Iron Mountain’s Carson Wonders, left, takes a shot against Kingsford’s Cory Cootware on Tuesday in Kingsford. (Adam Niemi/The Daily News)

KINGSFORD — It was a tale of two halves.

Kingsford and Iron Mountain battled neck and neck to a slim halftime margin, but the Mountaineers controlled the second half en route to the 71-45 rivalry non-conference win.

The Flivvers (1-6, 0-3 Great Northern Conference) fell behind as they missed shots, while Iron Mountain’s transition and offense clicked after halftime adjustments. Coach Dan Olkkonen said it’s a problem that’s plagued the team all season.

“We missed multiple opportunities in the first half, point-blank layups and again, we’re working through it,” Olkkonen said. “I was extremely proud of the kids in how they played. We stymied them a little bit in the first half. Teams are going to do that, good coaches are going to do that. You’re going to run into it.”

Iron Mountain (8-1, 3-1 Mid-Peninsula Conference) held a 25-22 halftime lead before a 24-point outburst in the third quarter.

Carson Wonders, who led the Mountaineers with 22 points, scored 10 of them in the third. Iron Mountain coach Bucky Johnson said the second half success came on taking more open shots and moving the ball around better.

“We didn’t shoot the ball very well in the first half,” Johnson said. “We didn’t move the ball very well. It wasn’t a good performance. Second half, kids made shots, moved the ball and got it where we needed to get it, pressured them a bit.”

Freshman point guard Marcus Johnson chipped in 19 points for Iron Mountain. Coach Johnson said Marcus was poised in the rivalry game, while Olkkonen said Wonders and Johnson were strong throughout the game despite the various defensive strategies to  stop them.

“They did a great job, Carson and Marcus both were consistent every quarter,” Olkkonen said. “I thought we made Carson struggle a little bit in the first half. They made adjustments, Carson is a senior that has been playing four years on the varsity, so he’s not going to go out there and let that happen.”

The Mountaineers’ strong third quarter, while holding Kingsford to 13 points, provided a 49-35 lead. Iron Mountain kept up the pressure in the fourth quarter while Kingsford’s offense continued to struggle on missed shots.

Sophomore guard Tyler Beauchamp led the Flivvers with 12 points and Luke Terrian added 11.

“Tyler didn’t have a real good night, he didn’t make a 3-pointer tonight and neither did our team,” Olkkonen said, referring to Kingsford’s 0 for 11 mark on 3-pointers. “It’s frustrating because he gets tired out there. He’s hounding the opponent the entire game, everybody knows what type of player he is. We’re asking a lot for him to run the offense and be a point and then be a shooting guard.”

Coach Johnson said the press helped Iron Mountain control the momentum after halftime.

“I thought our press really got out in transition a few times,” he said. “We got some steals but for the most part, I just thought we had an easier time scoring in the second half. I thought we hit some open shots, moved the ball better, attacked what they were trying to do a little bit better. That just opened the game up for us. Defensively in the second half, we did a pretty good job, however we’re still letting guys get to the basket a little too easily. Can’t let that happen, got to correct that.”

Despite Iron Mountain carving a big lead, the crowd atmosphere and game intensity was that of a tied game.

“It’s a pretty intense game,” Coach Johnson said. “I’m just proud of our kids. They responded at halftime and played well in the second half.”

Iron Mountain carried a No. 5 rank from the UP Sportswriters and Sportscasters?Association prep poll. The Mountaineers also received votes but did not crack the top-10 in the Associated Press Class C poll.

Kingsford plays at North Dickinson on Thursday, while Iron Mountain hosts Manistique.

Kingsford JV won 38-32.

Iron Mountain 11 14  24  22 — 71

Kingsford         11 11 13  10 — 45

IRON MOUNTAIN: Wonders 22, Johnson 19, Gerhard 11, Vicenzi 10, Tucker 7, Forstrom 2. FT: 12-19. F: 19. Rebounds: 35 (Gerhard 10). 3PT: 6-26 (Wonders 3, Johnson 2, Tucker 1).

KINGSFORD: Beauchamp 12, Terrian 11, Kreski 6, Roberts 5, Alberson 3, VanRemortel 2, Cootware 2, Petschar 2, Gayan 2. FT: 13-22. F: 18. FG: 16-43. 3PT: 0-11. Rebounds: 31 (Terrian 8).