Kingsford senior Gavin Grondin (20) drives past Forest Park’s Matthew Showers (20) and to the rim on Monday in Flivver Gym. (Sean Chase/Daily News photo)

KINGSFORD — After seven games on the road, the Kingsford boys basketball team welcomed Forest Park to Flivver Gym on Monday.

The Trojans (7-1, 0-0) kept things close in the first half, but they couldn’t contain Flivvers’ senior Gavin Grondin down the stretch as he helped propel Kingsford (8-1, 1-1) to a 56-39 non-conference win.

After seven consecutive road games, the Flivvers were happy to be back on their home court.

“We’ve been on the road, it’s only been a month, but it feels like it’s been forever,” Flivvers head coach Ben Olsen said. “It feels really good to be back here. The kids fed off of the energy and I think it showed.”

For the Trojans, it was a chance to test themselves.

“Kingford is just tough,” FP head coach Jason Price said. “I thought they defended really well and we’re just not used to their speed and quickness. Their guards take pride in defending and they were impressive. Gavin (Grondin) is just tough. Offensively and defensively, he’s an animal. He’s a great kid. He works hard.

“I talked to my kids in the locker room, my sophomores and freshmen, I’m like, ‘There’s a kid, if you want to be a college athlete, you go talk to him, pick his brain and do what he’s been doing.”

With senior Morgan Sleik out with an injury, Kingsford leaned on junior Alex Erickson and Matt Sundquist to handle Kevin Giuliani in the paint.

“With Morgan (Sleik) being out the last two weeks, both Alex (Erickson) and Matt Sundquist have stepped up,” Olsen said. “Obviously, we saw Alex Erickson tonight. We rode with the hot hand and that was Alex. One of our big cheers in the locker room was for Alex. He’s capable. I had him on the JV team last year with me and he had some 20-point games. So we know he’s capable, it’s about getting him to play up to that level.

“We were going to double (Kevin) Giuliani, that was the game plan. But he did such a good job that midway through the second quarter we decided to run with him in the post. And he did a great job.”

After a 15-point outing in Marquette, Olsen gave sophomore Jett Buckley the start against Forest Park.

“Our 1-3-1 has given teams problems,” Olsen said. “Jett Buckley had a huge game in Marquette. So we gave him the start. … It was kind of a thing where maybe we could jump them, create a few turnovers and get up. But it kind of went the other way. It didn’t quite work out how we wanted to.”

Forest Park took a 7-3 lead early in the first quarter. But it wouldn’t last long.

Flivvers’ senior Grondin connected on a corner 3-pointer to cut the lead to one. He would score three more points in the frame as Kingsford took a 13-9 lead into the second.

Dax Huuki and Izaiah Tarter each made a layup early in the frame. However, it wasn’t enough to retake the momentum.

Grondin scored 11 points in the frame and Kingsford took a 32-23 lead into halftime.

Forest Park’s Kevin Giuliani was held to two points in the first half.

“He was giving us a lot of pressure in there, but we were still able to defend him,” Erickson said. “We tried to double at first, but then we realized we could handle him on our own. Once he felt pressure, he tried to kick it out and that’s what we wanted.”

Forest Park sophomore Vic Giuliani tried to take over in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to get past Kingsford.

“We’ve got to trust each other more on offense,” Price said. “We’ve got to make some passes. Playing Kingsford, they help the pass, they help the next pass. You’ve got to make three passes to get a shot. But, you’ve got to trust your teammate and trust the ball movement.”

While the Trojans’ have found success with defensive pressure, the Flivvers managed to render it obsolete.

“Having that Marquette game really prepared us,” Olsen said. “They have very similar styles, Marquette and Forest Park. … I think that helped us handle the Forest Park pressure.”

Grondin led all scorers in the contest with 28 points. He also racked up four rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Kingsford also received contributions from Owen Olkkonen (5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist), Jack Kriegl (2 points, 1 assist, 2 rebounds), Gavin Trevillian (9 points, 5 steals, 2 assists, 1 rebound), Buckley (2 points, 5 rebounds) and Erickson (10 points, a career-high, 6 rebounds, 1 assist).

Forest Park received contributions from Vic Giuliani (19 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal), Trent Kannich (2 points), Tarter (11 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 3 for 4 from three), Aiden Waldo (3 points, 2 assists, 1 steal) and Kevin Giuliani (2 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists).

The Trojans are back home on Thursday against Escanaba while the Flivvers head back on the road to Gladstone.

KNIGHTS 70, WYKONS 44

NORWAY — The Norway boys varsity basketball team was ready to play on Monday and it showed when West Iron County rolled into Norway.

The Knights (6-3, 0-1) jumped ahead right away and never relented as they picked up a 70-44 non-conference win over the Wykons (0-8, 0-4).

West Iron struggled to score in the first quarter and Norway took advantage. Cole Baij scored eight points in the frame for the Knights while Bryce Adams pitched in four points. As a result, they held a 22-4 advantage entering the second.

With the lead, Norway began to connect from deep. It made five 3-pointers in the second quarter — Mason Trudeau and Elliott Kraemer each hit two. Wykons’ senior Elijah Oberlin scored six in the frame, but they entered the locker room for halftime trailing 39-16.

Baij continued his dominance in the third quarter. He scored nine in the period allowing the Knights to maintain their lead.

West Iron wasn’t backing down in the final quarter and Jessiah Smith made two 3-pointers to help spark a run. But, Adams caught fire for Norway in the fourth, scoring nine points, and it locked up the 70-44 win.

Baij led all scorers in the contest with 22 points.

The Knights also received contributions from AJ Gallino (4 points), Adams (13 points), Anthony Pineda (7 points), Trudeau (8 points), Kraemer (14 points) and Kaleb LaPine (2 points).

West Iron received offensive contributions from Donte White (4 points), Abel Lundin (2 points), Smith (12 points), Nathan Camps (4 points), Gatlin Gillaspie (2 points), E. Oberlin (14 points) and Seth Oberline (6 points).

West Iron heads to Calumet on Thursday while the Knights return to play on Friday at home against Bark River-Harris.