Iron Mountain's Marcus Johnson, center, splits the Glen Lake defense of Reece Hazelton, left, and Cade Peterson, right, during a Class C state quarterfinal on Tuesday in Petoskey. (Adam Niemi/Iron Mountain Daily News)

PETOSKEY — Iron Mountain fell to Maple City Glen Lake in the Class C state quarterfinal in a 66-49 loss on Tuesday.

The Mountaineers (23-2) fell to a 21-5 deficit just after midway through the first quarter. They avenged themselves when Foster Wonders knocked down a jumper from the right elbow to give Iron Mountain its first lead of the game in the third quarter.

“It took us a little while to catch up to the speed of the game. They had a big lead on us. The guys did a heck of a job coming back in the second quarter cutting it to three at the half,” Iron Mountain coach Bucky Johnson said. “We were able to get over the hump in the third quarter. We just gave up too many easy baskets tonight. They’re a good club. They’re long, they’re athletic. You gotta give them credit, they’re tough.”

The Mountaineers had a tough time disrupting the rhythm the Lakers established with their big run in the first quarter. Reece Hazelton knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers early in the game and went on to finish with a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds. The 6-foot-5 sophomore also had six assists.

Foster Wonders led Iron Mountain with 20 points. He scored eight of his points in the third quarter, including a pair of free throws that brought Iron Mountain within a point of the Lakers.

Glen Lake made a night out of making runs on the Mountaineers. The Lakers put up 23 points in the first quarter and 24 points in the third. Iron Mountain made runs of its own, but nothing substantial enough to take the rhythm away from the Lakers for good. Glen Lake moves on to the state semifinals at the Breslin Center on Thursday, facing Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central. Detroit Edison Pubic School faces Grand Rapids Covenant in the other state semifinal. The final takes place Saturday.

“It feels pretty good. I’m not sure if it’s sunk in yet. It’s all because of these guys,” Glen Lake coach Rich Ruelas said. “They took it day by day, stayed in the moment and just worried about the day. They just played their hearts out for us tonight, their community. Super happy and going to the Breslin, baby.”

Wonders scored Iron Mountain’s first six points to give the Mountaineers their first lead of the game in the third quarter. He made 8 of 13 shots and made 2 of 3 treys.

But then Glen Lake tied the game back up about 10 seconds later and went on to out-score Iron Mountain 20-7 through the rest of the quarter. The Lakers added an exclamation point to the quarter with a pair of shots coming in the final three seconds. The first came off a fadeaway jumper by Xander Okerlund. Then, Peyton McDonough tipped a pass, got the steal and put up a desperate shot that bounced on the rim and in.

“It’s a good team, what else can I say? They’re 23-1, No. 1 rated team in the UP. That’s a darn good basketball team,” Ruelas said about Iron Mountain. “They just weren’t labored by that and threw some punches. I’m just proud of our guys and how resilient they were and bounced back and didn’t let it get to them. There’s going to be challenges, you just overcome them.”

While his cuts to the basket usually open up his shooting game, Marcus Johnson struggled to establish a rhythm. When he cut to the basket, where he’s usually strong at finishing, he was met by Hazelton and the 6-foot-6 Peterson. Johnson finished 2 of 16 shooting, including 0 for 7 on 3-pointers.

“Tough loss, it stings right now. When you look back on this season I thought the guys brought a lot out,” Coach Johnson said. “They enjoyed some tremendous success. They won the conference, the districts, the regionals, 23-2, one game away from getting to the Breslin Center. That was our goal and we didn’t make it. They have nothing to hang their heads about. We had a tremendous following, tremendous support. I’d like to thank all the people who supported us. Again, they’ve painted a picture of the team that they are and the players they are. They don’t have anything to be ashamed of.”

Ruelas said the Lakers’ fast start did a lot to set the tone for the game.

“I just think we came out with just an intense amount of focus, lockdown defense. We took away some of their rhythm. That’s a rhythm team, very good offensive team with good movement,” Ruelas said. “We took away their rhythm a little bit. But that’s a great basketball team and they responded well. They threw some punches back and ended up cutting it to three before half. We got back to what we do best and that’s being in attack mode, talking to each other on defense, pounding the ball low, inside and out. It felt good.”

Johnson said the team will work in the offseason to do what it can to reach its goal of playing at the Breslin Center.

“These guys are going to work in the offseason. They’re going to play other sports. They’re going to play basketball, run track, golf, tennis, soccer. They’re going to play football in the fall,” he said. “They’re going to be poised in that regard. They’re going to work in the weight room. The future’s bright. 

“I feel bad for the seniors. They’ve been a tremendous group to be around. They’re sharp kids. They didn’t get all the playing time or much of it, but they were certainly at practice giving it all they had for the team. You don’t find kids like that much anymore. That’s a real credit to them and their character because that’s what this is all about. They’re high-character kids. We’re going to be sad to see them go.”

– – – 

Iron Mountain 11 16 13 9 — 49

Glen Lake 23 7 24 12 — 66

IRON MOUNTAIN (49): Wonders 20, Gerhard 10, Johnson 8, Tucker 5, Vicenzi 4, Feira 2. FT: 8-11. F: 10. FG: 19-43. 3PT: 3-12 (Wonders 2, Tucker 1). Rebounds: 16 (Gerhard 7). Assists: 5. Steals: 7. Turnovers: 6.

GLEN LAKE (66): Hazelton 21, Peterson 19, Okerlund 17, Apsey 5, McDonough 2, Fosmore 2. FT: 3-7. F: 10. Rebounds: 22 (Hazelton 8). Assists: 16 (Hazelton 6). Turnovers: 3.