It was the tale of two games Monday night at the Calumet HS gym as the Ewen-Trout Creek boys battled it out against the Copper Kings on the basketball court.

The first game was the first half and it belonged to the Copper Kings. The second game and the one that stays on the record books belonged to the Panthers as the bounded back from a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat the Copper Kings 67-64.

“That was a very solid game,” said E-TC’s head coach Brad Besonen. “They defended the heck out of us in the first. Some of our guys who needed to shoot were a little worried and not ready.”

While E-TC took and early lead, the Copper Kings came back to tie it at eight thanks to the hot hand of senior Eli McParlan. It was tied again at 11 and at 14 when the first quarter buzzer sounded.

It did not take long at the start of the second for Calumet to distance themselves from the Panthers. With a fast break that was hard to defend, the Copper Kings ran the score up 27-16 and eventually 34-22 at half time. The Panthers had plenty of opportunities to score, but the ball just wouldn’t find the hoop for them. As well they struggled to keep pace with the Copper King run-and-gun style of play.

However, at the start of the third, it was as if a whole new Panther team had come out on to the court.

Defensively, they put a fullcourt press on and were able to turn the ball over several times. They netted eight points immediately on their first three possessions and that set the tone for the rest of the game.

“The first three touches we got coming out of the locker room were big,” Besonen said.

Junior Tommy Cousineau was at the heart of the Panthers offense in the second half. In the last 16 minutes of play, the junior scored 21 of his 38 total points on the night. He was 7-7 from the free-throw line and sunk five baskets from beyond the 3-point arc.

“Tommy played his heart out tonight, said Besonen. “I was very impressed and he hit some big shots.”

When the shots started to fall for the Panthers, the momentum of the game changed in their favor as well.

“Once we were able to start pressuring their guards and making it an up and down game that gave us a chance” Besonen said. “The speed and style of the game were huge for us to make a spurt and we did.”

The score was tied at 43 and the Panthers took the lead with a Cousineau layup less than a minute later. At the end of the third, the Panthers had scored 33 points alone at commanded a 55-49 lead. They kept it up in the fourth and while the Copper Kings got within one, they could not take back the lead. The Panthers held on and made their free throws in the last minute to cinch a 67-64 victory.

“They did a great job with their press and their kids fought hard and they got a few turnovers and got hot from the field,” said Calumet head coach Frank Bonacorsi. “They put some pressure on us and it rattled us as the game went on. Both teams worked hard and I appreciated the effort.”

E-TC 14 8 33 12 — 67

Calumet 14 20 15 15 — 64

E-TC (67):Schutz 2, Nordine 2, C. Borseth 4, Cousineau 38, Jilek 5, J. Borseth 16. FT: 13-19. F: 15. 3-point FG: (8) Cousineau 5, J Borseth 2, Jilek 1

CLK (64): Nelson 7, Poyhonen 2, Antilla 7, Kangas 8, McParlan 10, Twardzik 10, Torola 20. FT: 15-20. F 16. 3-point FG: (3) Nelson 1, Antilla 1, Torola 1.