Kingsford senior Morgan Sleik (12) drives to the basket a layup against Gladstone in Flivver Gym on Thursday. Sleik had 10 points in the game. (Terry Raiche photo)

KINGSFORD — With an Iron Mountain rematch looming on the horizon, the Kingsford boys varsity basketball team could have overlooked Gladstone (5-13, 0-6) on Thursday,

However, the Flivvers (13-3, 5-1) have been locked in, and they handled the Braves in short order, picking up a 63-44 Great Northern UP Conference win in Flivver Gym.

“It was a good GNC win and one that we needed,” Kingsford head coach Ben Olsen said. “I thought we had a great first and third defensively. We ended up breaking down a little bit in the fourth quarter at times, but overall, I’m happy with the effort and the result of this game.

“On to the rivalry game next week!”

The Flivvers’ leading scorer, senior Gavin Grondin, went right to work in the first quarter. He made two 3-pointers in the frame and tallied 10 points.

While Grondin is hard to stop, Gladstone didn’t have an answer for the Kingsford offense in the first eight minutes. Owen Olkkonen and junior Jett Buckley each connected on a 3-pointer in the quarter and led 18-5 after one.

“Grondin was his typical Grondin,” Olsen said. Morgan Sleik, Buckley, and Olkkonen all had double or near double digits. Again, I like the balance in scoring we are getting. We weren’t always getting that earlier in the year.”

Olkkonen and Buckley each made another 3-pointer in the second quarter. Sleik added four points, but six players recorded a basket for the Braves in the same span.

Gladstone scored 14 points in the second but went into halftime trailing by 16.

The Braves’ offense sputtered after the break, scoring five points in the third, and the Flivvers took advantage.

Grondin scored eight points in the quarter, while Matt Sundquist and Sleik pitched in two apiece. The lead was 24 points entering the fourth.

Although the Flivvers did a good job of wrangling Gladstone’s young scoring attack — sophomore Lonnie Davy and freshman Alex Prins — for 24 minutes, they couldn’t stop them forever. And Davy went off in the final frame. He scored 11 points, and Prins added four, but it wasn’t enough to overtake the No. 3-ranked team in Division 1-3.

“Our big focus coming in was stopping Davey and Prins,” Olsen said. “We held them to five total points through three quarters. So, we did a great job following the game plan and limiting their two better players.

“They ended up getting some looks in the fourth. We have to limit those breakdowns. We need to continue to focus on it, regardless of who’s in the game for us.”

The Flivvers made seven 3-pointers in the contest and went 11-for-20 from the free-throw line.

Grondin led all scorers in the contest with 24 points. He also recorded four rebounds and two assists.

Kingsford received contributions from Olkkonen (9 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist), Sundquist (5 points, 1 rebound), Jack Kriegl (4 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists), Sleik (10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists), Buckley (9 points, 1 rebound), Gavin Trevillian (3 rebounds, 3 assists) and Alexander Erickson (2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist).

The Flivvers head to Iron Mountain on Tuesday, looking to avenge their one-point overtime loss to the Mountaineers on Jan. 14.

COUGARS 69, BADGERS 51

NIAGARA, Wis. — Thursday’s Marinette & Oconto Conference clash with Coleman meant a lot for the Niagara boys varsity basketball game.

Entering the contest, the Badgers (12-5, 9-3) held a half-game advantage over the Cougars (9-9, 9-2) in the conference race and were hot on the heels of the No. 1 team, Crivitz.

However, Niagara couldn’t turn a home-court advantage into a victory as the Cougars escaped with the 69-51 win.

The Badgers spread the ball around in the first half. Senior Tommy Martin scored six points, senior Cameron Schiefelbein pitched in five, while Gavin Neuens and Alex Tripp each added a 3-pointer.

Niagara scored 20 points in the frame.

But Coleman tallied 43 points in 18 minutes.

Trailing by 23, the Badgers turned up the intensity in the second half.

They outscored the Cougars 31-26 in the frame. Schiefelbein poured in 13 points, and Martin added seven down the stretch for Niagara.

Schiefelbein led the Badgers with 18 points.

Niagara also received contributions from Tripp (5 points), Neuens (4 points), Martin (13 points), Dante Stachowicz (6 points) and Brayden Bartels (5 points).

The Badgers ended the game 8-for-20 from the charity stripe.

They’re back in action on Monday at home against Wausaukee (1-10).

TROJANS 65, COUGARS 29

CRYSTAL FALLS — With its leading scorer, junior Vic Giuliani out sick, the Forest Park boys varsity basketball team didn’t miss a beat on Thursday.

The Trojans (17-1, 6-0) welcomed Superior Central (7-10, 1-0) to town for a non-conference game. Forest Park dismantled the Cougars, 65-29, and extended its winning streak to 10 games.

The Trojans jumped on Superior Central right from the start. They scored 24 points in the first eight minutes and held the Cougars to 11.

Things slowed down in the second quarter.

Forest Park scored eight points in the frame, but it held Superior Central to three and took a 32-14 advantage into halftime.

The pace picked back up in the second half. In the final two quarters, the Trojans outscored the Cougars 33-15.

With his brother absent, senior Kevin Giuliani led all scorers in the contest with 22 points. He also had three rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Forest Park also received contributions from Dietrich Rasner (1 rebound), Gabe Quevedo (2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 2 steals), Izaiah Tarter (12 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 6 steals), Dax Huuki (14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals), Matthew Showers (9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals), Aiden Waldo (6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals) and Eli Brzonowski (1 rebound).

The Trojans have four games left in its regular season schedule, all of which are on the road. They head to Norway on Tuesday for a Skyline Central Conference clash.