After cruising comfortably most of the night Thursday in their home opener, the Lake Linden-Hubbell boys’ varsity basketball team got a late scare from Calumet.

But the Lakes prevailed 62-60 on senior Jesse Hill’s steal and layup in the final seconds.

Lake Linden (3-0) built an early lead over the Copper Kings (0-3) and were able to hold the visiting Kings at arm’s length until the middle of the fourth quarter. Calumet — after trailing from the start — came all the way back from 15 points down in the second half to tie the game at 60-all with 47 seconds remaining.

With 21 seconds left Calumet rebounded a missed floater in the lane by LL-H and called timeout. The Kings then inbounded the ball and broke the Lakes’ press to get into the frontcourt before the ball went out of bounds with the Kings retaining possession. Hill was able to tip the next inbounds pass and control the ball to head up the right side to the Lakes goal uncontested for an easy bucket, driving the partisan home crown wild and setting the final score.

Calumet quickly brought the ball up to the timeline and called timeout with only six seconds left. After seeing the Kings’ set, Lakes coach Jack Kumpula called a second timeout and the final play from the sideline was set up. Calumet succeeded in putting the ball in play and getting some good movement that led to a decent look at a 3-pointer for the win. But that shot just missed and ended the Kings’ bid to steal the game at the buzzer.

Even though they couldn’t pull out the win, Kings head coach Frank Bonacorsi feels like his team is making early-season progress.

“Oh we battled,” Bonacorsi said afterwards. “We still made some little mistakes, but a lot better (play) for us ball movement-wise and a little bit better composure.

“It’s going to be a work in progress. The kids put forth a good effort, (but we) just have to clean up on the little things and so that’ll be our focus here during break. Lake Linden, they did a great job with pressure and they made the shots at the end. So they did a heck of a job too. Hats off (to them).”

Despite that last missed long shot, shooting from beyond the arc was a big part of this game with both teams making shots from downtown early and often. In fact, the two squads combined to go 5-5 on 3-pointers in the first 2 minutes and long-range makes were a factor all game long.

Overall, 13 triples went in, seven for Lake Linden and six for Calumet.

After that initial burst of 3-pointers, the Lakes led 11-8 and gradually built a 22-15 advantage after the first eight minutes of play. LL-H maintained that approximate advantage until halftime by making key baskets to stop the Kings from going on any long runs. The Lakes’ lead at halftime was five points, 33-28.

“It’s huge for us to come out fast and we (had) been a slow starting team in the first couple of games,” said Kumpula after the game. “We really got out of the blocks well and playing at home helps.”

Coming out of the break, Lake Linden continued to be strong with a 7-0 run and inflated their margin to 50-35 midway through the third quarter. Calumet chiseled away to shrink their shortfall to eight points to start the final frame.

The Lakes got into the bonus early with 4:11 left, but missed the front end of several 1-and-1 chances, allowing the Kings to keep climbing out of the hole that had existed for most of the night.

Senior Elijah McParlan hit a huge 3-ball for Calumet with about two minutes left to pull within a couple of points at 60-58, setting up the eventual tie and drama at the end.

Overall, Kumpula was pleased with his team’s effort, even though things got a little hairy at the end. “We did a really nice job of running our offense and taking it to them,” said the Lakes coach. “We got to the rim and we were able to execute and finish shots, (both) down in the paint and we hit some threes.”

McParlan had a game-high 28 points, followed by junior teammate Brevin Antilla with 20. “(McParlan) is one of our captains, one of our leaders,” Bonacorsi said of the senior’s big night scoring. “He’s been really working on his game. Inside he can be such a force for us and he did a great job. He (also) hit a very long three there (near) the end where, you know, your big time players have got to make those shots and he did.”

The Lakes had three players in double figures, led by Caleb Gregoire’s 22 points. Will Lyons scored 18 and Carter Crouch chipped in 14 for the Lakes’ balanced attack. Both teams did very well at the foul line with only one free-throw miss apiece.

Both teams are now off for the holidays before hosting their next opponents. The Kings welcome Houghton on Jan. 2 and Republic-Michigamme visits Lake Linden on the Jan. 6.

LL-H also beat Calumet in the JV game, 47-37.

Calumet 15 13 16 16 — 60

LL-Hubbell 22 11 19 10 — 62

CALUMET (60): McParlan 28, Antilla 20, Nelson 6, Torola 4, Twardzik 2. FT: 10-11. 3-point FG: Antilla 4, McParlan 1, Nelson 1.

LAKE LINDEN-HUBBELL (62): Caleb Gregoire 22, Lyons 18, Crouch 14, Hill 4, Codere 2, Cole Gregoire 2. FT: 5-6. 3-point FG: Caleb Gregoire 3, Crouch 2, Lyons 2.