NEGAUNEE — The old adage says that good things come to those who wait. 

That could apply to the Ewen-Trout Creek senior class on the Panthers’ boys basketball team after they had a rough couple of years prior to this winter’s magical run.

They paid their dues now that E-TC is the MHSAA Division 4 Region 25 champion with a 56-44 victory over North Central at Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium on Wednesday.

The Panthers (21-3) play Rudyard (23-1) in the MHSAA Division 4 state quarterfinal at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Munising. Rudyard defeated Onaway 52-37 in the Region 26 championship.

“It’s safe to say until preparations for that game begin, the Panthers will celebrate their long-awaited regional title with a senior-laden team. It feels sweet, I’m just so happy for our guys, really happy for our older guys that have taken their lumps to get here, especially how last year turned out in the districts and the year before having COVID take it out from them,” Besonen said. “I’m just so happy, I was sitting up there in my radio interview just watching smiles on the floor, and that’s what it’s all about.”

After the Panthers’ Eric Abramson shone in Monday’s semifinal win over Lake Linden-Hubbell with 11 of his 18 points in the second quarter, it didn’t seem like he could outdo that. Then came Wednesday’s second quarter.

He scored 15 of his team’s 17 points in that eight-minute stretch when E-TC turned a close and low-scoring 9-5 lead after one quarter into a 26-13 advantage at halftime. Abramson finished with 31 points.

Whether it was driving to the rim with some impressive moves, or knocking down three 3-pointers, the second quarter was all Abramson.

“He’s become an offensive nightmare for teams,” E-TC coach Brad Besonen said. “His weight room (work) has just blown him up into a great scorer. 

“In the past, he was a catch-and-shoot guy that could handle it really well, but he’d get knocked off his spot when we would take it to the hole. His weight room the last two years has allowed him to become physically strong.”

The Panthers were also able to disrupt the offense of North Central (19-5), holding the Jets to only a baker’s dozen worth of points in the first half. The Jets weren’t getting anything easy at the rim, and the Panthers’ full-court pressure made matters worse.

E-TC’s Jaden Borseth scored six quick points to start the game, but only made one fourth-quarter free throw after that. 

In the third quarter while trying to keep their substantial lead, Abramson and teammate Kelsey Jilek did most of the scoring for Ewen. Seven points from Abramson and six points from Jilek in that period allowed the Panthers to assume a 42-20 lead heading into the fourth.

Despite their earlier struggles on offense, NC made a game of it in the final quarter. While the Jets’ Luke Gorzinski was held to one point in the first 3 1/2 quarters, E-TC’s Abramson had more points than the entire Jets team until the final three minutes.

Gorzinski and Bradey Anderson got hot down the stretch for NC, combining for 19 of their 24 points in the fourth. Bryson Mercier also got involved as his 3-pointer cut Ewen’s lead to single digits, 51-44, for the first time since early in the second quarter. 

“We had absolutely zero give-up, we did not give up,” NC coach Mike Malone said. “We gave heart and soul, and I’m so proud of these boys. They gave everything they had, it’s a difficult thing, but at the end of the day as long as you give everything you have, you gotta be happy.”

The Jets’ comeback ended up being too little, too late as they had to play the fouling game in the final two minutes. Even though the Panthers missed the front end of several one-and-one’s, once they got into the double bonus, the game was sealed. Abramson knocked down a pair of free throws, and Caden Besonen raced for an uncontested layup to end it. 

“That fourth quarter just shows how hard it is to win a regional, everybody wants a piece of it,” Besonen said. “Even if you have a lead, you can’t count out the other team or the desire of them to try to beat you.”

Anderson led NC with 14 points, while Gorzinski added 10. In addition to Abramson’s game-high 31 points, Jilek added nine, Besonen eight and Borseth seven.

“No. 11 played an outstanding game for their team, young Mr. Abramson, wow,” Malone said of the E-TC scoring leader. “I did not see that coming, that was a great game for him. 

“But defensively, I wouldn’t change a thing. I would go back to it, I have faith in my guys, but the ball didn’t bounce our way.”

E-TC 9 17 16 14 — 56

NC 5 8 7 24 — 44

Summary (field goals, free throws, total points)

EWEN-TROUT CREEK (56): Besonen 3-1-8, Abramson 11-4-31, Nordine 0-1-1, Jilek 4-1-9, Borseth 3-1-7. Totals 21-8-56. FT: 8-16.

NORTH CENTRAL (44): Florenski 2-0-4, Anderson 6-0-14, Mercier 1-0-3, Gorzinski 4-1-10, Naser 1-0-2, Sampson 1-1-4, Cordy 3-0-7. Totals 18-2-44. FT: 2-4.