Norway senior guard Ian Popp (1) attacks the basket for a layup as North Dickinson’s Colm McFayden (32) attempts to alter his shot on Monday at Norway High School. (Terry Raiche photo)

NORWAY — Despite battling a turnover problem, nothing was stopping the UPSSA’s No. 5 team in Division 4 on Monday as the Norway boys varsity basketball team did battle with North Dickinson.

Once again, it was senior Alex Ortman, scoring 29 points, who led the Knights (7-3, 4-1) to a 62-48 victory over the Nordics (5-6, 2-3) in a Skyline Central Conference contest at Norway High School.

“I just thought we were sloppy at times,” Norway head coach Jeff Gallino said. “We have to clean up the turnovers. The last couple of games, we’ve been turning the ball over way too much and we need to fix that.”

Although turnovers plagued both teams, North Dickinson struggled to compete on the glass with the Knights.

“We had 16 rebounds, that’s not enough against this team,” Nordics coach Chris Mattson said. “We were giving them multiple chances on every offensive possession that they had. Alex Ortman had another outstanding game offensively. He’s a hard cover.”

While Ortman was a force on offense, the Nordics leaned on freshman Trenton Kramer and sophomore Spencer Kramer to lead the way.

“I thought North Dickinson played really well,” Gallino said. “The Kramer boys led them offensively. They did a heck of a job.”

Trenton Kramer led North Dickinson with 21 points, a career-high.

(I felt) pretty good,” Kramer said. “I haven’t done that all year so it’s nice.”

Norway opened the game looking to attack and found success with Ortman. He recorded 10 points in the first five minutes and the Knights held a 18-4 advantage.

However, that’s when Trenton Kramer began to emerge. He recorded seven points to close the first and cut the Knights’ lead to 24-14.

“I thought Trenton (Kramer) played very well,” Mattson said. “For a freshman, that’s nice to see. … Not only did he play very, very well but the team was looking for him.”

While Mattson was happy to see Trenton Kramer emerge within the offense, he wasn’t as thrilled to see Norway tally some easy points in the first quarter.

“We gave up 24 points in the first quarter, which is too much,” Mattson said. “They jumped on us early. I thought we held our composure and played well after that. We didn’t go away, which is a testament to the kids and their hard work.”

The second quarter was a defensive battle as both teams tallied nine points and Norway went into the break holding a 33-23 lead.

The Nordics exited the locker room for the third quarter with a new intensity.

Ty King, Spencer Kramer and Trenton Kramer all recorded quick baskets and cut the lead to six.

However, the Norway defense responded and mucked things up for North Dickinson.

“It was a six-point game and they turned us over three times in a row, which kind of pivoted our momentum and gave it back to them,” Mattson said. “Then they finished the game off strong.”

The Nordics wouldn’t get that close again as the Knights’ lead increased to 13 points at the start of the fourth.

Norway kept the pressure on and pulled away in the fourth for a 62-48 win.

“We got to be a little stronger with the ball,” Mattson said. “We’ve got to find a way to rebound. Again, they did an outstanding job at offensive rebounding and that was the key to the game for them.”

After a 29-point performance, Ortman is 88 points away from reaching 1,000 career points.

The Knights received contributions from Mason Trudeau (9 points), AJ Gallino (7 points), Ian Popp (7 points), Cole Baij (6 points) and Bryce Adams (4 points).

North Dickinson received contributions from Trenton Kramer (21 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals), King (6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists), Brady Jungwirth (2 points, 1 rebound, 10 assists, 1 steal), Trevor Larson (1 steal), Mason Anderson (2 points), Spencer Kramer (14 points, 3 rebounds), David Madigan (2 points), Colm MacFadyen (1 point) and Julien Sleeter (1 block).

The Nordics are back in action on Tuesday as they face off with Kingsford at 6:30 p.m. in Flivvers Gym.

Norway welcomes Florence to town on Thursday for a 6:30 p.m. tipoff.

