Iron Mountain senior Gerald Sampoll Torres (10) splits the defense and attempts a layup while Kingsford’s Jett Buckley (15) and Jack Kriegl (4) defend on Tuesday at Flivver Gym. (Terry Raiche photo)

KINGSFORD — With 2.9 seconds left on the clock in overtime and trailing by one point, Iron Mountain senior Oskar Kangas found himself in a familiar position on Tuesday in Kingsford — at the free throw line.

In front of a packed Flivver Gym, Kangas buried both shots from the charity stripe, giving the No. 4 Mountaineers a 56-55 lead over the No. 2 Flivvers.

“Right before, I kind of took a step back and looked at Gerald (Sampoll-Torres),” Kangas said after the game. “He said, ‘You’re deaf right now. Don’t listen to anyone or anything.’ So I stepped up to the line. We shoot free throws every day at practice. We shoot five in each basket until we make 25 in a row. So I just thought of it like that. Just try to put the ball in the hoop.”

Kingsford had time for one last gasp, and head coach Ben Olsen called a timeout to figure things out.

The inbound pass went to sophomore Jett Buckley, who drove the ball over halfcourt and to the left block, looking for a layup. However, Kangas’ towering 6-foot-6 frame was waiting in the paint with a host of Mountaineers in tow. The shot fell short, the clock ran out, and Kingsford (9-2, 2-1) ultimately lost to Iron Mountain (8-2, 3-1), 56-55.

“(Kangas) wanted the shot,” Mountaineers’ head coach Harvey “Bucky” Johnson said. “We took a timeout and had something set up in transition. Oskar went to the basket and got fouled. We were down one at that point, so that foul was big for us.

“I’m just proud of my guys for hanging in there because we got behind a couple of times, and it could have teetered the other way. But the kids fought it off.”

The Flivvers last beat the Mountaineers on Feb. 15, 2022.

They swept Iron Mountain that season.

“There’s something about the Iron Mountain-Kingsford game that works out for Iron Mountain and doesn’t work out for Kingsford,” Olsen said.

“It’s just one of those things, where if the ball bounces differently for us once or one way different for them. We’re probably flipped on this one. We’ve lost five in a row to them in unimaginable ways.”

Defense was the main focus entering the game, and no one scored for the first two minutes.

Then Kingsford broke through.

Senior Gavin Grondin snagged a rebound and sent it back up for a layup. Junior Jack Kriegl converted an acrobatic reverse layup, and the Flivvers led 4-0.

Iron Mountain senior Ian Marttila stopped the run with two free throws, but Grondin was rolling. He scored five points in the next 40 seconds, extending the lead to seven.

“We didn’t start off the greatest, but give Kingsford credit; their ball and defensive pressure are pretty good,” Johnson said. “We were down seven (in the first quarter) and tied the game. … We just kept fighting and kept fighting and kept fighting.”

Kangas connected on two 3-pointers in the final minute of the first quarter, and the rivals entered the second tied at 13.

Both teams traded baskets for much of the second quarter. But with three minutes until halftime, Buckley contorted for a reverse layup. The crowd exploded in celebration, and the Flivvers went on a run. Grondin capped it off with a 3-pointer from the left corner, holding his hand up in celebration. Kingsford led 30-23 at halftime.

“Grondin is a special talent,” Olsen said. “He’s a three-level scorer. … Everybody comes in, and who do they have to stop? You’ve got to stop Grondin. He’s a special player and nobody spends more time in the gym than him. He’s always here after practice getting shots up. What you see is not by accident. He puts in the time.”

Although Iron Mountain went scoreless over the final three minutes of the second half, Kangas wasn’t worried.

“All the players are in the locker room before the coaches, so I told them, ‘Play within ourselves,'” Kangas said. “It was a seven-point game. That’s nothing for us.”

Kangas scored the first two baskets of the third quarter. He scored his seventh point of the frame with four minutes left until the fourth, cutting the lead to two.

Kingsford responded with back-to-back 3-pointers from Buckley and Grondin. Kangas made one of his own, but Grondin closed the quarter with a three from the corner, and the lead was back up to eight points.

Iron Mountain scored six straight points to open the fourth, reducing the lead to two. That would continue for the next few minutes. However, the Flivvers always seemed to have an answer.

