Chassell’s Karl Rautiola (12) dribbles against Calumet on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020, in Chassell, Mich. (Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Gazette)

CHASSELL — Tuesday night’s boys matchup between Chassell and Calumet came down to the fourth quarter.

With the score tied at 34, the game could have gone either way. Calumet (3-8) poured on the offense and outscored the Panthers 20-9 for a 54-45 victory.

“Our defensive intensity was great and our ball movement was fantastic,” said Copper Kings head coach Frank Bonacorsi. “The guys are putting in the work and starting to see fruits of their labor.”

Neither team came out real strong after the tip-off. Calumet led 5-0 for the first few minutes as the Panthers (11-3) had a tough time finding the net. In fact, it took them more than three minutes to score their first bucket. It would be a problem that would haunt them the rest of the night.

“Our shooting was terrible,” said Chassell head coach Raphael Soumis. “We just did not play well tonight.”

The game was tied at seven after the first quarter. Things got slightly better for the Panthers in the second as they hit three 3-pointers for a 20-18 halftime lead.

In the third, the Copper Kings began to find the net from three-point range as well. Two back-to back triples put the Copper Kings up 26-25. It was their first lead since the opening few minutes. Chassell would come back though to tie the game at 34 by the time the third was over.

Sophomore Dryden Nelson played a big role on both ends of the court in the Copper Kings second half run. He scored eight of his 11 points in the third and fourth quarters and hit the boards hard much to the satisfaction of his coach.

Nelson was one of three Copper Kings who scored in double figures. Bevin Antilla led the charge with 17 points. Eli McParlan had 10.

For the Panthers, Karl Rautiola led the charge with 19 points. Bill Rautiola followed with 13.

Chassell hosts Jeffers on Friday. Calumet hosts L’Anse on Tuesday.

Calumet 7 11 16 20 — 54

Chassell 7 13 14 9 — 45

CALUMET (54): Nelson 11, Poyhonen 3, Antilla 17, McParlan 10 Twardzik 4, Torola 9. 3-point FG: 9 (Antilla 4, Nelson 3, Poyhonen 1, Torola 1). F: 10. FT: 5-9

CHASSELL (45): K. Rautiola 19, Pietila 5, Holmes 2, B. Rautiola 13, Kytta 4. 3-point FG: 7 (K. Rautiola 3, B. Rautiola 3, Pietila1). F: 14 FT: none.