Boys basketball: Kingsford holds off Maroons
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KINGSFORD -- Kingsford held off a second-half rally by Menominee for an 80-68 Great Northern Conference win on Monday.
The Flivvers (5-6) held a 49-32 halftime lead before the Maroons cut it within 10 in the second half. But Menominee flirted with foul trouble all night and Kingsford maintained momentum by shooting 26 of 39 from the line.
"I thought we were prepared more than we have been for mentally coming out and actually playing a good game," We wanted to create a little more up-tempo and I think we did in the first half. Pressed a little bit and get some easy baskets. We had some turnovers but then we were able to score. We realized our size tonight. We wanted to get inside with Luke and Cole Galeazzi and Andrew Mann did a nice job getting to the basket and getting to the free-throw line."
The Flivvers were led by Luke Terrian's 23 points. Tyler Beauchamp added 22.
Kingsford led by as much as 15 early in the second quarter before the Maroons made it a three-point game with three minutes left. Kingsford went on another run for a 17-point advantage at the half. The Flivvers used their size advantage with Cole Galeazzi and Andrew Mann inside. Galeazzi and Mann finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
"I thought we came out a little bit flat with our intensity. Kingsford jumped right on us from the get-go," Menominee head coach Sam Larson said. "We expended a lot of energy just trying to cut it back down to four in the first half. Then we didn't close out the half very well. The story of the game was offensive rebounds. They had 20 offensive rebounds against us. We were outrebounded 48-31. I thought physically we just got manhandled for a good part of the game. "However I thought the last 10 minutes of the game we showed a new intensity that we haven't had at any point earlier in the game," Larson added. "Really, kind of tried to get back into it. I'm proud of my guys for the way that they finished, never gave up and kept on bringing the intensity. We have to do a much, much better job rebounding the basketball and we can't give up 49 points at the half. That's way too many."
Kingsford made it a 20-point game early in the third quarter.
The Maroons' outside shooting kept the crowd in the gym as they made it a nine-point game early in the fourth. Menominee's Brock Barrette and Brady Badker each had three triples.
Olkkonen said Menominee's scoring runs were impressive.
"They're a good young team, I tell you what. They're scary," Olkkonen said. "That Bellisle had a heck of a game. He's tough for a freshman. He really did a nice job creating some havoc for us. (Keagan) Monroe caught fire there. There was one point they had a 10-0 run to cut the gap. Basketball is a game of spurts, it always is and teams are going to make their run. The thing with us is we're proud of the kids -- they keep playing. The game was long because of the fouls and free throws and things like that. You always want to stretch games out. You want to create the best scenario for yourself to win. We're going to use our timeouts and our fouls."
The game turned fast and long in the second quarter as Menominee tried to stretch the floor and score easier buckets.
"We want to definitely try to get some easy ones in transition because halfcourt offense has not been our forte this year," Larson said. "If we can get the ball up and down and try to get some easy ones, that's better off for us. Our transition defense didn't help us at all either."
Kingsford's presence down low proved to be Menominee's undoing as the Flivvers held onto multiple possessions with its 20 offensive boards.
But Menominee also had foul troubles. Barrette fouled out soon after his third trey, further limiting Menominee's shooting. Kingsford just about matched Menominee's scoring down the stretch with free throws. The Flivvers were 10 of 14 from the line in their 16-point fourth quarter, while the Maroons scored 19 points with five 3-pointers.
Dante Sartorelli and Keaton Uecke also fouled out.
Kingsford JV won 68-46.
Kingsford hosts Marquette on Thursday. Menominee visits Gladstone on Friday.
Menominee 10 22 17 19 -- 68
Kingsford 22 27 15 16 -- 80
MENOMINEE (68): Bellisle 20, Monroe 17, Barrette 13, Badker 9, Sartorelli 5, Uecke 2, Spegel 2. FT: 4-10. F: 28 (Barrette, Sartorelli and Uecke fouled out). 3PT: Badker 3, Barrette 3, Monroe 1, Bellisle 1.
KINGSFORD (80): Terrian 23, Beauchamp 22, Galeazzi 12, Mann 11, Rutter 8, Normand 2, Batti 2. FT: 26-39. F: 8. 3PT: Beauchamp 4, Terrian 1.