“We have a couple practices, coming up, before we play Florence, which is a really good team,” Gallino said. “I’ve watched them on film and I know they’re fast.

“They like to push the ball in transition and we’ve really got to focus on slowing down (William) Kelley on Thursday.”

Friday, the Knights are at home against Stephenson for a 6:30 p.m. tip.

WOLVERINES 88, BADGERS 49

NIAGARA, Wis. — Niagara (8-5, 5-3) lost a step in the Marinette & Oconto Conference on Monday as it lost 88-49 to Crivitz (8-5, 6-1) at Niagara High School.

“We got beat by a very good team,” Badgers head coach Terry Youren said. “(They have) a strong inside game and shoot well from the perimeter.

“(We) need to regroup and prepare for our next opponent. We have two very tough teams to play this week beside Crivitz.”

The Wolverines connected on five 3-pointers while Niagara only made one in the contest.

The Badgers outpaced Crivitz at the charity stripe finishing 20 for 29 compared to a 13 for 18 performance for the Wolverines.

Tommy Martin led Niagara in scoring with 20 points.

The Badgers also received contributions from Dante Stachowicz (2 points), Blake Holmes (12 points), Cameron Schiefelbein (11 points), Nathaniel Olsen (2 points) and Mason Richtig (2 points).

Niagara is at home against Three Lakes on Thursday at 7:15 p.m.

TROJANS 91, BRONCOS 43

HARRIS — Vic Giuliani scored 18 points, grabbed nine rebounds and recorded five steals to lead Forest Park to a 91-43 rout of host Bark River-Harris in a Skyline Central Conference game Monday night.

Additionally, Kevin Giuliani hit all nine of his shots, scored 20 points and hauled down seven rebounds for the Trojans (7-2).

Forest Park wasted no time gaining control, taking a 23-12 lead after the first quarter.

The Broncos (2-8) stayed within 43-30 at halftime, but the Trojans opened things up again in the third to build a 60-39 lead after three.

Forest Park outscored Bark River-Harris 31-4 in the final quarter to account for the 48-point margin.

As has been their custom so far this season, the Trojans got several contributions across the board.

Izaiah Tarter hit three triples and scored 13 points, Gaven Rintala sank 4 of 5 from the field and recorded 12 points, Matt Showers posted nine points and eight rebounds and Dax Huuki added eight points and six rebounds.

Gabe Quevedo recorded five points, Felix Quevedo logged five steals, four points and three assists and Adan Brazeika added two points.

The Trojans head back into action Friday when they take on rival West Iron County in Iron River.

BOBCATS 68, HORNETS 52

ELCHO, Wis. — Florence (9-3, 4-2) kept the pressure on in the Northern Lakes Conference as it rolled past Elcho on Monday for a 68-52 road win.

“Getting a win on the road in NLC play, I’ll take it,” Bobcats head coach Bryan Bomberg said. “(In the) first half both teams had a hard time settling in and were forced to play very flat.

“I really didn’t feel our defense played very inspired consistently. We played in spurts. Credit Elcho for keeping us on our heels the majority of the game.”

Florence held a 33-24 lead after the first half.

The lead increased in the second half as the Bobcats outscored the Hornets 35-28 down the stretch.

Eugene Reinke led Elcho with 19 points.

Florence’s William Kelley finished with a double-double, netting 31 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. He also had four steals and an assist.

The Bobcats also received contributions from Logan Koski (10 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists), Trent McLain (9 points, 4 rebounds), Bradley Steber (5 points, 1 assist), Dustin Williams (5 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals, 1 block), Truth Setner (4 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 2 steals), Logan Thompson (4 points, 1 rebound), Caleb Baker (1 rebound) and Jace Worple (1 rebound).

Florence is in Norway on Thursday to face the Knights at 6:30 p.m.

Daily News sports writer Jerry DeRoche contributed to this report.