“We got beat by a better team,” Johnson said after the Maroons dominated Iron Mountain 83-45.

That the Mountaineers did. The Maroons hit Iron Mountain with a 21-1 blitz in the final five minutes of the first quarter to take a 25-3 after the opening period and the trophy presentation could have been held right at that point. Menominee, a senior-laden, long, athletic and talented team, was clearly a team ready to win a district, while the Mountaineers clearly were a team on the rise, but not quite ready to beat a team of Menominee’s quality.

A flurry of turnovers against the Maroons’ fullcourt press led to one bucket after another during the first quarter explosion. Johnson called three timeouts during that stretch, but there was little he could do.

“We were well aware of their pressure, and we were well aware of their speed and athleticism, but we couldn’t handle it,” Johnson said. “It wasn’t for lack of effort from our guys. The kids battled, battled hard in the second half and played all the way to the bitter end.”

Iron Mountain’s Oskar Kangas (0) battles Menominee senior Brady Schultz (24) for a rebound that flew over both their heads during the Division 3 District 66 final Friday night at Mountaineer Gym. Schultz, with help from his teammates, locked down the high-scoring freshman as the Maroons ran away with a 83-45 victory and the district championship.

From the Menominee point of view, the night was a coronation of sorts. The Maroons (19-3) have been the top team in the U.P., maybe with an argument from Escanaba, since the season began in December.

“I thought our defensive intensity and tenacity was good, especially in that first half, which led to some transition baskets for us,” Maroons coach Sam Larson said.

Larson said he knew his team was in good shape on his team’s second offensive possession of the contest, a rather nondescript looking play but not for the Menominee coaching staff. It was a set involving senior guard Aiden Bellisle, who went off for 30 points in the game.

“We got a postup play to him and he missed it, but I thought it was a really strong and aggressive move,” Larson said. “And we talked with our coaches and said, ‘If he’s playing like that, we’re in good shape.'”

Bellisle scored 15 points in the first quarter and added seven more in the second. His 22 first-half points led to Menominee’s 40-12 halftime stranglehold.

Iron Mountain’s Reece Kangas (42) and Gerald Sampoll Torres (10) look to trap Menominee’s Aiden Bellisle (21) during the third quarter of Friday night’s district championship game in Iron Mountain.

“He had a hell of a game,” Johnson said of the Great Northern Conference player of the year. “He will probably in the conversation for Mr. Basketball in the U.P, I would think.”

Meanwhile, the Mountaineers (16-6) struggled with nine turnovers in the first half and couldn’t get leading scorer Oskar Kangas going at all. The freshman did not score until he sank a layup off his offensive rebound late in the third quarter and finished with only five points.

Menominee forward Brady Schultz, a 6-foot-4-inch forward with a long wingspan, was given the task of defending Kangas and he was superb, as were his teammates who helped anytime Schultz needed it.

“We really challenged Schultz with taking Kangas away and then just really good gap help around him because every time he caught we wanted him to be looking at three guys and with no lanes to (drive) into. And we wanted to double on the post”

With Kangas locked up and with junior Joey Colavecchi struggling to score, the Mountaineers were faced with depending on others to score enough to mount a huge comeback. Sophomore Matthew Colavecchi stepped forward with his best offensive game of the season, scoring 17, while freshmen Ian Marttila and Gerald Sampoll Torres supplied nine and seven points, respectively.

Mountaineer Joey Colavecchi (12) dishes a pass to teammate and cousin Matthew Colavecchi for a bucket right before the third-quarter buzzer. Matthew scored a season-high 17 points in the game, but the Mountaineers’ season came to an end in the 83-45 loss to the Maroons, who advanced to the regional to play Westwood on Monday in Escanaba.

The Mountaineers came out in a halfcourt trap to start the third quarter and that helped spark the offense. Matthew Colavecchi recorded 10 points in the period, including two triples, while Sampoll Torres scored off a drive and hit three free throws after he was fouled shooting a triple.

Still, the Maroons recorded 20 points of their own in the third quarter and held a 60-34 advantage heading into the fourth. They increased the final margin by outscoring Iron Mountain 23-11 in the fourth.

With the win, Menominee will face Westwood (17-4) in a regional semifinal game on Monday at Escanaba High School. The winner will play the Harbor Springs (10-11) vs. Benzie Central (19-3) winner for the regional championship on Wednesday in Sault Ste. Marie.

Meanwhile for the Mountaineers, the loss ended what was an impressive, if somewhat surprising, year.

“We had a team that had never played together,” Johnson began. “There’s no seniors, we’re looking for leaders, the whole nine yards. And Joey was the only guy that played (varsity basketball previously). And to ask these kids to come up and do what they did, I’m extremely proud of them.

Iron Mountain guard Ian Marttila (14) pulls up for a jumper in the lane during the first quarter of Friday’s district championship matchup with top-ranked Menominee. The Mountaineers struggled out of the gate, falling behind by 22 after the first quarter and could never work their way back into the game. (Dennis Mansfield/Daily News photos)

“This team has potential. We had a stretch during the season in which we started getting better and playing with more confidence. So now we know what we have. We’re building, laying the foundation, and I’d like to think this is the beginning, not the end.”

Jerry DeRoche can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 244, or at jderoche@ironmountaindailynews.com.