Jeffer’s Isaiah Frahm amids Ontonagon defenders on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022, in Painesdale, Mich. (Eddie O’Neill/The Daily Mining Gazette)

PAINESDALE — Despite a strong first quarter effort, the Ontonagon Gladiators(2-4) could not keep up with the strong shooting of the Jeffers Jets and lost 93-55 on Tuesday. The Jets’ Levi Frahm poured in an impressive 36 points which included eight three pointers. Teammate, Johnny Schutz, was right behind him with 25 points and two threes. On the night, Jeffers (6-0) sunk 12 triples.

“Offensively, we finally hit some shots,” said Jeffers’ head coach John Schutz. “We haven’t been shooting well, but we were on the mark tonight, and it felt good.”

By far Ontonagon’s best quarter was the first. The Gladiators opened with two threes courtesy of Ryan Preiss and Jack Nelson. They then pushed out to an 11-7 lead. Jeffers battled back thanks to the sharp eye of Schutz who sunk 14 of the team’s 24 first-quarter points. The Jets led 22-20 after eight.

Ontonagon head coach Brittany Turin- Jilbert was pleased with her team’s start.

“We knew it was going to be a tough contest going into this,” she said. “However, the boys were able to play with them (Jeffers) that whole first quarter.”

The second quarter was a different story as the Gladiators couldn’t keep up with the run-and gun play of the Jets. Quick passing and a strong fast break led to quite a few layups and a 60- 34 lead for the Jets at half.

“We do not have a lot of fancy plays,” said Schutz. “These kids play together a lot, and they know each other’s tendencies. So, it lends itself to a fun style of basketball for us.”

Coming out of the locker room, the Jets continued to be all net and outscored the Gladiators 24-14 in the third.

“We just couldn’t keep up with them,” added Turin-Jilbert. “We are definitely undersized this year, and that makes it hard to keep up with a team like Jeffers who pushed the ball so consistently.”

While scoring 93 points was a lot for Jeffers, it was not too far off the mark. According to their coach the Jets have been averaging around 75 points a game. Coach Turin-Jilbert noted the same in regard to Ontonagon’s scoring effort.

“Tonight,was more than we usually score,” she said.

Her big scorers were Bryce Buzzo who had 19 points. Reece LaBine followed with 13. As a team, the Gladiators sunk six three pointers.

“Despite the lopsided score, I was pleased with the boys’ effort,” Turin-Jilbert said. “They fought through the whole game and didn’t hang their heads.”

OAHS 20 14 14 7 — 55

JHS 24 36 24 9 — 93

ONTONAGON (55): Buzzo 19, Potter 4, LaBine13, Preiss 9, Bramlett 4, Strasser 6. FT: 5-8. 3-pointers: Buzzo 1, LaBine 3, Preiss 2.

JEFFERS (93): Kinnunen 9, L. Frahm 36, L. Heinonen 2, Kunishige 2, Larson 4, M. Schutz 2, J. Schutz 25, Mattila 4, I. Frahm 9. FT: 9-12. 3-pointers: L. Frahm 8, Kinnunen 1, J. Schutz 2, I. Frahm 1.