Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By JASON JUNO
Ironwood — Gogebic won its home opener 75-62 over the Northland College JV team Thursday night.
The Samsons started fast and led 43-24 at halftime. They needed that margin as Northland fought back to make it a closer game in the second half.
Gogebic was playing the second night of a back-to-back after a nice win at Marshfield the night before, but it was a late trip. The Samsons, though, only played well in one half that game, the second, and they’ve generally had one good half in all of their games in the young season.
“It’s one of those things, start of a season, we’re only at, what, our fifth game. I hate to say it, we haven't hit our stride yet, but hopefully we do soon,” Gogebic coach Dennis Mackey said.
After such a dominant first half Thursday, it’d be easy to get complacent, he said. The Samsons also lack a strong inside game as they battle some injuries.
“If we finish more plays at the basket, I think we’ll have a better offense,” Mackey said.
Cori Johnson led the Samsons with 20 points. Kadin Baxter had a double double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. X’Zavion McCoy recorded 18 points.
“I really like Cori, I think he’s just tough. I think he gets to his spots really well and he gets the mid-range really well,” said Northland coach Cole Schreiner, who coached the GCC women during the 2022-23 season. “Kadin, he’s got a nice inside-outside game, I think, where he gave us a few problems. He’d get a tip and get an offensive rebound and a putback and it was a backbreaker and he’d step out and hit a 3 or something. I thought those two did really well.
“And the press gave us some troubles, too, I thought, it got the ball out of our primary ballhandlers’ hands. I thought their guards did a good job getting us out of rhythm, especially early on.”
Northland’s varsity team is 0-4 to start the year, but they’re young. They have nine new players, five freshmen, two of whom started in a loss at St. Scholastica on Nov. 20.
“We’re coming off a rough year last year,” Schreiner said. “It’s going to be baby steps. It’s going to take a little bit of time. We just have to keep grinding it out and eventually it’s going to start moving in the right direction. You hope guys by second semester when conference play starts, they’re figuring things out and they’re in a rhythm and hopefully we can hit that rhythm at the right time.”
Gogebic improved to 4-1 and was to play Bay College Tuesday night, Nov. 26. The Samsons are home again on Dec. 6-7.
Northland College JV — Finnley Powell 17, Aveion Cavitt 3, Hayden Harmoning 24, Ian McFaggen 11, Ryan Ehlert 7. FTs: 13-22. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None. 3-pointers: McFaggen 3, Powell 1, Ehlert 1.
Gogebic — Kadin Baxter 19, X’Zavion McCoy 18, Jalen Browning 4, Bradyn Pieper 8, Cori Johnson 20, Kaden Vardon 3, Enrique Moreno-Bautista 2, Tyson Klingman 1. FTs: 7-10. Fouls: 20. Fouled out: None. 3-pointers: McCoy 2, Pieper 2, Baxter 1, Vardon 1.
Northland 24 62
Gogebic 43 75
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MARSHFIELD, Wis. — GCC outscored Marshfield 56-30 in the second half for a 78-61 victory last week.
The Samsons trailed 31-22 at the half, but they beat Marshfield for the second time this season with a huge second half. The key, coach Dennis Mackey said, was the increased pace of play.
“Our first half was a struggle, Marshfield came to play,” he said. “The Marauders controlled the glass on both ends of the court, were methodical offensively and they were making shots. In contrast, the Samsons misfired on numerous open looks and were limited in second-chance opportunities. To put it simply, we shot poorly and too often were one and done.”
More energy and defensive pressure led to fast-break opportunities in the second half.
“Kudos to the guys for responding in the second half,” Mackey said. “The effort was there in the first half, but we seemed to be stuck in mud. The energy displayed in the second half was the difference, and our athleticism really took over on both ends of the floor.”
X’Zavion McCoy led Gogebic with 25 points, Cori Johnson and Jalen Browning both had 13 and Kadin Baxter scored 12.
“In the second half, the entire team played better. A few guys really stood out — Jalen played well on the inside while Cori, Zay (McCoy) and Ben (Salkauskas) seemed to ignite us on the perimeter.”
GCC improved to 3-1.
GCC — Kadin Baxter 12, X’Zavion McCoy 25, Cori Johnson 13, Ben Salkauskas 7, Hernan Cortez 5, Mikel Allen 3, Jalen Browning 13. FTs: 10-16. Fouls; 12. Fouled out: None. 3-pointers: McCoy 4, Johnson 1, Allen 1.
Marshfield — Brennen Peterson 6, Tyler Linzmeier 5, CJ Thompson 2, Owen Hanson 17, Dominic Quednow 5, Owen Corbine-Nelis 4, Jake Skroch 17, Dylan Baker 5. FTs: 8-12. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: None. 3-pointers: Peterson 2, Skroch 2, Linzmeier 1, Quednow 1, Baker 1.
GCC 22 78
Marshfield 31 61