Then, with three minutes to play and Iron Mountain trailing by four, Sampoll-Torres corralled a loose ball and immediately attacked.

He drew two Flivvers’ defenders on the fast break and, at the last second, dished it to his left to a wide-open Kangas on a dead sprint. He took two steps and flushed a two-handed slam, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

“When I saw him steal the ball, I ran down the other side, thinking, ‘If I’m going to get the crowd, our side, into this, I have to do something.’ Instantly, I was like dunk it.”

Tied at 50, Kingsford had a chance to win the game in the final seconds, but Kangas got his fingers on the ball, sending it to overtime.

From there, it came down to free throws.

Kangas ended the game with 31 points.

Iron Mountain also received contributions from Sampoll-Torres (6 points), Brayden Kassin (4 points), Marttila (7 points) and Evan Copley (8 points).

Grondin led the Flivvers with 31 points.Kingsford also received contributions from Buckley (10 points), Gavin Trevillian (1 point), Owen Olkkonen (1 point), Matt Sundquist (2 points), Kriegl (8 points) and Alexander Erickson (2 points).

Facing his former coach

Kingsford head coach Ben Olsen graduated from Iron Mountain in 2000, so his connection to this rivalry runs deep. Mountaineers’ head coach Harvey “Bucky” Johnson was his JV basketball coach.

This time, Olsen experienced the rivalry from a different perspective, but he wasn’t thinking about himself.

“I wish every kid could play in an atmosphere like this,” he said. “Both of the communities come out. There’s a sea of Maize and Blue. There’s a sea of Black and Gold, each passionate for their team, and the energy is wild. It’s just unfortunate that one team has to lose.

“But, if you cast that aside. It was a great environment playing in it, and nothing’s changed.”

Up next

Kingsford welcomes Menominee to town on Monday for a Great Northern U.P. Conference clash, while Iron Mountain heads to Manistique looking for its fourth win in a row.

BLUEJAYS 55, BOBCATS 42

FLORENCE, Wis. — Looking to break out of its slump, the Florence boys varsity basketball team squared off with the Bluejays in Three Lakes, Wis., looking to break out of its slump.

Despite holding a lead in the second, the Bobcats (4-2) couldn’t hold on as Three Lakes (4-7) picked up a 55-42 Northern Lakes Conference win.

“(There is) a lot of potential with this team,” Florence head coach Bryan Bomberg said. “We have to put together a full game and compete on every play. Once we do those things, we’ll look a whole lot different. Right now, I’m not happy. We (are lacking in) the little things and added effort. I know we’ll get there. It’s just a matter of when.”

Truth Setner led Florence with nine points in the first half. However, it went into halftime, trailing 24-20.

Carson Chrisman scored four points for the Bobcats in the second, while Setner pitched in 14. But Three Lakes’ offense was clicking, and it racked up 31 points in the half to secure the win.

Setner led Florence with 23 points.

The Bobcats also received contributions from Chrisman (4 points), Bradly Steber (5 points), Ely Marefke (1 point), Carter Reed (3 points) and Caleb Baker (6 points).

Florence welcomes Norway to town today at 7:15 p.m.

TROJANS 46, JETS 31

POWERS — The North Central boys varsity basketball team managed to keep the Forest Park offense under 50 points on Tuesday in Powers.

However, the Jets (7-4, 1-2) couldn’t get anything going against the Trojans (10-1, 1-0), and Forest Park picked up the 46-31 Skyline Central Conference-Small School win. The Trojans, ranked No. 1 in Division 4 by the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association, opened the first quarter on a roll. They racked up 15 points and held North Central to four points.

In the second quarter, the Jets outscored Forest Park 10-9. However, the Trojans won the next two quarters to secure the SCC win.

Forest Park junior Vic Giuliani led all scorers in the contest with 16 points. He also recorded eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.

The Trojans also received contributions from Gabe Quevedo (6 points, 3 assists, 2 steals), Dax Huuki (9 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 2 steals), Matthew Showers (2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal), Aiden Waldo (5 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists) and Kevin Giuliani (8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals).

Forest Park returns to Crystal Falls today against West Iron County, while North Central is home against Bessemer.