The Flivvers held a 46-43 advantage, and as Buckley went through his routine the gym fell silent. It didn’t faze the sophomore. He knocked down both shots, pushing the lead to five points.

“I was happy” Buckley said. “I thought we were winning either way, but they were still big free throws. I wanted to make them for the community, the town and everyone that drove down here.”

Falcons junior Wilson Huckeby heaved a three-quarter-court shot, which went in as the buzzer sounded. However, their rally fell short, and Kingsford (22-3, 7-1) secured a 48-46 quarterfinal win.

“Not only did Buckley have the block, he had a late layup and the clinching free throws,” Flivvers head coach Ben Olsen said. “Huckeby hit that three at the end, so those free throws ended up being big.”

(Sean Chase/Daily News photo) KINGSFORD SENIOR GAVIN Trevillian (10), center, tries to get through Falcons’ defenders during a free throw attempt on Tuesday in Gaylord.

Now, the Flivvers turn their attention to the D2 state semifinals on Friday at 4:30 p.m. Central time against Romulus Summit Academy North (23-3, 10-0) in the Breslin Center on the campus of Michigan State University.

“Magical, unreal,” Olsen said. “When I became a high school basketball player, back in 1996, it was my goal. I vowed to next go to a state basketball final, unless I was playing in it or coaching it. That’s still true and here I am, 20-30 years later I’m going to my first state finals. I’m jacked, it’s like we’re going to Disney World.”

Instead of coming back over the Mackinac Bridge following its win on Tuesday, Kingsford headed south in preparation for Friday.

“We’re going to have to find some places to practice,” Olsen said. “But, hey, it’s a (good) problem to have.”

The extended stay in the Lower Peninsula means the Flivvers won’t be in school for the rest of the week. Senior Gavin Grondin isn’t complaining.

(Sean Chase/Daily News photo)hoto)KIngsford Flivvers junior Jack Kriegl (4) keeps control of the basketball while Freeland junior Max Heyn (4) tries to poke it free. Kingsford advanced to the state semifinals with a 48-46 win. They’ll face Romulus Summit Academy North on Friday in East Lansing.

“A whole week off of school means no pre-calculus homework,” Grondin said.

With the Falcons blanketing Grondin, Kingsford junior Owen Olkkonen opened the scoring in the first quarter on a turnaround jumper from the baseline. However, Freeland immediately took the lead on a 3-pointer. Both teams traded baskets momentarily, then senior Gavin Trevillian stole the ball and converted a fast break layup. That put the Flivvers ahead 6-4.

Olkkonen paced Kingsford for the rest of the frame, scoring seven points, and it took a 16-10 advantage into the second.

“It’s a team sport, we’ve been preaching one heartbeat all year and when someone is down or they’re putting all the focus on Grondin, we need people to step up” Olsen said. “Trevillian had a great driving layup. Jett stepped up. Owen Olkkonen had some great scoring in the first half. That’s what we need and we’re going to continue to need it going forward.”

Grondin converted a floater to kick off the second frame and the Flivvers fed off that. He scored nine points in the quarter. They began to swarm the Falcons and held them to 11 points in eight minutes.

Kingsford took a 30-21 lead into halftime.

“At halftime, it was like, ‘Raise your hand, if you would take being up nine in the quarterfinal,'” Olsen said. “The kids thought we could have played a little bit better, but all said we were up nine, in control of the game, we just had to continue to control it.”

Both teams ratcheted up the defensive pressure in the third quarter. As a result, the pace slowed. Freeland recorded 10 points in the frame, while the Flivvers racked up seven. They took a six-point lead into the fourth.

Kingsford knew the Falcons were going to look to Huckeby and it had a plan — sic Grondin on him.

“I knew I was going to have a tough responsibility guarding Huckeby,” Grondin said. “I just played defense like I always do. I tried to contest everything and make it hard for him to do anything.”

Grondin had held Huckeby to two points through three quarters, but the Freeland junior made things interesting in the fourth.

“We just wanted to hard-hedge every screen,” Olsen said. “We wanted to get it out of his hands and make someone else make plays. Tristan Comer, he was setting screens and rolling. He was the one making plays.

“(Huckeby) got going in the fourth quarter and got me a little scared. The clock ran out at just the right time.”

Huckeby made four three-pointers in the final eight minutes. However, a game-saving block from Buckley late helped keep the Flivvers ahead.

“I saw him get through a screen and I just wanted to give it everything I’ve got,” Buckley said. “I don’t start, but I wanted to give it everything I’ve got.”

Grondin and Buckley each found themselves at the charity stripe late in the game. Neither was concerned.

“Jett, I’ve wanted to play with him for so long,” Grondin said. “We knew it was our opportunity to get to the Breslin and here we are. He knows it, too. This is our year, so we’re going to try and make it happen.”

The Flivvers’ last loss came on Jan. 28 against Norway. Since then, they have rattled off 12-straight wins.

“It lit a little fire under our butts,” Grondin said. “We had to come to practice with a new energy and turn things around. We knew we had to figure it out and we did.”

Last season, Kingsford came up just short of a trip to the Breslin Center. For Grondin, Tuesday’s win was a culmination of his goals.

“It’s a dream,” Grondin said. “It’s been a dream since I was a little kid, to get to the Breslin. Last year, we came up short in a game just like this. We’ve been in a few close games this year. We knew what it would take to keep the lead and it paid off.”

Grondin led all scorers in the contest with 21 points.

The Flivvers also received contributions from Olkkonen (10 points), Kriegl (4 points), Sleik (3 points) and Buckley (6 points).