Rapid River senior Ethan Harrison attempts a layup against Superior Central on Jan. 24, 2025 at Rapid River High School. (Adam Hinch/Daily Press)

RAPID RIVER — A 9-0 fourth quarter run from Rapid River sophomore Lane Olson led them to a 32-28 boys basketball victory over Superior Central here Friday.

The game was tied at 23. Then Olson caught fire.

The sophomore connected on a 3-pointer to put the Rockets up 26-23. Moments later Rockets sophomore Jae Poma kicked a pass out to Olson as he knocked down another triple and extended the Rockets lead to 29-23. Rockets sophomore Rowan Flath came up with a steal and got the ball up court to Ethan Harrison who passed it to Olson as he knocked down his third 3-pointer of the fourth quarter, finishing with 21 points.

“I was really mad that we couldn’t score in the third quarter,” Olson said. “I felt like I had to do something and I was able to hit some big shots.”

The Rockets and Cougars each were held to two points in the third quarter.

The Cougars were able to jump out to an early 7-0 lead as senior Zander Bigger knocked down a 3-pointer and a pair of layups.

Olson hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 7-3.

Cougars sophomore Ryder Kroupa answered with a layup to extend the lead to 9-3.

Olson hit a mid-range jumper to cut the deficit to 9-5 after one quarter. Olson hit his second of five 3-pointers to open the second quarter and cut the deficit to one.

Bigger and Kroupa had layups to extend the lead to 13-8. However Rapid River responded with layups by Olson and Ethan Harrison to cut the deficit back to one, then took the lead as Harrison knocked down his only 3-pointer of the game to give the Rockets a 15-13 lead.

“We have been hurting at the three-point line this year,” Rockets coach Brent Lundquist said. “It came at a perfect time tonight for us.”

Cougars sophomore Eli Valima knocked down a big 3-pointer to put the cougars back in front, and Blake Tanner knocked down a 3-pointer to extend the Cougars lead to 19-15.

The game was tied at 21 early in the fourth quarter as Poma drove to the basket and drew a foul and converted both foul shots to put the Rockets up 23-21.

“Those were the biggest free throws of the year for us,” Lundquist said. “We pulled him up from the junior varsity and for him to knock those down with all the pressure I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

Rapid River and Superior Central will both be back in action Tuesday. Rapid River hosts Stephenson and Superior Central hosts Carney-Nadeau.

Box score

Superior Central 9 10 2 7 — 28

Rapid River 5 12 2 13 — 32

Superior Central — Kroupa 4, Valima 3, Tanner 8, Bigger 13. F: 8; Fouled Out: None; 3-pointers: Tanner 2, Bigger 1, Valima 1

Rapid River — Poma 2, Olson 21, Flath 2, Forslund 2, Harrison 5. FT: 2-2; F: 5; Fouled Out: None; 3-pointers: Olson 5, Harrison 1