Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Gazette Houghton’s Isaiah Lawson (2) puts up a jumper as Hancock’s Lane Pennala (2) tries to stop him Thursday at the Houghton gym.

HOUGHTON — The Houghton High School Gym was the place to be on Thursday night for the annual Wing Ding battle on the basketball court for both the boys and girls teams. The boys played first, and Houghton was triumphant with a 75-37 victory before a packed crowd.

The Gremlins sunk an impressive 12 three pointers – good for 36 points, or nearly half of their total, and it started in the first quarter after the Bulldogs had taken a four-point lead at 14-10.

Houghton’s Isaiah Lawson had the hot hand, not just in the first eight minutes, but in all 32. He bucketed five triples and added a jumper for a total of 17 points on the night.

“When you start hitting threes, everything else starts to steamroll,” said Houghton coach Jared Lawson. “Your defense picks up. Your rebounding is stronger, and everything is on that momentum swing. That is what got things going for us.”

Houghton led 18-11 after the first. They outscored their rivals 20-5 in the second and now led 38-16 at half.

Even with a 20-point-plus lead, Jared Lawson noted he did not want his team to let up coming out of the third, and they didn’t disappoint. The Gremlins (13-8) stormed out to a 12-0 run which saw more threes from Isaiah Lawson and teammates.

This included Lane Laux, who led the Gremlins with 19 points. Luke Hill followed with 17.

For the Bulldogs (4-14), Alex Pietila was their top scorer with 21 points.

As the fourth got under way, both coaches were able to put their bench players in for some significant playing time, and both agreed that was important.

“I am proud of the boys as we got a Wing Ding win,” said Jared. “It is the biggest crowd we’ve played for, and everybody got a chance to experience it.”

Despite the loss, Hancock coach Zach Ohtonen recogized the importance of this rivalry as a high school tradition and memory. He was also pleased in the way his players handled themselves from start to finish.

“We did what we could against a good team,” he said. “In particular, we came out strong and took a lead to start the game. That was a good thing.”

UP NEXT

The Gremlins will travel to Marquette on Tuesday for a 7:15 p.m. start.

The Bulldogs will face Dollar Bay-Tamarack City on the road on Wednesday. Tip off is set for 7:15 p.m.