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E-TC’s Witt reaches 1,000-point mark in win over Baraga

Daily Mining Gazette/Daver Karnosky Ewen-Trout Creek athletic director Shawn Brown presents Jake Witt with a game ball during the second quarter of a game against Baraga Friday at the Baraga Gym. Witt reached 1,000 career points in the contest.

BARAGA — It took 10 minutes, 22 seconds for Ewen-Trout Creek junior Jake Witt to pick up the eight points he needed to reach the 1,000-point milestone Friday night. He finished his night with 24 points as the Panthers cruised to a 70-37 victory over the Baraga Vikings at the Baraga Gym in a Copper Mountain Conference game.

For Witt, the team win was more important than the milestone as the Panthers have struggled recently.

“After a three-game skid, all of them conference losses, it is nice to finally get back to winning,” said Witt. “Our last four games are important if we want to stay on top of our half of the conference.”

With head coach Brad Besonen unable to be in attendance due to a family obligation, assistant coach David Polkky felt honored to be a part of the festivities, which included a short recognition for Witt after reaching the 1,000-point plateau.

“It is special,” said Polkky. “I’ve seen very few 1,000-point scorers…There haven’t been a ton of them lately, so it is pretty special for Jake. He’s a special kid.”

Witt opened the scoring for both teams with a layup just 1:12 into the contest. He then added a jumper off an inbounds pass 1:13 later to put himself within four points of his milestone. He was held off the board again until the last 34 seconds when he made a pair of free throws to put himself within a score and put the Panthers up 18-10 after the opening quarter.

Then, in a show of sportsmanship as the quarter ended, Witt — who had run into Vikings junior Joey Francois, knocking him down and accidentally cutting his lip — checked to make sure his opponent was back on his feet before heading back to his teammates.

“Joey was actually bleeding a little bit,” said Vikings coach Daryl Putala. “The first thing [Witt] did was grab him before he even hit the floor. He plays hard. He’s the kind of kid you would want on your team.”

The Panthers set up their full-court press to keep the Vikings’ ball handlers on their heels, and that led to multiple turnovers for layups before Witt found himself at the line for a pair of free throws, which gave him the eight points necessary to reach 1,000.

From there, Witt was nearly unstoppable, adding another pair of free throws, a jumper, a 3 from the right corner, a layup and finally a dunk which electrified the crowd and pushed his total on the night to 19.

Witt admitted he felt relieved when he could get back to focusing on helping the team, rather than worrying about reaching the milestone.

“After the 1,000, the bit of nerves that I had fell off,” said Witt. “It was nice. I could play my game [and didn’t] have to worry about anything. I think that really brought me into my rhythm.”

While Witt and the Panthers opened up a wide margin-lead over a three-minute span, the Vikings were not helping their own case by turning the ball over or missing shots. They finished the second quarter with just four points.

Witt’s run helped the rest of the Panthers (9-7, 7-4) gain confidence, leading to strong nights from senior Austin Berglund, who scored 20 points, and sophomore Eli Nordine, who hit five 3s en route to a 17-point effort.

Baraga (0-16, 0-11) was much better in the second half, especially once Witt was off the floor. Senior Soloman Whitaker, who tied for the team lead with eight points, scored on three straight possessions for the Vikings, including a pair of 3s.

“We get that turnover letdown all the time,” said Putala. “But my kids don’t quit. They were hitting shots at the end. That can just snowball in a good way.”

Senior Jake Putala was also effective, grabbing rebounds and putting them back up for layups. He finished with eight points as well.

Baraga travels to face Chassell next Tuesday.

Ewen-Trout Creek 18 32 9 11 – 70

Baraga 10 4 7 18 – 39

ETC: Witt 24, Berglund 20, Nordine 17, Brand 3, Schutz 2, Borseth 2, Lindberg 2; Fouls: 13; Fouled out: none; 3-point field goals: Nordine 5, Berglund 2, Witt 1, Brand 1

BHS: Putala 8, Whitaker 8, G. Lindemann 8, Francois 5, Riply 4, Kangas 2, C. Lindemann 2, Beck 2; Fouls: 8; Fouled out: none; 3-point field goals: Whitaker 2

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