Bobcats Evan Johnson (1) and Dominic DeMuri (5) work at the defensive end to stifle Laona-Wabeno’s offensive attack during the boys varsity basketball clash Thursday night between the two Northern Lakes Conference rivals at Florence High School. The Bobcats won the game 70-51. (Dennis Mansfield/Daily News photo)

FLORENCE, Wis. — The Florence boys varsity basketball team used a balanced attack to beat visiting Northern Lakes Conference Laona-Wabeno 70-51 on Thursday night, with the Bobcats remaining as the lone undefeated team at 8-0 in conference play.

Eight Bobcats (14-1 overall) scored, with two Florence hoopsters racking up double-doubles against the Reblels 9-10 overall, 5-3 conference). That included Evan Johnson with double-double, who ended the night with team-highs in points (17), rebounds (12) and assists (6) to go with three steals.

But he wasn’t alone, as Dominic DeMuri tallied 11 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals in the win.

The three other Bobcats scored in double figures, including Logan Schuls (14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals), William Kelley (11 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals) and Blake Smith (11 points, 6 boards, 2 steals).

While pulling out an impressive 19-point conference win in the end, the two rivals fought a see-saw battle most of the first half before Florence made a run and built a 38-29 halftime lead.

Florence’s William Kelley (3) slips baseline before powering up a shot against a pair of Laona-Wabeno defenders during Thursday night’s Northern Lakes Conference matchup. With the win against the Rebels, the Bobcats are the lone undefeated team in conference play at 8-0. (Dennis Mansfield/Daily News photo)

“Overall, I thought we had a nice win against a solid fundamentally sound team,” said Florence coach Bryan Bomberg. “Laona-Wabeno has had some solid teams the last few years and I felt my guys really bought into what we wanted to do throughout the game. With that being said, once we settled in, we were able to really limit their two big scorers in the second half.

“I am really proud of our team tonight,” Bomberg added. “I think it was a great team win in front of a nice crowd. We love when our fans come out to cheer us on.”

FLIVVERS 67, JETS 47

POWERS — Cole Myllyla led four Kingsford scorers in double figures with 19 points as the Flivvers stopped previously unbeaten North Central 67-47 in a non-conference battle between two of the U.P.’s betters teams Thursday at North Central High School.

Nic Nora finished with 18 points, Gavin Grondin posted 14 and Morgan Sleik chipped in with 10 for the D1-3 third-ranked Flivvers (10-2).

Kingsford coach Dan Olkkonen, however, turned to a different aspect of his teams’ play in his opening comments afterward.

“This game was a pretty good defensive showing for us,” Olkkonen said. “It was a fast-paced game from the start. Our defense really stepped up against their dribble-drive offense.”

To Olkkonen’s point, the Flivvers recorded 10 steals in the game and outrebounded the D4 second-ranked Jets (9-1) 32-18.

The teams battled to a 17-all tie after the opening eight minutes before Kingsford grabbed a leg up with an 18-10 second period. The Flivvers outscored North Central 32-20 in the second half to finish with the 20-point win.

“I thought we did a great job sharing the ball, especially in the first half with four of our starters scoring at least seven points each,” Olkkonen said. “Cole Myllyla and Nic Nora had a good night shooting from behind the arc with three each and Ben Trevillian was huge on the boards with nine.

“We need the seniors to lead us through the rest of the year.”

Luke Gorzinski topped the Jets with 15 points, Connor Florenski wound up with 14 and Jesse Sampson cashed in for 10.

Things won’t get any easier for North Central in its next outing as the Jets travel to D1-3 top-ranked Iron Mountain (10-1) on Monday. The Flivvers will also face a tough opponent when they head to D4 No. 5 Norway (9-3) on Tuesday.

And, maybe the Flivvers’ win over the previously undefeated Jets was more impressive because it was the second of back-to-back games, with Kingsford having defeated host North Dickinson 73-46 on Wednesday night behind a trio of double-digit scorers that included a game-high 21 points by Nora, 16 points by Cardel Morton and another 10 points by Grondin.

Spencer Kramer hit for 18 points for the host Nordics, with Ty King chipping in 13 points.

“Spencer Kramer had his best game of the year both offensively and on the boards,” said Nordics coach Chris Mattson. “Freshman teammate Ty King had another solid game. It was a better all-around effort by my team.

“(But) Kingsford is fast, strong and well coached,” he added. “They have so many good athletes.”

PATRIOTS 49, MOUNTAINEERS 46

ISHPEMING — The Iron Mountaineers also sufferered their first loss of the 2022-23 season, as host Westwood held on for a 49-46 upset on Thursday night.

The previously perfect Mountaineers entered the contest as the No. 1 ranked team in Division 1-3 basketball by the Upper Peninsula Sports Writers and Sports Broadcasters.

With the loss to West Pac Conference rival Westwood (8-6 overall), Iron Mountain (10-1 overall) is now tied with Houghton at 5-1 in conference play. Both the Patriots and Negaunee (11-4 overall) are 7-2 against West Pac opponents.