Iron Mountain senior Oskar Kangas (0) closes in to block a shot attempt by Gladstone senior Evan Woelffer (12) during a game on Dec. 10, 2024 at Gladstone High School. (“The Big Dog” Mitch Vosburg/Daily Press)

GLADSTONE — Iron Mountain continued its red hot start to the 2024-25 campaign with a 75-34 win over Gladstone Tuesday night.

“It’s our first road game of the year, and we know Gladstone is young trying to feel its way through the early part of the season,” Mountaineers coach Bucky Johnson said. “Our first two games we handled the teams pretty effectively. Tonight was more of a challenge, and we didn’t press.”

The Mountaineers (3-0) entered their third game of the season with a pair of massive wins under their belts. IM jumped to a 27-2 first quarter lead in a 72-22 win over West Iron County on Dec 6th and claimed the first 20 points in 210 seconds to claim an 82-26 win over Manistique on Monday.

But this game proved to be a different challenge. It was the Mountaineers first road game and their first back-to-back games of the season.

In the end, it didn’t make a difference.

While Gladstone drew first blood with a jumper from Junior Teagan Reynolds at the top of the key, IM clapped back. And in a big way.

The Mountaineers began to find momentum on both sides of the floor. With several good looks not dropping for the Braves (1-2), IM surged with a 17-0 run before a layup from senior Evan Woelffer made the deficit 17-4, later turning to 18-4 after 8 minutes.

IM stayed hot in the second, using a 12-0 run to open a 30-6 lead. Gladstone sophomore Lonnie Davey connected with a runner and a pair of free throws to go on a 4-2 run of his own, but it was nowhere near enough to get the purple and white out of the hole.

The Mountaineers closed the second frame on a 13-3 run, featuring seven of the 20 first half points from IM senior Oskar Kangas to take a 43-11 lead into intermission.

“I have a mature team. And they’re hungry,” Johnson said. “They’ve been in a lot of situations over the years. We’ll just keep challenging them (and see) what we can do to get better. It’s a work in progress, and we’re striving to get better every practice and every game.”

Monday’s game marked the return of Gladstone junior Owen Gereau. He missed the first two games of the season for Gladstone due to an upper body injury sustained during football season.

The Mountaineers host Norway, fresh off a 61-51 win over Escanaba on Monday, at 7:15 p.m. Friday. The Braves trip to face Manistique at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Box Score

Iron Mountain 18 14 34 9 — 75

Gladstone 4 7 9 14 — 34

Iron Mountain — Kangas 24, Sampoll-Torres 9, Martilla 14, Copley 14, Kassin 5, Ellis 5, Panzel 1, Baldridge 3; FT: 10-14; Fouls: 6; 3-pointers: Copley 2, Martilla 1, Ellis 1, Baldridge 1

Gladstone — Gereau 5, Davey 9, Prins 8, Woelffer 4, Reynolds 3, Hughes 2, Miron 3; FT: 6-7; Fouls 13; 3-pointers: Gereau 1, Miron 1