“Norway played hard, Jeff (Gallino) had his team prepared and they were ready to play tonight. It was a good competitive atmosphere,” said IM coach Bucky Johnson. “The first quarter was competitive, the crowd was into the game. In the second quarter, Marcus (Johnson) got going to the basket, and Foster, he was steady all night.”

Marcus Johnson scored 19 points for the now 3-0 Mountaineers, who are 1-0 in both the West PAC and Mid-Peninsula conferences.

Coach Johnson said he was pleased with the way his team got its transition game going. He also noted solid play from Tony Feira as well as Ricky Brown off the bench, while praising Jake Dumais’s defense down low.

“I thought the boys really competed tonight,” said Norway coach Gallino. “That’s what we focused on this week in practice, to play until the game was over. I think they did that, and I am proud of that. There’s some things we need to work on, offensively especially. And we got beat on the glass tonight, allowed them to get too many offensive rebounds.”

Norway’s Jeffrey VanHolla encounters Iron Mountain’s Marcus Johnson on a drive to the basket.

Both coaches noted that the way the game played out, with the effort that was put forth by both teams and the atmosphere in the gym, it didn’t seem like a 34-point game.

Wonders was guarded man-to-man away from the basket, but once he got in the paint the Knights collapsed on him. He did get his share of points near the rim, but also found open teammates on more than one occasion.

With Johnson pushing the ball up the court, the Mountaineers’ transition offense had the Knights reeling late in the first half and early in the third period.

Kody Hendricks’ 13 points led the Knights, with Jeff VanHolla chipping in 11. Feira grabbed 10 rebounds for the Mountaineers.

BY MATT “SWEETS” McCARTHY

Sports Writer

NORWAY — In a packed gymnasium with an enthusiastic crowd, Iron Mountain, led by Foster Wonders’ 33 points and 10 rebounds, defeated Norway 75-41 in non-conference action Friday.

“Norway played hard, Jeff (Gallino) had his team prepared and they were ready to play tonight. It was a good competitive atmosphere,” said IM coach Bucky Johnson. “The first quarter was competitive, the crowd was into the game. In the second quarter, Marcus (Johnson) got going to the basket, and Foster, he was steady all night.”

Marcus Johnson scored 19 points for the now 3-0 Mountaineers, who are 1-0 in both the West PAC and Mid-Peninsula conferences.

Coach Johnson said he was pleased with the way his team got its transition game going. He also noted solid play from Tony Feira as well as Ricky Brown off the bench, while praising Jake Dumais’s defense down low.

“I thought the boys really competed tonight,” said Norway coach Gallino. “That’s what we focused on this week in practice, to play until the game was over. I think they did that, and I am proud of that. There’s some things we need to work on, offensively especially. And we got beat on the glass tonight, allowed them to get too many offensive rebounds.”

Both coaches noted that the way the game played out, with the effort that was put forth by both teams and the atmosphere in the gym, it didn’t seem like a 34-point game.

Wonders was guarded man-to-man away from the basket, but once he got in the paint the Knights collapsed on him. He did get his share of points near the rim, but also found open teammates on more than one occasion.

With Johnson pushing the ball up the court, the Mountaineers’ transition offense had the Knights reeling late in the first half and early in the third period.

Kody Hendricks’ 13 points led the Knights, with Jeff VanHolla chipping in 11. Feira grabbed 10 rebounds for the Mountaineers.

“Defensively, I think we played well,” coach Johnson said. “Hendricks only had four points at halftime. We also did a good job limiting Parolini, who can score as well. Tonight was a good win for us, we know teams are going to be gunning for us throughout the season, and tonight was no different.”

Norway, now 2-1 (2-0 in the Skyline Conference) is off until hosting the North Central Jets on Jan 6. Iron Mountain travels to Ishpeming on Jan 3.

In the JV game, Nolan Amundson led all scorers with 20 points for Norway. The Knights defeated IM 52-36.

Iron Mountain 14 18 19 24 — 75

Norway 6 12 12 11 — 41

IRON MOUNTAIN: Johnson 19, Wonders 33, Feira 6, Jake Dumais 3, Visintainer 2, Brown 6, Evosevich-Hynes 2, G. Basanese 2, Joe Dumais 1, Rolon-Delgado 1. F: 19, FT: 17-22. 3-point FG: Johnson (2). Fouled Out: Jake Dumais. Rebounds: 40, (Wonders 10)

NORWAY: Parolini 7, Bray 5, VanHolla 11, Lasater 3, Hendricks 15. FT: 13-18 F: 17. 3-point FG: Bray, Lasater, Hendricks. Fouled Out: None. Rebounds 27 (Hendricks 9)