Hancock’s Vandan Jacques (0) shoots against Ironwood during a Division 3 District 65 opener Monday in Hancock. (David Archambeau/Daily Mining Gazette)

HANCOCK — When the 3-point shooting of the Hancock Bulldogs faltered in an opening round Division 3 District 65 boys basketball opener Monday versus Ironwood, there was trouble ahead.

The Red Devils took advantage of the misses in a 68-44 win.

Ironwood coach Pete Lewinski said the book on Hancock was straight forward.

“All we knew is that (Bulldogs) were very young and that they liked to shoot threes,” Lewinski said. “We defensed the arc pretty well for three quarters.”

Hancock managed to convert just three triples — all in the second half — and never could work their way back into contention after falling behind by a 31-12 margin at the half.

“For whatever reason, we came into the game flat,” Hancock coach Matt Strong said. “They were kind of flat, too. But they ran their stuff well and knew what they were going to do. We didn’t make our defensive adjustments.”

When the ‘Dawgs did make a move in the second half, it was quickly repulsed by the Red Devils.

Matt DiGeorgio was the Ironwood player who did the most to douse any comeback hopes of the locals. He dumped in two treys and fed Sawyer Stangard for a layup to turn a 48-34 game into a 52-34 runaway with just five minutes left.

“I thought Matt DiGeorgio played outstanding tonight,” Lewinski said. “He knocked down the three-pointers and just played really well.”

Strong, who played a mostly sophomore-freshmen team all season, said the Devils had too much athleticism for his team.

“They (Ironwood) have a solid team with mostly upperclassmen,” he said. “That makes a big difference.”

Freshman Vandan Jaques paced the 1-19 Bulldogs with 16 points. Junior Carson Chynoweth added 14 points and four steals. Freshman JD Sebbas added seven points and a team-best eight rebounds.

DiGeorgio was tops for the 9-12 winners. Stangard put in 13 more and grabbed 10 boards. Tommy Lunden added 10 points.

Strong said his team, which loses just one senior, will get to work on next season almost immediately.

“I told them to get some rest and relax for awhile. I believe we’re going to get better,” he said. “We had spurts of greatness this year against some good teams, we have something to work on.”

Ironwood will host Iron Mountain in the district semifinals Wednesday.

Ironwood 14 17 16 21 — 68

Hancock 7 5 12 20 — 44

IRONWOOD (68): Stangard 13, Keschich 2, DiGeorgio 16, Lundin 10, Recla 8, Lyons 4, Rubatt 1, Dabb 6, Gauthier 2, Delich 2. FT: 4-9. Rebounds: 29 (Staangard 1). F: 12. Fouled out: None. 3-point FG: DiGeorgio 4, Stangard 2.

HANCOCK (44): Chynoweth 14, Jaques 16. Sebbas 7, Raasio 4, Packard 3. FT: 8-12. Rebounds: 19 (Sebbas 8). F: 12. Fouled out: None. 3-point FG: Sebbas 1, Chynoweth 1, Jaques 1.