’s already nearing the 1,000-point milestone. Including Wednesday’s contribution, Johnson has 928 points.

Including Wednesday’s win, Johnson and Gerhard, along with junior Jaden Vicenzi, have started in 48 varsity games each. They’ve lost five games in that stretch.

The loss added another episode of heartbreak for the Copper Kings, who lost the previous two years in the regional semifinal.

“These guys, Cooper Twardzik, he’s been starting in three consecutive district championship games. These seniors were able to be a part of a team that won a regional game and got in this position,” Coach Ojala said. “I’m real proud of those guys keeping things together throughout the year. A lot of ups and downs during the course of a 20-game high school basketball season. Senior leadership was huge keeping things together and consistent for us. I’m proud of those guys.”

Coach Johnson credited Vicenzi’s defense on Calumet’s Matt Ojala as a big momentum boost. Vicenzi held him to four points, but his brother Travis Ojala stepped up with 20 points.

“I think a very key point of that game was Jaden Vicenzi’s defense all night long on No. 4. He’s a heck of a player, Matt Ojala,” Coach Johnson said. “His brother stepped up big for them.”

Calumet (18-6) cut the lead to 10 points in the fourth quarter after a pair of 3-pointers. The Copper Kings even had a couple consecutive possessions to cut the deficit under 10 points, but a pair of missed layups dulled the rally. Johnson hit a pair of free throws and Iron Mountain added a bucket to put the game away.

Coach Johnson emphasized the importance of Iron Mountain’s tempo-setting start to the third quarter.

“Our press was effective early on and then we took it off because we got a little tired,” he said. “Then we always stress that the first three minutes of the third quarter can make or break you. I thought that was a critical part of the game. We got some steals, some buckets. It was just real critical right there.”

Calumet 13 12 6 13 — 44

Iron Mountain 19 14 16 7 — 56

CALUMET (44): T. Ojala 20, Antilla 8, McParlan 5, M. Ojala 4, Ekdahl 4, Twardzik 3. FT: 2-4. F: 13 (Antilla 5).

IRON MOUNTAIN (56): Wonders 19, Gerhard 13, Johnson 12, Vicenzi 8, Feira 4. FT: 9-12. F: 10. FG: 21-46. 3PT: 5-16 (Johnson 2, Wonders 2, Vicenzi 1). Rebounds: 24 (Gerhard 11). Steals: 12. Turnovers: 12.