Iron Mountain Dream Season Continues
March 14, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – “Living this dream.”
Iron Mountain coach Bucky Johnson put special emphasis on those words Thursday afternoon.
He may have been pointing out the present tense of “living” after his Mountaineers ended the season for 2018 Class C champion Detroit Edison. Or maybe the “dream” as his team earned a shot to play for its first MHSAA boys basketball championship since winning the Upper Peninsula-only bracket in 1939.
Iron Mountain faced a tall task in the day’s first Division 3 Semifinal, even for a team that hasn’t tasted defeat this season. But the Mountaineers held off Edison 60-57 in their first Semifinals appearance since 1994.
“There’s not a lot of U.P. teams that get to come down here and experience this,” Iron Mountain junior guard Foster Wonders said. “To come down here and win too is something special. We take pride in that. It’s been unbelievable.”
Iron Mountain (27-0) will face also-unbeaten Pewamo-Westphalia in Saturday’s 4:30 p.m. championship game.
The Mountaineers have enjoyed quite a visit to East Lansing. On Wednesday, they spent an hour with 1973 graduate Tom Izzo, then watched his Michigan State team practice Thursday morning.
And all of that set up the Semifinal they weren’t necessarily expected to win – despite the perfect record they brought downstate. Edison (18-9) had more losses than all but one team making the trip to Breslin this weekend, but all seven to in-state opponents had come against Division 1 and 2 teams, and the Pioneers had just toppled top-ranked Flint Beecher in their Quarterfinal.
Edison then led most of the first quarter, carrying a seven-point advantage into the second.
“In the U.P. you don’t really see any athletes like that, with the length and athleticism they had,” Iron Mountain junior guard Marcus Johnson said.
But he and his teammates had a few surprises for Edison as well.
First was a game plan to attack the paint, which resulted in two first-quarter fouls for Pioneers’ 6-foot-6 junior Bryce George. He ended up limited to only 15 minutes for the game, with eight points and six rebounds that could’ve been a lot more with more time on the floor. He had four points and four rebounds before picking up that second foul 5:11 into the game.
Next, Iron Mountain played only six players, and four all 32 minutes. Edison had 12 players with at least four minutes of action, but couldn’t wear the Mountaineers down.
Not surprising was how Iron Mountain won. Johnson was averaging 23.3 points per game entering this week, and sophomore guard Foster Wonders was averaging 23.9. Wonders had 28 on Thursday, making nearly half his shots from the floor and 9-of-10 free-throw tries. Johnson had 23 points, with five 3-pointers and perfection on six free-throw attempts.
“One thing we knew about this team is they were winners. If a team has gone all season not losing a basketball, game, you have to respect them to the utmost,” Edison coach Brandon Neely said. “These guys play six guys, and one guy played four minutes. The thing about this team is they play so well as a team because they know where guys are. Teams like that are a great example to learn from.
“They played like champions.”
Sophomore guard Ralph Johnson came off the bench to lead Edison with 14 points, and senior forward Brian Taylor was held to 11 points and seven rebounds. Taylor, the team’s leading scorer coming into this week, was also its lone senior this season.
Edison shot a game-high 47 percent from the floor during the fourth quarter and got within 45-44 with 3:26 to play. But Iron Mountain’s “makers” – as Bucky Johnson called them, spinning off the “shooters shoot” phrase – had connected on 64 percent of their shots during the third quarter and made 50 percent during the fourth, including both shots from the floor and 10 straight free throws after Edison pulled within a point.
“Coach Izzo told us some people like it, some people love it and some people live it,” Marcus Johnson said. “And we want to live it. It’s an awesome feeling to get to the championship, and we want to get it home.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Iron Mountain celebrates Thursday its first Semifinal win since 1939. (Middle) Jake Dumais (32) battles Edison’s Brian Taylor for a loose ball.
Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 1
December 14, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
One week can tell only so much about a season just beginning. But plenty of hopeful Michigan high school boys teams hope last week's successes are an indication of more to come.
