Kingsford senior Gavin Grondin (20) attacks the basket against Boyne City in the MHSAA Division 2 regional semifinal on Tuesday in Manistique. (Mitch Vosburg/Daily Press photo)

MANISTIQUE — With a 19-point lead early in the fourth quarter, Kingsford boys’ basketball was looking for the knockout blow in its Division 2 regional semifinal clash with Boyne City on Tuesday.

With a few ticks over six minutes left to play, senior Gavin Trevillian drove down the baseline toward the basket.

Two defenders converged on him, but Trevillian saw senior Morgan Sleik wide open in the paint.

Trevillian connected with Sleik, who immediately dunked the ball, sending the Flivvers’ student section, bench and fans into a frenzy.

It was the final shove of the stake through the heart of the Ramblers’ season as Kingsford earned a 66-45 win at Manistique High School.

“Our kids have battled through so much the last three years,” Flivvers coach Ben Olsen said. “I think you can give us any moment and nothing is too big for us. We just put our nose to the grindstone and continue to play Kingsford basketball.”

The Flivvers advance to today’s regional championship game at 5:30 p.m. at Gaylord High School against Ludington, a rematch of last year’s regional championship game, a 37-34 Flivvers win over the Orioles that was also played in Gaylord.

“It’s very special,” Flivvers senior Gavin Grondin said. “I’ve been with these guys since I was in the first grade, playing with each other for what feels like forever. It means a lot. Hopefully we can get it done down there.”

Kingsford established its lead with a red-hot first quarter on both ends of the floor.

Junior Owen Olkkonen connected with his first two attempts from 3-point range.

Grondin netted eight of his game-best 27 points in the games first eight minutes.

The Flivvers shot 8-of-15 from the floor and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc to light up offensively.

Defensively, the Flivvers man-to-man defense proved to be problematic for Boyne City.

The Ramblers committed seven turnovers in the game’s first eight minutes which led to eight Kingsford points.

Jack Kriegl even came with a block, gathered the loose ball, and immediately shoved it at the legs of a Ramblers’ player out of bounds in the first frame.

And thanks to the efforts on both ends of the floor the Flivvers claimed a 24-9 lead entering the second quarter and never looked in their rear-view mirror for the final 24 minutes.

“We knew we couldn’t start slow,” Grondin said. “We hit a few shots right away, got a few steals, and we were out and running from there.”

The Ramblers, down to desperation mode, found ways to stay competitive and attempted to keep its 2024-25 campaign alive and well. But their efforts only got them within 11 points on a handful of occasions. Kingsford led by double-digits for the rest of the way after Kriegl turned a first quarter steal into a layup for a 17-7 lead in the first quarter.

Pressure was preached in every step of preparation leading up to the game.

“That’s what we preach all year,” Grondin said. “We stuck to it, and it ended up working.”