Flivvers boys roll to victory over Norway

Kingsford senior Cardel Morton (5) elevates for a dunk during the first quarter Tuesday at Flivver Gym. (Terry Raiche photo)

KINGSFORD — The Kingsford boys varsity basketball team continued its dominance at home on Tuesday as the Flivvers (13-2, 3-1) moved to 9-0 at Flivver Gym with a 78-50 win over Norway (11-4, 2-0).

“I was happy with the way we adjusted to the different defenses Norway ran throughout the game,” Flivvers head coach Dan Olkkonen said. ” I felt we did a good job of attacking the middle and getting the ball to our bigs for easy buckets. And then that opened up the outside for open shots.”

For Norway, these types of games are a learning experience as the postseason approaches.

“Kingsford got off to a hot start,” Knights head coach Jeff Gallino said. “Credit to them, they beat us in every aspect of the game. I needed to do a better job of getting our guys prepared to play.”

Kingsford junior Gavin Grondin led all scorers with 31 points. He also led the contest in 3-point makes with six.

“Gavin definitely felt comfortable anywhere on the court tonight, and the guys did a great job finding him,” Olkkonen said. “We challenged our bigs during the last week off about getting more involved on the offensive side. We had some good scoring from Morgan (Sleik) and Jake (Markworth), who combined for 33. I think our speed wore them down a little throughout the game.”

It was a tight game early on as both teams looked to find a flow and then Flivvers senior Cardel Morton converted a thunderous one-hand slam to start a run and send the crowd into a frenzy.

Norway junior Bryce Adams drilled two 3-pointers in the first, but Kingsford fed off the energy of Morton’s dunk and took an 18-12 lead into the second quarter.

The Knights attacked the basket and shot 7 for 10 from the free throw line in the second. However, that’s when Grondin really got going.

He scored 14 points in the quarter while Markworth added four and Kingsford took a 41-25 advantage into the locker room at half.

Norway had its best scoring output in the third quarter as it tallied 14 points. But, the Flivvers didn’t let off the gas, piling on 22 points in the third.

Junior Cole Baij scored five points in the fourth, but it wasn’t enough as Grondin connected on three second-half 3-pointers and locked up the nonconference win. Baij led Norway with 11 points.

The Knights also received contributions from Ian Popp (5 points), Adams (8 points), Alex Ortman (10 points), Mason Trudeau (6 points), AJ Gallino (3 points), Anthony Pineda (4 points) and Owen Baij (3 points).

Kingsford received contributions from Jack Kriegl (3 points), Morton (4 points), Morgan Sleik (17 points), Gavin Trevillian (7 points) and Markworth (16 points).

The Flivvers were 10 for 15 from the charity stripe while Norway finished 13 for 19.

Kingsford returns to play on Friday in Escanaba at 6 p.m. CST while the Knights are in Stephenson on the same day.

BADGERS 62, BOBCATS 60

FLORENCE, Wis. — It came down to the last seconds of the game, but the Niagara boys varsity basketball team went into Florence, Wis. on Tuesday and escaped with the 62-60 win over the Bobcats (10-5, 5-2).

“We beat a very good team,” Badgers head coach Terry Youren said. “We worked very hard defensively as a team. That is what wins close games. Extremely proud of our team effort.”

Although Florence held a slim margin after a basket from senior William Kelley, it couldn’t hold on against Niagara (11-7, 7-4).

“(I’m) disappointed in the outcome,” Bobcats head coach Bryan Bomberg said. “I will take full ownership of it. (We had) lots of mistakes and breakdowns. (This is a) tough one to swallow. Credit to Niagara. We will learn from this.”

Florence took a 30-27 lead into the locker room at halftime after connecting on four first half 3-pointers. The Badgers made three 3-point shots in the same span of time.

After scoring 11 points in the first half, Niagara senior Blake Holmes came to life in the second half scoring 18 points.

The Badgers outscored the Bobcats 35-30 in the final frame to grab the road win.

Florence’s Kelley and Niagara’s Holmes each scored 29 points.

Niagara also received contributions from Tommy Martin (17 points), Gavin Neuens (8 points), Dante Stachowicz (5 points) and Cameron Schiefelbein (3 points).

Florence received contributions from Truth Setner (6 points), Dustin Williams (13 points), Logan Koski (8 points) and Trent McLain (4 points).

The Badgers head to Coleman today for a 7:15 p.m. tip while the Bobcats make the trip to Laona, Wis.

TROJANS 72, EAGLES 44

CRYSTAL FALLS — Vic Giuliani led a balanced scoring attack with 16 points and Matt Showers added 10 points and eight rebounds in Forest Park’s 72-44 Skyline Central Conference victory over Stephenson Tuesday night at Eddie Chambers Gym.

Gaven Rintala was the other Trojan scorer in double figures with 12 points on four 3-pointers as Forest Park (12-2) won its fifth straight game.

The Trojans led 14-13 after one quarter and built their lead steadily from there. Forest Park finally pulled away from the Eagles (8-6) with an 18-4 run in the fourth quarter.

Other scorers for the Trojans included Gabe Quevedo with nine, Dax Huuki with seven, Izaiah Tarter and Kevin Giuliani with six and Felix Quevedo with five.

Forest Park travels to Powers Friday night for its second matchup against the Jets (7-8) this season. The Trojans knocked off North Central 75-45 on Dec. 1 in their season opener.

NORDICS 61, ROCKETS 46

FELCH — Sophomore Brady Jungwirth scored 19 points, Trenton Kramer pitched in 16 and Ty King netted 15 points as North Dickinson took down Rapid River, 61-46, on Tuesday at North Dickinson High School.

“It was nice to see some kids step up,” North Dickinson head coach Chris Mattson said. “It was our second game without our leader, Spencer (Kramer), who has been out due to an injury. We shot the ball well from the free throw line.”

The Nordics (7-8, 1-2) went to work from deep in the first quarter as Jungwirth drained two and Mason Anderson added another giving them a 26-16 lead going into the second.

“(We) kind of hit a lag in the second quarter but persevered through that,” Mattson said.

North Dickinson’s offense slowed down in the second quarter, only recording eight points. At the same time, the Rockets found their stride and buried three 3-pointers in the frame, cutting the Nordics lead to 34-29.

The Nordics scored five points in the third, but they got back to letting it fly in the fourth. North Dickinson connected on four 3-pointers in the final quarter to lock up the win.

The Nordics were 12 for 13.

In addition to leading North Dickinson in scoring, Jungwirth also recorded nine assists, three rebounds and a steal. King grabbed 14 rebounds and handed out two assists while Trenton Kramer had nine rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block.

The Nordics also received contributions from Trevor Larson (2 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal), Anderson (8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal), Colm MacFadyen (1 point) and Ricky Haney (1 rebound).

North Dickinson heads out to face Bark-River Harris on Friday at 6:45 p.m. CST.

Daily News sports writer Jerry DeRoche and sports editor Sean Chase contributed to this report.