(Justin St. Ours/Escanaba Daily Press) Kingsford’s Chris Carollo (left) drives against Escanaba’s Brandon Frazer (4) Friday in a Great Northern Conference game at Escanaba.

ESCANABA — The second-ranked Escanaba boys clinched the Great Northern Conference basketball title here Friday night, rolling past the Kingsford Flivvers 70-41.

Escanaba, which improved to 12-1 overall and 6-0 in the GNC, came into this week as the top-ranked large school team in the Upper Peninsula.

The victory enabled the Eskymos to bounce back from Tuesday’s 58-52 loss at second-ranked Iron Mountain.

“I’m very happy with the way the guys responded,” said Escanaba coach Tracy Hudson. “We looked like a team that was playing for a championship. This was a great win against a team that just beat Menominee (80-75 in overtime at home Monday). They’re a team that could be in the (Division 2) district championship game.”

Kingsford was within 11-8 following an 18-foot jump shot by sophomore Nick Nora with 64 seconds left in the first quarter.

Escanaba responded with a 6-0 run, taking a 17-8 lead on a pair of free throws by junior forward Trevor Brown.

The Flivvers trimmed their deficit to 17-11 on a jumper from the left corner by senior Hunter Bilgreen with 6 1/2 minutes left in the second.

Kingsford, which played without juniors Mike Meneguzzo and Zach Person, hit just 2-of-20 shots from behind the arc and committed 12 turnovers. Escanaba had nine miscues, including just two in the second half.

“I thought Tracy did a great job preparing them, and their guys did a great job going inside,” said Kingsford coach Dan Olkkonen. “They’re a very good team. They not only have the inside, (but) they also have the outside.”

The Flivvers were within 44-28 following a jumper from the lane and free throw by senior Cole Bracket. Escanaba, however, didn’t allow them to get any closer.

Colin Hudson finished with 20 points to lead the Eskymos.

“Colin is a tough match-up,” said coach Hudson. “He finds ways to get open.”

Nora hit 16 points, and Bracket added 10 for the Flivvers (8-5 overall, 3-4 league), who visit Norway Tuesday.

“I thought the guys did a great job locking down on the perimeter,” said coach Hudson. “Their guys on the perimeter are good athletes. I thought they’d play zone, but they played man. That’s okay. We can shoot from outside, too. I think we’re right up there with the best in the U.P.”

“We usually don’t shoot that many 3-pointers, but they’re so big, wide and tall,” said Olkkonen. ” I’m proud of our guys. I thought we battled them pretty well. We played pretty hard in the third quarter.”

The hosts also won the jayvee contest (65-44) and freshman game (70-44). Kingsford: 8 10 12 9 — 41

Escanaba: 13 24 17 16 — 70

Kingsford — Nora 16, Counter 2, Carollo 1, Kopp 4, Weber 3, Bracket 10, Bilgreen 5. FT: 5-8; F: 14; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Bracket, Bilgreen.

Escanaba — Frazer 3, Smale 10, Colin Hudson 20, Morehouse 1, Carter Hudson 9, Hanson 5, Victorson 11, Brown 9, Willette 2. 3-point field goals: Colin Hudson 2, Frazer, Smale, Hanson, Victorson.