Witt’s 24 points, 24 rebounds, 7 blocks lead No. 2 E-TC past Chassell for 9-0 start
EWEN — Asked about his dunks, and Jake Witt replies with the causality one would use while discussing the weather over a cup of coffee.
But they’re nowhere near anything as benign as the day’s forecast.
Early in the first quarter, Witt released a shot near the block that bounced off the rim. Before any Chassell defender could corral the rebound, Witt had already elevated and slammed back his own miss for the putback dunk.
“I just went up for the rebound putback and I was up there, so I thought I would try it,” Witt said.
The emphatic slam was a sign of the dominant night Witt would have in No. 2 Ewen-Trout Creek’s 63-42 Copper Mountain Conference win over Chassell Thursday in Ewen. Witt finished with 24 points, a career-high 24 rebounds, seven blocks and three dunks.
“If he gets on the rim early, he seems to have a little bit more giddy-up early on,” E-TC coach Brad Besonen said. “The games that he’s gone to the rim early and finished something, it’s mostly been good for us.”
In Chassell’s aggressive 2-3 trapping zone, Witt was always drawing the attention of as many as three defenders. But sometimes that wasn’t enough to limit the 6-foot-7, 240-pound center. Later in the first quarter, Witt caught the ball on the left block, drop stepped and dunked as three Chassell defenders could do nothing but look on.
“We had two guys, we had three guys on him, it just didn’t seem to matter,” Chassell coach Bill Sleeman said. “When he wanted to, he did what he wanted.”
Still, Witt’s biggest impact came on the defensive end. E-TC (9-0, 4-0) started in a man-to-man defense with Witt sagging off Chassell junior Elijah Soumis. But after Soumis knocked down a few jumpers, Besonen adjusted and had his team run a 2-3 zone, allowing Witt to protect the basket. With Chassell’s dribble-drive game negated by Witt’s length, the team shot just 20 of 63 from the field (32 percent) and was 2 of 18 from 3-point range (11 percent).
Chassell senior Aaron Barnes led the way with 13 points and Soumis added 12.
“You can only drive in so many times and keep a bit of confidence every time you’re going up,” Sleeman said. “He blocked us four or five times, then we started settling for too many outside shots instead of staying with our plan of attacking.”
Chassell’s offensive inconsistency never allowed it to take advantage of the 22 turnovers the team forced E-TC into. E-TC struggled with Chassell’s speed, turning it over 21 times over the course of the first three quarters.
“They really had us flustered with that half-court, three-quarters trapping stuff they were doing,” Besonen said. “We haven’t played a team that attacks us. The good teams we’ve played have been more concerned with the half-court situation instead of not letting us get to the point.
“We talked about their quickness. We obviously can’t simulate it in practice, so it was learned on the fly. We had to take our lumps early on with that.”
In a game where E-TC never trailed, there was no debilitating run that led to the 21-point victory, but instead, key plays to never allow Chassell (6-2, 4-2) to come within striking distance.
E-TC eighth-grader Jaden Borseth finished a 3-point play with a free throw following a layup for a 46-31 advantage after the third, and then knocked down a 3 from the corner off an assist from Witt for a 57-40 advantage midway through the fourth quarter. Borseth finished with 16 points after being a game-time decision with an ankle injury, and junior Eli Nordine scored nine of his 11 points during the third quarter.
“Jaden almost didn’t play tonight and played the best game he’s played on varsity,” Besonen said. “Tonight, we didn’t have a long stretch where we didn’t score, and we’ve had that. It’s good to score here and there.”
E-TC finished 23 of 51 from the field (45 percent) and was 6 of 21 from 3 (29 percent). E-TC held a 45-27 edge on the glass.
Next, E-TC hosts Lake Linden-Hubbell on Tuesday; Chassell welcomes L’Anse on the same day.
MOVING GAME TO TECH BEING DISCUSSED
Dollar Bay coach Jesse Kentala and Besonen have discussed the possibility of moving the Feb. 6 matchup between Dollar Bay and E-TC to Michigan Tech.
Early on, Dollar Bay was against the idea because the school thought it would lose the money from the gate that would originally go to the school if it was held at Dollar Bay’s gym. After learning that’s not the case, Kentala reached out to Besonen. Dollar Bay could perhaps take in a bigger gate if the game was moved to Tech since more E-TC fans would travel with the understanding there would be enough space for them to watch the game at the Wood Gym.
Besonen said he’s fine with whatever Kentala and Dollar Bay decides.
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Chassell 10 13 8 11 — 42
E-TC 14 16 16 17 — 63
Chassell — Hokenson 2, Gockenbach 9, Barnes 13, Soumis 12, Kinnunen 6. F: 16; Fouled out: None; Free throws: 0-0; 3-point field goals: Gockenbach, Barnes.
E-TC — Cousineau 4, Eli Nordine 11, Cole Borseth 6, Driesenga 2, Jaden Borseth 16, Witt 24. F: 5; Fouled out: None; Free throws: 11-15; 3-point field goals: Jaden Borseth 3, Cole Borseth 2, Witt.