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Jeremy Howard made his presence known early, scoring the first four points of the game.Ê The first quarter was a Howard and Adam Duerksen show, as the duo stole passes and led breakaways for scores.Ê A Steve Sheridan layup at the buzzer put the Ironmen up 16-4 after a quarter of play.

After just over a minute into the second quarter, Mancelona went at it again, as Duerksen lofted a gorgeous pass to Tony Derrer as he put it through the basket in midair.Ê The bucket caused the crowd to erupt and set the stage for what would be another shining quarter.Ê Sheridan and Duerksen exchanged buckets later in the quarter, and T.J. Harcourt scored two consecutive shots to stretch the Ironmen lead to 13.Ê After Will Bowen got to the line and scored a free throw with two seconds left in the half, Mancelona was up 3316 at halftime.

The third quarter was marked by HowardÕs surge.Ê The Ironmen sharpshooter scored nine of the team's first 11 points in the third quarter, when the buzzer sounded with the Ironmen on top, 44-27.

Mancelona didnÕt ease up on the pedal to start the fourth, as three straight fast break layups, including a bucket and foul by Duerksen, set the tone.Ê Duerksen scored seven straight points and a layup from Harcourt put the Ironmen up 57-29 with four minutes, 30 seconds left.Ê It was all downhill from there for the Ironmen.Ê After scoring nine more points without allowing another point, Mancelona wrapped up the 66-29 victory.

"We did a nice job on executing our offense and finding the open man." said Mancelona head coach Rick Duerksen. "(A) nice overall team effort."

Howard led all scorers with 21 points on the night, including 11 rebounds, while Duerksen had an all-around impressive day with 17 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and six steals. Derrer scored six points with five rebounds and Sheridan scored nine. Harcourt also chipped in six for the Ironmen.

The jayvee squad also flexed their girth against the underpowered Vikings, as they raced to a 67-35 win. Dan Johnson sank seven three-pointers to help devastate the Vikings.Ê Mancelona led 16-2 at the end of the first after starting the quarter with an outrageous 14-0 run

Howard led all scorers with 21 points on the night, including 11 rebounds, while Duerksen had an all-around impressive day with 17 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and six steals. Derrer scored six points with five rebounds and Sheridan scored nine. Harcourt also chipped in six for the Ironmen.

On Tuesday, the Ironmen played East Jordan and lost 52-55 on a three pointer that beat the buzzer.

Most of the game was a see saw battle between the two evenly matched teams, and after one quarter, the Ironmen led, 11-10. Much of the same occured throughout the second qaurter, and although Ironmen stalwart Duerksen found himself on the pine after his second foul, Mancelona was up at half, 23-21.

The second half began well for the Ironmen, and they were playing some of their better ball of the season, and against a good team to boot, but their seemingly comfortable leads proved to be moot as the game wore on. Untimely mistakes and turnovers allowed the Red Devils to creep back into the game, and the six point Ironmen lead late in the fourth quarter couldnÕt hold up in the face of extremely bad timing and adversity. East JordanÕs Scott Hansen found a hole in the defense and knocked down a three at the buzzer to squelch MancelonaÕs hopes of pulling out a tough game.

]"We played some of our best ball for the first 29 minutes," said Duerksen. "Then, some of our worst ball for the last three minutes." "..We committed too many mental errors, which led to costly turnovers."