Northstar Weekly Honors: Nick Mattson
Nick Mattson of Wrenshall had the season’s biggest scoring effort with 62 points over Duluth Marshall on Feb. 26. Mattson hit an insane 17 3-pointers and earned every bit of his Northstar Weekly Honors nomination.
The Wrenshall community came through and provided more than 9,000 votes, capturing 66% of the total. As many around the state are curious on how exactly this happened, Kerry Rodd of Duluth’s Pine Journal went and got a good interview with Mattson this weekend.
According to Rodd’s story, due to a stomach bug that caused Mattson to throw up several times before the game, he told his parents not to bring their “1,000 points” sign. He was 49 points away, and he would focus on the next game with Isle at home.
Then, oddly, the Marshall coach kept telling his defense not to guard Mattson. This didn’t go so well, as Mattson began his massive run of 3-pointers. After about 12 makes Marshall started guarding him closely, but he was on fire and kept shooting.
Mattson’s wild game landed him the No. 2 spot in state all-time for 3-pointers made and No. 9 in all-time single-game scoring. Wrenshall will get a chance at the state tournament on Friday when it plays Ely for the Section 7A championship in Hibbing at 5:45 P.M.