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The Ely Timberwolves play fast, and that has led to a fast start to the 2024-25 high school boys basketball team.
Ely is a perfect 3-0 after a busy season- opening stretch that included three contests in five nights.
Tuesday’s 110-36 blowout at Floodwood capped things off, on a night in which the Wolves racked up 70 first-half points and put the overmatched Polar Bears away.
The Wolves opened with a 75-32 blowout of International Falls and came on strong in the second half Saturday afternoon to win 74-59 at Hill City.
No matter the opponent, the Wolves have been remarkably consistent and have shown off good balance during the hot start.
“I think we have been really good on both ends of the floor,” said head coach Tom McDonald. “We have defended well in the full and quarter court and we have limited our turnovers and have shot well to start the season. We are playing at a faster pace than we did last year which has allowed us to get some easy baskets in transition.”
Class AA International Falls was the opponent for the Dec. 6 opener at home, and the Broncos were never in the game.
Senior Caid Chittum poured in 31 points and had six steals, with numerous layups coming after turnovers or in transition.
The Wolves return all five starters from last season and two others had big games.
Junior Jack Davies scored 21 points and flirted with triple and quadruple- doubles, finishing with nine steals, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Another junior, Drew Johnson, notched a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The Wolves and host Hill City battled evenly until the last 10 minutes or so, when the visitors closed out the win with a huge finish.
Johnson nailed three straight buckets as Ely forged ahead and the Wolves were on their way.
“I thought we really clamped down in the Hill City game defensively and went on a 19-2 to run to end the game,” said McDonald.
Chittum once again led with 30 points and 11 rebounds, and sophomore Wyatt Tedrick poured in 13 points for the day.
Davies added 12 points and six assists, while Johnson contributed in several phases - recording 11 points, 13 rebounds and winding up a couple assists shy of a triple-double.
Tuesday’s game was no contest as Ely forced turnover after turnover while winning a third straight contest.
Chittum paced the winners with 24 points and eight assists, while Davies came up with a double-double with 22 points and 10 steals.
Sophomore Leo McKrahl came off the bench to add 15 points and 17 rebounds, while Johnson had a 14-point, nine rebound evening. Tedrick also had 13 points.
The Wolves met Mesabi East after deadline and host Cook County on Tuesday in their final game before a brief holiday break.
