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Houghton puts it all together to get 1st win of season

Bryce Derouin/Daily Mining Gazette Houghton’s George Butvilas reaches for a rebound against L’Anse’s Reese Waara Monday in Houghton.

HOUGHTON — The Houghton Gremlins certainly did not appear like a team seeking its first win of the season in early January on Monday.

Senior Chris FIlpus ignited the offense early on with his inside presence on his way to a double-double (12 points, 13 rebounds). Sophomore George Butvilas provided the perimeter scoring with three 3s while also slashing to the lane for 17 points. And senior Nicholas Wilson outhustled everyone to earn a game-high 20 points.

That’s how Houghton will have to play if it wants to build off its first win of the season — a 61-49 West-PAC victory over the L’Anse Purple Hornets in Houghton.

“Offensively, we finally had our breakthrough tonight,” Houghton head coach Jared Lawson said. “I can’t say enough for the guys and how hard they’ve worked. It’s nice to see that offense work tonight.”

Entering Monday, Houghton’s (1-5, 1-3) best shooting performance was a 31-percent outing. Against L’Anse (2-5, 1-3) they converted at a 44-percent rate (24 of 55) and were a decent 5 of 15 from 3. The leading trio of Wilson, Filpus and Butvilas combined to shoot 20 of 39.

“We kind of simplified things on the offensive end,” Lawson said. “We scrapped everything and went to a basic offense and let the guys work out of that one offense — let them be players.”

The outcome was a stark contrast to the teams’ season opener on Dec. 8, when L’Anse pummeled Houghton 55-37 in Kyle Koski’s varsity head coaching debut at L’Anse. But in addition to simplifying their offense, the Gremlins threw out its signature 1-2-2 zone it played last year and replaced it with a 2-3 on Monday. L’Anse never truly looked comfortable, converting just 16 of 53 shots (30 percent).

“It shouldn’t (throw us out of synch),” Koski said. “Every day we play against a 2-3 in practice. Every drill we do, we’re constantly going against a 2-3. (Houghton) moved well in it tonight and we just stood around a little too much in the first half. By the second half, we started sending the guy short corner and got some open looks, but it was just too late.”

L’Anse did hit 10 3s on 27 attempts to keep them within striking distance for the first half. But despite L’Anse’s occasional 3, Houghton swarmed the ball anytime L’Anse attempted to drive near the paint.

“I want to make teams jump-shooting teams,” Lawson said. “L’Anse did a great job of making their shots, but I feel more comfortable making kids shoot the ball from the outside. Our 1-2-2 was giving up too much inside presence.”

Led by its defense, Houghton started the third quarter on a 14-3 run to take a 38-23 lead midway through the third quarter. Senior Ben Strong scored the last five points of Houghton’s rally.

Not to be outdone, L’Anse responded with a 11-3 run of its own, capped by a 3 from the left wing by junior Chase Parker.

However, Houghton scored eight unanswered points to go ahead 49-35 early in the fourth quarter before cruising to its first victory of the season.

Wilson jumpstarted Houghton’s final scoring spree, recording the first six points of the rally on layups off assists from freshman Bradley Sirard, Butvilas and Strong.

Besides his scoring, Wilson did it all for the Gremlins; he effectively jumped passing lanes on defense, led the break off turnovers and rebounds and was a formidable rebounding force on the offensive end, finishing with five offensive boards.

“He’s our grit guy. That sums him up perfectly,” Lawson said of Wilson. “I trust him on defense and he knows his role on offense. He grabs those rebounds, gets inside the post and has his hands in there and breaks really well.

“You can’t really teach that stuff as a coach. You can tell guys to do it, but Nick just instinctively knows where he needs to be.”

L’Anse never led in the game and watched Houghton start the game on an 8-1 run as the Purple Hornets missed their first five shots.

For L’Anse, sophomore Reese Waara scored 14, while senior Dylan Harden had 11 points.

“Houghton just played harder tonight,” Koski said. “Houghton’s getting better and better… I knew they were going to bring intensity tonight, and it showed. They played well as a team, shot well and got open looks.”

Next, Houghton heads to Gwinn on Wednesday; L’Anse hosts Chassell on Thursday.

L’Anse           9 11 15 14 — 49

Houghton 1311 21 16 — 61

L’Anse — Waara 14, Parker 3, Bogda 8, Harden 11, Fedie 3, Fish 3, Sanregret 3, Tembreull 4. F: 13; Fouled out: None; Free throws: 7-11; 3-point field goals: Waara 3, Bogda 2, Parker, Harden, Fedie, Fish, Sanregret.

Houghton — Butvilas 17, Strong 8, Sirard 4, Wilson 20, Filpus 12. F: 14; Fouled out: None; Free throws: 8-12; 3-point field goals: Butvilas 3, Strong, Sirard.

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