(Rob Roos/Sault Evening News photo) Iron Mountain’s Foster Wonders (00) eyes a jump shot in the lane Thursday night versus Oscoda in an MHSAA Division 3 boys basketball regional championship game at Sault Ste. Marie. Iron Mountains’s Ricky Brown (10) and Oscoda’s Drew Hess (21) look on. The Mountaineers defeated the Owls, 63-52.

SAULT STE. MARIE — Iron Mountain has the new Upper Peninsula boys basketball scoring king and a berth in the quarterfinals.

The Mountaineers prevailed 63-52 over the Oscoda Owls in a Division 3 regional final at Sault Ste. Marie High School Thursday night. Mountaineers senior Foster Wonders led the way with 31 points and became the U.P.’s all-time boys scoring leader. Iron Mountain (17-0) advances to play McBain (16-0) in the quarterfinals Tuesday at Lake City.

It was matchup of unbeatens, between two of the state’s top-three ranked teams as the No. 3 Mountaineers faced the No. 2 Owls in the Sault. The Mountaineers got off to a solid start, but struggled in the second quarter and faced their biggest deficit of the season.

“They are a really good team that was 20-0 for a reason,” Iron Mountain coach Harvey “Bucky” Johnson said. “No. 21 and 14 (Kevin Hess and Owen Franklin) are slick players. Then No. 1 (Michael Gepfrey) starting getting loose and he had seven in the half, too. We knew we couldn’t let No. 1 get another seven points in the second half. We had to tighten some things on defense.

“We were down seven at the half, the most we’ve been down at the half all season. But we ended up slowing them down, and we scored 43 in the second half. Overall, we had a gutty performance.”

Despite having Oscoda’s Brennon Mils draped all over him, and being double- and triple-teamed, Wonders couldn’t miss at the start. He scored 10 points in the opening quarter and broke the U.P. scoring record in that first frame, while the Mountaineers opened a 14-10 lead.

Led by the trio of Hess, Franklin and Gepfrey, the Owls answered with some hot shooting of their own and built a 29-22 advantage by halftime.

The Mountaineers fought their way back in the third quarter, outscoring the Owls 21-10. Iron Mountain led 43-39 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Owls were not done.

After a drive and three-point play by Franklin, Oscoda led 49-47 with just over five minutes left. The Mountaineers took over down the stretch. Starting with an offensive rebound put-back from Bryce Pietrantonio , followed by a 3-pointer from Wonders, the Mountaineers scored the final 12 points.

Also during the key final run, Caleb Evosevich-Hynes drew a charge on defense, while also adding four free throws on offense.

Pietrantonio finished with 13 points, while Evosevich-Hynes had eight for the Mountaineers.

“We won a regional championship and made history tonight,” Johnson said. “Foster is the all-time leading scoring in the Upper Peninsula. That’s a special thing. Here in the U.P. we take pride in our athletics. If anybody deserves it, it is Foster. He’s worked tremendously hard on his game. It was extra special to win the regional and see Foster break the record.”

Franklin scored 18 points and Hess added 17 points for the Owls, who finish 20-1.

“They are a really good basketball team and we knew that coming in,” Oscoda coach Michael Poland said. “We’ve watched Iron Mountain the past couple years, knowing we could face them. They have some great players and they’re well-coached. We got into foul trouble a little bit and that hurt us and changed our rotations. We had a heck of a basketball game against Iron Mountain. We wish them all the best going forward.”

Wonders broke the U.P. career scoring record of Gage Kreski of St. Ignace, set in 2016. Kreski scored 2,178 points over his prep career, which broke the previous record of Dom Jacobetti of Negaunee St. Paul that stood for over 50 years. Jacobetti scored 2,140 points from 1961-65.

“I’ve been approaching it all year to just take it as it comes,” Wonders said. “I don’t try to force anything, just try to take what’s there in the game. The first goal tonight was to win and keep advancing in the tournament.

“To finally break the record does mean a lot,” Wonders said. “I couldn’t have done it without my great teammates and coaches throughout the years, and I have to give a lot of credit to them. Also I have to thank by parents for always pushing me to get better. I’m just thankful. I feel thankful for everyone around me.”

Oscoda 6 23 10 14 — 52

Iron Mountain 14 8 21 20 — 63

Oscoda — Gepfrey 7, Lueck 6, Franklin 18, Hess 17, Mills 4. FT: 4-4; F: 21; Fouled out: Gepfrey; 3-point field goals: 6 (Franklin 3, Hess 2, Gepfrey 1).

Iron Mountain — Wonders 31, Brown 4, Pietrantonio 13, Evosevich-Hynes 8, Kleiman 2, Dumais 5. FT: 12-22; F: 10; 3-point field goals: 7 (Wonders 5, Brown 1, Evosevich-Hynes 1).