MENOMINEE — A monster first quarter on both ends of the floor allowed Menominee to build a big lead en route to a 54-38 Great Northern Conference victory over Kingsford on Monday.

The Maroons (3-3 overall, 1-2 GNC) brought a lot of energy to start the game and their scrappy defense allowed them to break out in transition while forcing Kingsford into nearly 10 turnovers in the first half.

Menominee took a 4-0 lead on a basket from Cooper Conway and a transition layup from Brady Badker.

Kingsford’s first basket came when Cole Bracket grabbed a defensive rebound and dribbled the full length of the court for a layup with around six minutes remaining in the first quarter.

From that point on, the Flivvers would not score until there was 15 seconds left in the quarter as Menominee scored the next 17 straight. Conway drilled a triple after a Kingsford turnover to give the Maroons an early 21-2 lead.

“Hats off to Menominee for coming out and getting after us right away and putting pressure on our guards,” Kingsford coach Dan Olkkonen said. “I’m just disappointed with the way we composed ourselves as a team after that opening quarter.”

The Flivvers were able to string together two straight baskets late in second quarter as Bracket and Nick Nora cut the deficit to 32-14, but Menominee headed into the half leading 37-14.

Menominee took its biggest lead of the night midway through the third quarter when Conway dropped in a 3-pointer to take a 44-18 advantage, but the Maroons went cold from the floor the rest of the quarter, scoring just two points on free throws to hold a 46-30 lead.

The Maroons scored just 17 points in the second half to Kingsford’s 24.

Conway and Badker each led Menominee with 15 points.

For Kingsford, Bracket led all scorers with 16 points while Zach Person added nine.

In the JV contest, Cole Myllyla drained 20 points for Kingsford as the Flivvers defeated Menominee 58–52.

KINGSFORD (38) — Bracket 16, Person 9, Nora 4, Paupore 3, Carollo 2, Kopp 2, Weber 2. FTs: 7-13.

MENOMINEE (54) — Conway 15, Badker 15, Bellisle 13, Schultz 6, Theuerkauf 3, Starzynski 2. FTs: 14-22.