Houghton’s Kyle Primeau (12) shoots while being defended by Jeffers’ Reid Heinonen on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, in Painesdale, Mich. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

PAINESDALE — From the opening tip to the final buzzer, the Houghton Gremlins commanded a lead over the Jeffers Jets for a 60-56 win Tuesday.

It was quite a different outcome from the first time these two teams met. That was early in the season, and the Jets (16-3) flew past the Gremlins 70-49.

Not only did Houghton (9-9) get revenge, but they did so in an ‘unfriendly’ environment.

“To come in here on their home floor and play a top-five team on senior night and win is pretty impressive,” said Gremlins’ head coach Jared Lawson. “I’m very proud of these guys.”

Jeffers head coach John Schultz commended the Gremlins for their impressive play.

“Houghton came to play tonight,” Schultz said. “They did everything well, and they won it. They showed real heart,and we got beat.”

After an opening back-and-forth battle to start the first quarter, the Gremlins sunk three triples thanks to the precise shooting of Kyle Primeau and Mikko Salmi. It put the Gremlins up 11-4. Salmi and Primeau would go on to lead the scoring for the Houghton squad with 18 and 17 points respectively. As the first wound down, the Gremlins showed their rebounding prowess on both ends of the court. It caused frustration to the Jets’ offense as they were one and done seemingly each offensive possession.

“It’s something we’ve worked on,” Lawson said. “Tonight, the kids showed much improvement from the last time we played them. In that one, they destroyed us on offensive rebounds.”

With a 20-13 lead after the first eight minutes, the Gremlins continued to play their game. They were patient as they moved the ball around and waited for open shots or a chance to drive through the lane. On defense, they kept the hot hands of the Jets Johnny Schutz, Levi Frahm and Andrew Kinnunen on the perimeter as they struggled to find the bottom of the net.

“We talked about how we were going to approach this game,” Lawson added. “We were not going to have any gimmicks. We were going to play straight man-to-man ( defense), and it paid off.”

In the third the Gremlins pushed a 32-25 halftime lead to a 44-29 lead. Momentum was on their side to say the least. Lawson noted that everyone contributed, but they needed to stay strong and finish this one.

Momentum swung Jeffers’ way to open the fourth.

Andrew Kinnunen hit three triples in a row to put the Jets within one at 49-48. At the 1:24 mark, the Gremlins still had a 56-50 cushion. However, the Jets went on another run to tie it at 56 with less than 30 second to go. Lawson called time out.

“I told them to stay calm and relax,” he said. “Relax and compose yourself, and they did.”

The Gremlins’ cool style under pressure kept the Jets off the scoreboard. Meanwhile Salmi sunk a couple of free throws to seal the win at 60-56.

“I cannot say enough about the effort these guys put into this one,” Lawson said. “It was a huge win for us.”

HHS 20 12 14 14 — 60

JHS 13 12 12 18 — 56

HOUGHTON (60): Lawson 8, K. Primeau 17, Salmi 18, Ryynanen 4, Pugh 11, D. Primeau 2. 3-pointers: K. Primeau 2, Salmi 2. FT: 15-24.

JEFFERS (56): Kinnunen 9, L. Frahm 14, L. Heinonen 3, Kunishige 3, Larson 2, J. Schutz 18, R. Heinonen 3, K. Mattila 4. 3-pointers: Kinnunen 3, L. Frahm 1, L. Heinonen 1, Kunishige 1, J. Schutz 2, R. Heinonen 1. FT. 9-11.