West Iron Ends Season with 53-35 Loss

By Patrick Browne
IRON RIVER – Coach Nick Fales and his Wykon boys ended their season with a 53-35 loss to Manistique in the first round of the postseason tournament on Tuesday, March 7.
Although the Wykons had a difficult season and won only one game, the team showed marked improvement over the course of the season and has made strides towards returning to respectability.  Led by a solid cadre of underclassmen and a coach who knows how to create a successful program, if there are no surprises in the off season, the Wykons should see more victories come next winter.
While their final game saw the Wykons down 17-10 at the end of the first quarter and 31-14 at halftime, the game was much closer than the score.  A few key shots which were set up by a much improved passing game failed to drop as the Wykons played one of their most competitive games of the season.
“The last three or four games we have moved the ball well,” stated Fales, “We just didn’t shoot well.”
In the second half the Wykons played even with the Emeralds and outscored them in the fourth quarter, 11-10.  
Sophomore standout Elijah Oberlin was once again the leading scorer for the Wykons with 25 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter.
“We talked after the game regarding how important it is to put in time during the off season so we can hit those shots next year,” stated Fales. 
As the lights are turned off on another season of Wykons basketball and the gym grows quiet, we look forward to the future, recognize the commitment of a coach who took on an impossible challenge and salute Elijah and the boys who stuck through the difficult times, showed up every game and reminded us of the joy of the game.