Daryl T. Jarvinen photo North Central’s Bradey Anderson, front left, puts up a short jumper for two points as Ewen-Trout Creek’s Eric Abramson, right, defends in the third quarter of their MHSAA Division 4 regional tournament championship game played at Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium in Negaunee on Wednesday.

NEGAUNEE — The old adage says that good things come to those who wait.

That could apply to the Ewen-Trout Creek senior class on the Panthers’ boys basketball team after they had a rough couple of years prior to this winter’s magical run.

They paid their dues now that E-TC is the MHSAA Division 4 regional champion with a 56-44 victory over North Central at Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium in Negaunee on Wednesday evening.

After the Panthers’ Eric Abramson shone in Monday’s semifinal win over Lake Linden-Hubbell with 11 of his 18 points in the second quarter, it didn’t seem like he could outdo that. Then came Wednesday’s second quarter.

He scored 15 of his team’s 17 points in that eight-minute stretch when E-TC (21-3) turned a close and low-scoring 9-5 lead after one quarter into a 26-13 advantage at halftime. Abramson finished with 31 points.

Whether it was driving to the rim with some impressive moves, or knocking down three 3-pointers, the second quarter was all Abramson.

“He’s become an offensive nightmare for teams,” E-TC coach Brad Besonen said. “His weight room (work) has just blown him up into a great scorer.

“In the past, he was a catch-and-shoot guy that could handle it really well, but he’d get knocked off his spot when we would take it to the hole. His weight room the last two years has allowed him to become physically strong.”

The Panthers were also able to disrupt the offense of North Central (19-5), holding the Jets to only a baker’s dozen worth of points in the first half. The Jets weren’t getting anything easy at the rim, and the Panthers’ full-court pressure made matters worse.

E-TC’s Jaden Borseth scored six quick points to start the game but only made one fourth-quarter free throw after that.

In the third quarter, while trying to keep their substantial lead, Abramson and teammate Kelsey Jilek did most of the scoring for Ewen. Seven points from Abramson and six points from Jilek in that period allowed the Panthers to assume a 42-20 lead heading into the fourth.

Despite their earlier struggles on offense, NC made a game of it in the final quarter. While the Jets’ Luke Gorzinski was held to one point in the first 3 1/2 quarters, E-TC’s Abramson had more points than the entire Jets team until the final three minutes.

Gorzinski and Bradey Anderson got hot down the stretch for NC, combining for 19 of their 24 points in the fourth. Bryson Mercier also got involved as his 3-pointer cut Ewen’s lead to single digits, 51-44, for the first time since early in the second quarter.

“We had absolutely zero give-up, we did not give up,” NC coach Mike Malone said. “We gave heart and soul, and I’m so proud of these boys. They gave everything they had, it’s a difficult thing, but at the end of the day as long as you give everything you have, you gotta be happy.”

The Jets’ comeback ended up being too little, too late as they had to play the fouling game in the final two minutes.

Even though the Panthers missed the front end of several one-and-one’s, once they got into the double bonus, the game was sealed. Abramson knocked down a pair of free throws, and Caden Besonen raced for an uncontested layup to end it.