“It was nice to get back on the court,” said Iron Mountain head coach Bucky Johnson, his team returning to action for the first time since a stinging state final loss at the Breslin Center in East Lansing last spring. “The kids have been excited to get this season started.”

Calumet kept pace with IM in the first quarter, at one point holding a lead at 13-11, but the Mountaineers took control after that, leading by seven before the frame ended and using a 21-0 run to quickly push the margin beyond reach for Calumet.

“We got off to a decent start offensively,”Johnson said. “Defensively though, 16 points in the first quarter is too many. But then after that, I thought we kind of buckled down a little bit.”

The Mountaineers held the Copper Kings (0-1) to just four points in the second quarter, including a stretch of more than six minutes in which Calumet didn’t score.

Iron Mountain's Foster Wonders drives to the lane.

“Our defense was decent and we got hot from the outside,” Calumet coach Frank Bonacorsi said of the early effort. “Then they went on that run and it broke us. The transition game opened up and it was a huge uphill battle. Anytime you get down that much to an Iron Mountain team, it’s going to be tough.”

Elijah McParlan poured in 25 points for Calumet, 12 coming in the first quarter.

“It was good to get Eli shooting the ball, good to see him hitting shots and getting some confidence,” Bonacorsi said. “But Iron Mountain did a good job with their defense. There was pressure in our face. We had some guys open on back door cuts, but Iron Mountain had good pressure. It’s something we need to improve on.”

Wonders carried the IM offense before halftime with 10 second-quarter points including two treys. After halftime it was Johnson heating up. He had 17 of his 24 in the second half, 10 of those in the third quarter as Iron Mountain flirted with a 30-point advantage.

Johnson added a team-best six assists, along with three steals. His drive through the lane for a bucket and one put Iron Mountain ahead by 30 at 64-34 with 5:33 to play. A three ball by Johnson a few minutes later gave IM its biggest lead of the game at 69-34.

Tony Feira, Caleb Evosevich-Hynes and Gio Basanese each added four points for IM.

“Overall it was a good night for us,” coach Johnson said. “We had some guys who came off the bench and helped us, and that’s what we need. We’re looking for some guys to fill some spots. We have the pieces to the puzzle, and tonight was really the first opportunity to try to fit those pieces in there. It’s just going to be a work in progress, and tonight was the start of it.”

Iron Mountain won the junior varsity game 63-35.

The Mountaineers (1-0) head to Manistique Monday evening.

Calumet 16 4 10 13 – 43

Iron Mountain 23 16 20 14 – 73

CALUMET: Nelson 2, Spence 1, Antilla 5, Kangas 4, McParlan 25, Torola 6. FT: 11-15. 3-pt FGs: McParlan (3), Antilla. FO: None.

IRON MOUNTAIN: Johnson 24, Wonders 26, Feira 4, Dumais 2, Visintainer 3, Pietrantonio 3, Brown 5, Evosevich-Hynes 4, Basanese 2. FG shooting: 26-55. FT: 11-17. 3-pt FGs: Johnson (5), Wonders (3), Visintainer, Brown. Rebounding: Wonders 11, Pietrantonio 4. FO: None.