Each week during the regular season, we’ll glance at four teams from each class that have caught our attention, and this week's list includes a handful off to bounce-back starts. Results and records below are based on schedules posted at MHSAA.com.
Class A
Ann Arbor Pioneer (3-0) – Pioneer improved from six wins two seasons ago to 12 in 2014-15, and is a quarter of the way there again after a week that included a 71-64 overtime win over rival Skyline; Pioneer beat Skyline in the District last year after losing twice to the Eagles during the regular season.
Caledonia (2-0) – The Fighting Scots won close last week, 49-47 over Hastings and 73-67 over Byron Center, a couple of victories worth celebrating as the team works to rebound off a 5-16 finish from a year ago.
Grand Rapids Union (2-0) – After ending 9-13 last winter, Union could be a candidate for significant improvement as well; the Red Hawks opened with a 53-39 win over reigning Class C runner-up Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian and followed with a 54-53 nail-biter over Detroit Loyola.
Lake Orion (2-0) – The improvement has been immediate for the Dragons, who defeated Linden 66-62 and then Romeo 71-52; last season they won three games total and didn’t get their first victory until Feb. 4.
Class B
Coldwater (2-0) – Coming off the best football season in school history, the Cardinals are keeping the good times rolling; a year ago, an overtime loss to Marshall in the season’s second game started a 10-game losing streak and Coldwater finished 5-16, but this time the Cardinals followed another opening-night win over Battle Creek Lakeview with an 80-73 win over the Redhawks.
Chelsea (2-0) – Fresh off its first trip to the MHSAA Football Finals, Chelsea (9-13 a season ago) kicked off the winter with a 55-45 win over Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard and 50-39 win over a Milan team that made it to the Class B Semifinals in March.
Croswell-Lexington (1-0) – Last week’s 39-35 victory over Marine City was only one, but significant after the Pioneers finished 5-16 a year ago and didn’t win their first game until Jan. 9. They’ll look to get to 2-0 tonight against Memphis.
Lansing Catholic (2-0) – The Cougars quickly switched gears after a Semifinal football run to open with wins over nonleague rival Okemos (50-44) and Capital Area Activities Conference White rival Williamston (72-69 in overtime), the team it tied for the league title last season.
Class C
Addison (2-0) – The Panthers finished a 12-12 season strong last winter with a District title, and started this one similarly by defeating Hudson (44-42) and Quincy (40-37) after losing to Quincy by 40 points the last time they met.
Detroit Allen Academy (1-0) – Detroit Allen played only once last week, but made a statement with a 107-79 win over Class A Southfield; the Wildcats were 11-11 a year ago.
Flint Beecher (3-0) – What a way to start a new season: Beat a local rival in Flint Southwestern (77-49) and raise last season’s championship banner on opening night, then down Montrose 65-41 and Class A Detroit East English 72-69.
Johannesburg-Lewiston (2-0) – A year has made a difference for these Cardinals as well, as they beat Boyne Falls on opening night after losing by 25 to the same opponent in December 2014 on the way to finishing a solid 16-7.
Class D
Chassell (2-0) – After starting last season 0-3, the Panthers are off to a quick start to improving on last season’s 7-14 finish. They downed Watersmeet 84-53 and Baraga 64-61 after losing to them by 35 and 23 points, respectively, a year ago.
Hillman (2-0) – The Tigers are hoping to build on last season’s Quarterfinal run, which ended with a loss to eventual champion Powers North Central; they started this time with a 60-43 win over Cedarville, which lost only once last season and beat Hillman by 15 on opening night 2014.
Portland St. Patrick (2-0) – The Shamrocks are seeking their first winning season since 2011-12 and are off to the right start with victories over Morrice (39-34) and Bellevue (52-50). Brandon Schreurer made six 3-pointers against the Broncos.
Rogers City (2-0) – The Hurons started 2-0 last season too en route to 8-13. But if the second win of last week is an indication, this will be different as Rogers City broke 80 points for the first time since 2012 with an 87-54 victory over Posen.
PHOTO: Standish-Sterling also opened 2-0 with a win over Ogemaw Heights followed by this victory over Beal City. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)