Red Devils top Troy, Two Eagle River

Noxon ran its win streak to start to the season to 6-0 with wins over Troy at home last Thursday, and Two Eagle River on Friday in Pablo.

The Red Devils worked their way out of an early 10-point deficit and were sparked by Alex Currie in the final two minutes en route to a 49-46 win over Troy.

Noxon held Two Eagle River to single-digit scoring in each of the first three quarters and posted a 40-30 victory.

The Red Devils have one game date before the holiday break, and that is Friday at home against Charlo. Varsity game time is set for 7 p.m.

After trimming the deficit, Noxon was behind Troy by a point with two minutes remaining. It was them time for Currie to shine; he hit a 3-pointer and scored on two layups in the last 1:30 of the contest, allowing Noxon to build a 49-43 lead. The Trojans sank a half-court shot at the buzzer to make it look closer than the final score indicates.

“Troy plays hard … It’s nice to win those close ones early in the season,” Noxon head coach Bart Haflich said of the triumph over Troy. “Some of the things that happen in those situations come back (later in the season). There are a lot of lessons to be learned.”

Currie paced Noxon with 19 points. Rylan Weltz had another double-double with 17 rebounds and 14 points. Levi Brubaker was stellar with 10 boards and eight points. Logan Wood had four assists.

Despite an off-night offensively, Noxon posted the 10-point win over a pesky Two Eagle River squad Friday. The Red Devils led 21-12 at halftime.

“We couldn’t get our offense going. Their zone frustrated us a little bit,” Haflich said. “We didn’t get a lot of good looks (at the basket).”

Weltz led in scoring with 11 points and Jeriko Smith had his best game with nine. “It’s good to see him step up,” Haflich said of Smith. “When he’s open, he’s looking to score.”

Currie grabbed 12 rebounds, and Brubaker added nine.

Haflich was not happy with the Red Devils’ free-throw shooting; they were just 12-for-25.

“We left 13 points on the floor,” the coach said.

Haflich expects the Noxon-Charlo game Friday to be a battle.

“Getting a win would be a good feather in our cap going into the Christmas break,” he said.