Theresa Proudfit/The Daily News KINGSFORD’S MICHAEL MENEGUZZO puts up a shot against Norway Tuesday evening in non-conference boys basketball.

KINGSFORD — Kingsford freshman point guard Nick Nora and fellow underclassman sophomore Michael Meneguzzo sealed a thrilling 66-64 victory for Kingsford over Norway here Tuesday in non-conference boys basketball.

Nora drove in for a go-ahead layup with 3.6 seconds remaining, and Meneguzzo added a takeaway and late free throw to secure the win for Kingsford.

The first game of a varsity doubleheader didn’t disappoint anyone in attendance. The game was tightly contested throughout ahead of the dramatic finish.

The Knights led 64-63 with less than 20 seconds remaining after Norway junior Jeff Van Holla made the second of two free throws.

Upon receiving the inbounds pass, Nora dribbled the length of the floor, made a quick move off of a dribble-drive and hit the go-ahead layup.

As Norway’s attempt to inbound the ball was made, Menneguzzo jumped up and deflected the pass into his own hands and was immediately fouled to stop the clock with 1.9 seconds. Menneguzzo made the first of two free throws. The Knights grabbed the rebound off the miss and heaved a desperation three-quarter court shot that hit the rim but missed left, giving the young Kingsford team the hard-fought victory.

Norway guard Logan Parolini led all scorers with 23 points, while Andrew Paupore led Kingsford with a season-high 20 points, draining six three-pointers. Cole Bracket netted 14 points, while Nora added 13.

Norway senior center Kody Hendricks scored 18 points, while Van Holla netted 16 points, as the Knights dropped to 8-4.

“When our AD said we were going to play a double-header against Norway, I knew it was going to be a great atmosphere,” said Kingsford head coach Dan Olkkonen. “I wouldn’t say we are rivals, but coach (Jeff) Gallino and I are good friends, plus with our communities not being that far away from one another, it’s always fun to play Norway.”

Olkkonen noted that it was apparent from the start that Hendricks was going to get the ball, which he did a lot in the game.

“Plus, he’s twice the size of any of our guys,” he said. “I thought our kids held him out of the lane at the end of the game the best they could.

“Andrew Paupore was fantastic tonight. Some people have been wondering where he’s been so far this year. Paupore had some health issues over the spring and fall, having a cancer operation. For him to fight through all of the health issues and watching him step up a little the last couple of weeks has been great. But tonight he really stepped up big time. He had the hot hand and it energized our crowd, it was great.

“Van Holla played very well tonight, and Parolini shot like he seems to usually shoot. It was a great game.”

Norway head coach Jeff Gallino expressed some of the same things as coach Olkkonen did, about the energy of the two crowds and the atmosphere being great.

“I thought Nora made a great play at the end of the game. Coach Olkkonen had his kids ready to play, and they made a couple more plays than we did tonight,” said Gallino.

Norway slowed the tempo a little midway through the third quarter, with Gallino wanting the boys to cycle through their half-court offensive sets.

“We wanted to get the ball inside to Kody and isolate he and Logan on one side,” Gallino said. “We were able to do that somewhat.”

Gallino also noted that he was impressed with how Paupore shot throughout the game.

Something else of note was the fact that Kingsford made two buzzer-beaters in the game. Each of them were shots in the paint. The first, by Hunter Bilgreen, ended the first half. The other was a layup by Cole Bracket to end the third quarter.

Both teams return to their respective conferences Friday night. Kingsford (4-8) travels to face Great Northern Conference foe Escanaba. The Knights head to Stephenson for a Skyline Central Conference matchup.

In the JV game, Nathan Bousley canned a game-high 18 points to lead the Flivvers past previously undefeated Norway 64-42. Dylan Wolsker drained five 3-pointers for a team-high 15 points, while Nolan Amundson added 11 points for the Knights. The Flivvers’ Trestan Larson scored 11 points in the contest.

On Monday night, the Flivver freshmen traveled to Negaunee to take on the Miners freshmen. Despite having three players score in double figures, the Flivvers were narrowly defeated 49-48. Bryce Wenzel led the way with 13 points, while Ben Trevillian and Charlie Christesen each netted 12 points in the losing effort.

Norway 15 11 19 19 — 64

Kingsford 14 18 17 17 — 66

NORWAY: Bray 2, Paulitch 2, Van Holla 16, Hendricks 18, Lasater 3, Parolini 23. FT: 15-24. F: 13. Fouled Out: None 3-point FG: Parolini (4), Lasater.

KINGSFORD: Meneguzzo 9, Nora 13, Kopp 4, Brackett 14, Bilgreen 2, Paupore 20. FT: 2-5. F: 20. 3-point FG: Nora, Paupore (6), Meneguzzo. Fouled Out: None.