Paul Peterson/For the Gazette Connor LeClaire of Dollar Bay starts a fastbreak with an outlet pass in Monday's game versus Bessemer. The Speed Boys grabbed a 73-60 win.

DOLLAR BAY — Two of the better Division 4 boys basketball teams in the Upper Peninsula got together Monday evening when Bessemer tackled Dollar Bay-Tamarack City.

When the dust had settled, the visiting Speedboys had a well-earned 73-60 win in the Copper Mountain Conference.

“I thought it was a well-played game,” Blue Bolts coach Jesse Kentala said. “It had a good tempo and it was fun for the crowd to watch.”

Bessemer skipper Mark Mazzon said his team, now 4-1 on the season, played well.

“I thought we shot really well, especially in the first half,” Mazzon said. “Dollar Bay is a very quick team and they get back on defense.”

Led by Uriah Aili and Nick Trudgeon, the Gogebic County team forged leads of 19-17 and 39-28 after the first two quarters.

But the Bolts, who fell behind by a 43-28 margin to begin the third quarter, battled back behind the strong overall play of Ashton Janke, Connor LeClaire and Davin Hill to make it 55-47 by quarter’s end.

Hill and Janke netted a trio of three-point shots in the game, while Janke had one.

Bessemer built a double-digit lead in the fourth period – only to see the Bolts surge back.

Bessemer’s 6-foot-5 center Tyler Busch hit back-to-back three-point plays to finally seal it.

“He (Busch) made some big plays down the stretch,” Mazzon said. “We need him to do that in close games.”

Dollar Bay, now 3-1, received 18 points from Janke, while Hill and Connor LeClaire had 16 points each. Brandon LeClaire added a team-high 9 rebounds.

“I thought those guys played pretty well,” Kentala said. “They were battling some taller guys inside tonight.”

The winners were paced by Aili’s 24 points. Busch collected 12 points and a game-best 13 rebounds, while Trudgeon put in 11 more.

The Blue Bolts will host Ontonagon on Thursday.

Bessemer 19 20 16 18 -73

Dollar Bay 17 11 19 13 – 60

BESSEMER — Aspinwall 9, Aili 24, Busch 12, Mazzon 7, Trudgeon 11, Metas 6, Wroblewski 4 FT: 8-10; Rebounds: 33 (Busch 13); Fouls: 9; Fouled out: None; 3-point FG: Datto 3, Metas 2, Trudgeon 1, Aspinwall 1, Mazzon 1.

DOLLAR BAY — C. LeClaire 16, Janke 18, Hill 16, B. LeClaire 6, Schmitz 2, Kariainen 2. FT: 3-4; Rebounds: 28 (B. LeClaire 9); Fouls: 14; Fouled out: None; 3-point FG; Hill 3, Janke 3, C. LeClaire 1.