Kingsford senior Gavin Grondin (20) pulls up for a mid-range jump shot as he’s surrounded by Menominee’s Blake Paasch (20), Nathan Komp (0) and Darrent Butler (21) on Wednesday in Flivver Gym. (Terry Raiche photo)

KINGSFORD — Most prep basketball coaches seek balance with their teams, trying to establish both effective offenses and stout defenses. And most would rather have three double-digit scorers than one 25-point scorer.

Why? Simply put, balanced teams are much less susceptible to uneven performances. Balanced teams that can depend on their defense and not just their offense and can rely on more than one player to score. They are much more set up to win in the long run.

Against Menominee Wednesday night at Flivver Gym, Kingsford coach Ben Olsen got that solid level of effort from his players as they led nearly wire-to-wire in a 64-52 Great Northern Conference victory over the Maroons.

Leading scorer Gavin Grondin did his thing again with 23 points, but he received key offensive support from junior Owen Olkkonen, who finished with 18, and freshman Jett Buckley who scored 10.

The Flivvers also held Menominee standout Tanner Theuerkauf to nine points, 10 below his season average.

As a team, Kingsford held the Maroons to 42 points until a late 10-0 run against the Flivver reserves pushed Menominee past 50 points.

“I thought we did a good job,” Olsen said afterwards. “I guess as a coach you think it can always be better, but I think if you can hold a GNC team around 50 points, you have a good chance of winning a lot of games.”

With the victory, the Flivvers improved to 10-2 overall and 3-1 in the GNC to remain one game behind Marquette in the race for the league title.

Kingsford got a leg up on Menominee to start the game on a pull-up jumper by Gavin Trevillian, a driving layup by Olkkonen off an assist from Trevillian and two free throws from Grondin.

The Maroons (7-6, 1-2) answered with seven straight points, keyed by four from junior Darrent Butler.

After some back-and-forth play, the Flivvers scored the final six points of the first quarter to take a 19-14 advantage.

Olkkonen tallied nine points in the opening frame, including a bucket with 0.4 seconds left. The sharpshooter scored in every quarter and sank a team-high three triples in the game.

Olsen said Olkkonen has improved his play in his second year on the varsity squad.

“I can’t say enough good things about Owen, and when he’s on, he’s a game changer,” Olsen said.

About five minutes into the contest, Flivver senior post Morgan Sleik returned to the court after missing five games with an injury. Sleik immediately impacted the game with a blocked shot, a steal and a forced tie-up.

The three-year starter finished the game with nine points and did what he normally does, providing defense and rebounding at the rim, running out into transition and adding a scoring threat in the post.

“He’s an amazing rebounder and we know that,” Olkkonen said. “On offense, he takes so much focus away and that opens me up a lot. It’s great to have him back. “

Olsen said Sleik’s absence was determinative in Kingsford’s recent offensive struggles. Entering Wednesday night, the Flivvers had scored less than 60 points in five of their last six outings.

“We missed him,” Olsen said. “We kind of run that Princeton (offense) thing where getting the ball to the post is such a huge thing. As we get him back into the flow of things, I think we’re going to start looking like we were early in the season.”

Leading just 27-26 with a bit over three minutes to play before halftime, the Flivvers put some space between themselves and the Maroons with a 13-3 stretch to go up 40-29 at the break.

Buckley provided much of the spark with a 3-pointer off an offensive rebound by Olkkonen and a triple just prior to the buzzer off an assist by point guard Jack Kriegl.

After a one-point first half, Theuerkauf came out of the locker room much more aggressive offensively. He sank two free throws 75 seconds into the quarter and then hit a driving layup. Theuerkauf added a bucket in the post and split two free throws for a seven-point quarter to keep his team within 48-38 heading down the stretch.

But Kingsford’s team defense, along with the hounding individual defense by Grondin, held Theuerkauf scoreless for the final 7:35 of the game.

Shortly after Theurerkauf split a pair of free throws and junior Jacob Schultz scored in transition, the Flivvers embarked on a 16-1 run that ended with Kingsford holding a 64-42 lead with 2:40 to play.

The Maroons registered the final 10 points of the game against the Flivver reserves to provide for the final margin.

Olsen said his team appears to be digging itself out of a “mid-season slump” as he put it.

“We really haven’t had a full team together,” the first-year Flivver varsity coach said. “Morgan’s been out for (five) games, Grondin’s kind of dealing with a foot (problem) and he hasn’t been able to practice the last couple of days.

“It’s kind of patching things together, but I think once we get some guys healthy and we’re able to practice together as a team, I think we’re going to hit a stride.”

The Flivvers are off until Tuesday when they travel to Norway (10-3) as part of a boys-girls doubleheader. Kingsford returns home three nights later for a GNC contest against Escanaba.

SCORING

MENOMINEE – Butler 4 2-4 10, Beal 4 0-0 11, Paasch 0 2-2 2, Theuerkauf 2 5-8 9, L. Daigneau 4 0-0 8, Komp 2 0-0 4, Schultz 2 0-0 5, Bell 0 1-2 1, B. Daigneau 1 0-0 2. Totals: 19 10-16 52. Three-pointers: 4 (Beal 3, Schultz).

KINGSFORD – Trevillian 1 0-0 2, Olkkonen 7 1-2 18, Grondin 7 10-11 23, Buckley 4 0-0 10, Sleik 3 3-4 9, Sundquist 1 0-0 2. Totals: 23 13-17 64. Three-pointers: 5 (Olkkonen 3, Buckley 2).