CALUMET — On the shoulders of Dryden Nelson’s second half brilliance, the Calumet Copper Kings held off the Houghton Gremlins 63-54 on Monday night.

The senior scored 29 points, hitting five 3-pointers out of six attempts and making 10 out of 11 free throws.

“Dryden did a great job,” said Calumet head coach Frank Bonacorsi. “The whole second half (we) really leaned on him.”

Nelson scored 21 of his 29 points in the second half and sunk 10 of 11 clutch free throws in the fourth quarter to seal the Calumet win. Senior Kip Kangas contributed 11 points and eight rebounds for the Kings.

With the win, Calumet improved their record to 2-1.

“I am very, very proud of (the team),” Bonacorsi said after the win. “We had a lot of guys step up.”

Calumet’s lead reached as many as 17 in the win and they led for most of the game.

After dropping the game, The Gremlins’ record is now 1-3

“We were out-coached, and we were outplayed from the opening tip to the end,” Houghton head coach Jared Lawson said.

Dispite the loss, Houghton took some positives away from the contest.

“Our guys hustled,” said Lawson. “They kept fighting to the end.”

Junior Mikko Salmi led the way for Houghton with 13 points, Freshman Isaiah Lawson added 11, and senior Tucker Ryynanen chipped in with 10.

The game started with the Kings scoring seven straight points. After struggling to find the basket, the Gremlins answered with an 8 point run to capture their only lead of the game. Trailing 8-7, Calumet hit two baskets in the quarter’s final minute and took an 11-8 lead into the second frame.

A steal from Nelson led to a 3-pointer to make it a eleven-point game, 21-10, with 4:21 left in the half. Halfway through the second quarter, Houghton was down 21-13. Both squads scored eight points to round out the first half, and Calumet took a 29-18 lead into the final two quarters.

After the break, Calumet picked up where they left off. With 5:10 left in the third quarter, The Kings went on an 11-2 run in just over two minutes. Nelson propelled the streak with three triples in that span. Calumet had a 41-24 lead at the 4:15 mark in the third. The Gremlins outscored the Kings 8-4 in the final 3:45 of the third quarter, but Calumet took a commanding 45-32 lead into the fourth quarter.

Houghton came out in the final quarter desperate to gain momentum and with five minutes remaining in the game, the they closed the gap to 47-37. Houghton fought hard to reduce the deficit, but the Kings continued to score and keep up with the Gremlin push. The Gremlins outscored Calumet in the final quarter 22-18, but failed to come back.

Both teams will return to action after winter break. The Copper Kings travel to Jeffers at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 4. The Gremlins host West Iron County at 7:15 p.m. Jan. 4.