Calumet’s Micah Pieti (22) goes in towards the basket against Houghton’s Terry Nolan (1) and Isaiah Lawson during a game Monday at the Houghton High School gym. (Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — Eight minutes made all the difference for the Houghton Gremlins boys basketball team on Tuesday. The Houghton five came out cold in the first eight minutes in their game against Calumet (3-2), but lit up the scoreboard in the second quartet with a myriad of three pointers to outscore their opponent 31-9. That led to a 74-49 victory for the Gremlins (4-1).

It was Houghton’s toughest opponent this season as it pitted their senior lineup against another all-senior Calumet five. That proved to be a much more physical challenge on both sides of the court simply by size and strength.

“We couldn’t hit anything in the first quarter,” noted Houghton coach Jared Lawson. “Then we got going in the second, and that helped.”

The shot of choice for the Gremlins in the second was the 3-pointer. Nine of their 14 triples hit net during the second alone.

Luke Hill opened the quarter with two of them to tie the game at 15. After that, the Gremlins never looked back.

Hill went on to lead the scoring for Houghton with 26 points. He had six three-pointers. Teammate Terry Nolan was all net for three of his six triples in the second as well. He had 20 points on the night, and Lane Laux scored 13.

It was a 40-24 Houghton lead at half.

“At half, we talked about execution,” stated Calumet coach Frank Bonacorsi. “They sped us up in the second, and we had way too many turnovers. We got that under control in the third but just could not catch up with them. Kudos to Houghton. That is an extremely tough team. You can tell those kids put in their time.”

It was a 55-32 Houghton lead after three.

Copper Kings scored their most points in the fourth with 17, but it was still 20-plus points short in their loss.

The only Copper Kings’ player in double figures was Gavin Sturos with 20.

“I liked the effort,” added Bonacorsi. “It was a great back-and forth against a very good Houghton squad.”

UP NEXT

The Gremlins will wrap up December with two games this week. On Wednesday, they will travel to Ontonagon to face the Gladiators. Then on Friday, they will welcome the L’Anse Purple Hornets to their gym. Calumet will travel to Hancock on Thursday to face the Bulldogs and close out December on Friday in Baraga.