That’s how Escanaba boys varsity basketball coach Tracy Hudson described earning back-to-back district titles after defeating Kingsford 74-50 to win the MHSAA Division 2 District 33 trophy Wednesday night at Escanaba High School.

“It’s just like wow,” Hudson said. “We just played the district final and won it. It’s unbelievable. I told the kids it’s championship week. Every time you turn on the TV, someone’s playing for a championship. Let’s punch our ticket to March Madness.”

The Eskymos came out in the final with the same defensive intensity they had against Negaunee on Monday night when they defeated the Miners 57-31. And that intensity put the Flivvers on the back foot almost immediately.

Jared Hanson and Colin Hudson each hit a 3-pointer, while Hanson and Connor Smale sank a bucket to give Escanaba a quick 10-0 lead.

Kingsford varsity hoopster Brody Kopp (12) fights for a rebound with Escanaba’s Trevor Brown (behind right) Wednesday during an MHSAA Division 2, District 33 final in Escanaba. The host Eskymos earned back-to-back district titles after defeating the Flivvers 74-50 at Escanaba High School to take the district trophy. (Justin St. Ours photo)

“We don’t get punched in the face very often,” Flivvers coach Daniel Olkkonen said. “They did it right from the start. (Jared) Hanson’s 3-pointer to start the game. I mean, that’s the one person we’re trying to guard from the 3-point line, and they run a little tweak to a play, and he hits it.

“Our whole thing was just making corrections on offense. We weren’t making good enough reads. We play all man. We’re a man team. They’re a good offensive team. We kept getting mismatches with Hanson coming off these screens, and we weren’t doing a good enough job hedging.”

The Eskymos later extended their lead to 18-3 with just over two minutes left in the opening quarter. Kingsford scored the final seven points of the period to cut the gap to eight heading into the second quarter.

Despite the big early deficit, Kingsford fought back to within 31-29 on a triple from Nic Nora just 23 seconds into the third quarter.

However, a little over a minute later, Colin Hudson’s putback sparked an 8-0 run, which included a pair of free throws from Smale and Hudson to push the Eskymos back ahead 39-29.

“They just kept running the floor,” Olkkonen said. “I think they got too many wide-open layups. Their guards are good. I thought Bray and Smale especially came downhill, and they were making some plays. Then, the offensive rebounds with Hudson. They’re so big, and we didn’t do enough.”

Just over halfway through the quarter, Kingsford’s Gavin Grondin, who finished with a team-high 17 points, laid one in and sank a free throw to cut the deficit to 41-32.

Unlike the explosiveness of the first, the Eskymos steadily pulled ahead to ultimately lead 50-36 at the end of the third.

“The score is very deceiving because it was a very close game,” Coach Hudson said. “They punched back hard. I felt like we were lucky. We were fortunate enough to get the last little spurt in the half to kind of hang on and go in with a lead. I felt like the way they came back on us, we could’ve been down five at halftime.

“We handled their pressure. They’re very quick. I think we did a very good job understanding their individual tendencies trying to keep their guards from getting to the basket.”

“We didn’t do enough of the right things to play against a team like this, especially on a night like tonight,” Olkkonen said. “I thought we showed some grit to get back in it. Again, when you’re playing the No. 1 or the No. 2 team in the U.P., you’re not going to get a lot of chances.”

Brody Kopp, who scored 12 points in the game, and Michael Meneguzzo played their final games for the Flivvers.

“Michael Meneguzzo and Brody Kopp have been with the program three years on varsity,” Olkkonen said of his seniors. “They’ve left their imprint. They’ve been great friends, great teammates. They put a lot of effort in, and they really helped turn our program into something special for the years to come.

“As far as the team, I told those guys they’re all going to be great young men. We’re proud of this season. We had 15 wins, and it’s been a while since we’ve been up there. We just have to get over that hump to win the really big games.”

Justin St. Ours is sports editor for The Daily Press in Escanaba.