A trio of Kingsford cagers, including Nic Nora (0), Troy Watt (11) and Gavin Grondin (23), can’t stop Iron Mountain’s Oskar Kangas from claiming a rebound during Tuesday night’s boys varsity basketball clash between the local rivals at Kingsford High School. Kangas ripped the host Flivvers for 33 points and 11 rebounds, as well as blocking five shots, in leading the Mountaineers to a 75-51 victory. (Dennis Mansfield/Daily News photo)

KINGSFORD — The scene was set Tuesday night at the Kingsford High School gymnasium. The two best teams in Division 1-3, top ranked Iron Mountain versus No. 2 Kingsford. A huge rivalry game no matter what the rankings, but this edition was special – the local basketball fan’s dream matchup.

And while the game featured some excellent moments from both sides, one team put on a virtuoso performance. That was the Mountaineers, who hammered the Flivvers 75-51 before a near-capacity crowd which was buzzing from the start.

Iron Mountain sophomore Oskar Kangas was the show-stopper, scoring 33 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and blocking five shots to lead the Mountaineers, who played so well in all aspects one could make a coaching tape from the game.

Coach Harvey “Bucky” Johnson’s crew had no shortage of motivation heading into the first matchup of the cross-town rivalry this season.

” Ever since we found out what the schedule was, we had this day marked,” said Kangas, referring to his team’s two losses to the Flivvers last year. “And after what happened last year, getting blown out in Iron Mountain … we knew this was the game we wanted most.”

“I’m proud of the kids because they stepped up to the challenge,” Johnson said. “And because Kingsford’s a real quality club. They’ve got really good athletes and (coach Dan Olkkonen) does a really good job with them. (But) our kids wanted to prove what they could do, and they did.”

From Olkkonen’s perspective, the night was nightmarish.

“Obviously, this loss hurts,” Olkkonen began. “It was extremely disappointing how we responded to Iron Mountain on the defensive side. I don’t think we reacted that well and that’s about mental toughness and that’s on me.

“In order for us to get ourselves where we want to be in the next month and a half, we have to tweak how we get prepared. You get into big games like this, and a big atmosphere, you can’t just fall back on athleticism. It has to be done as a team.”

The Flivvers (7-2) started well, grabbing a 9-6 lead after an offensive rebound and layup by sophomore forward Morgan Sleik. But Kangas hit a pair of free throws, a shot in the post and a 3-pointer to give the Mountaineers a 15-10 lead at the end of the first period.

Then a minute into the second quarter, Oskar’s older brother Reese began to assert himself as well. The junior guard nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to give his team an 11-point edge. By halftime IM led 33-23 and the Kangas brothers had scored 25 points –Oskar with 17 and Reese with eight.

“Oskar has got some game,” Johnson said. “He’s got good moves. And Reese was open a few times and he’s been shooting the ball pretty well.”

As a whole, the Mountaineers (9-0) executed their halfcourt offense splendidly. IM finished with 17 assists on its 29 baskets, with sophomore point guard Gerald Sampoll Torres leading the way with eight. Torres also finished with seven points, Reese Kangas recorded 17 points and Joe Colavecchi posted 12 points and made things difficult for Kingsford standout guard Nic Nora most of the contest.

“Execution is something that Mr. J’s been talking about all year,” Oskar said. “And when we have great guards like Joey, Reese and Gerald who can make passes that most guards can’t, it’s really nice.”

The Mountaineers finished the third quarter on a 6-0 run that left them up 52-37 heading into the fourth. By that point, Oskar had scored 27 points.

“Oskar’s very talented and it’s impressive to see a (6-foot-5-inch) kid who is that smooth from (the 3-point area),” Olkkonen said. “But for us, he got too close to the basket and then we got too high on him when he made his moves. And our doubles weren’t quick enough when we tried doubling.”

The Mountaineers then put the game to bed with an 8-4 run to start the fourth, punctuated by a steal and dunk from Oskar Kangas. Later in the fourth, Reese hit consecutive triples to give his team a 72-50 lead as the final moments ticked away.

“It feels amazing being able to share these emotions with my friends, my brother and the team,” Reese said “We’re so to one another, it’s an amazing feeling. Awesome.”

“We got stomped the first time last year and the second time was a battle,” Johnson said. “These kids have all improved, they’ve all worked on their craft, they’ve put in the time, and they want to be successful.

“They had something to prove tonight because there was a lot of mumbling and grumbling out there. And in the end, I think people got their money’s worth. I’m just really proud of my kids because they played hard.”

On the Kingsford side, Olkkonen said his players responded to the defeat well in the locker room afterward. He also spoke of keeping perspective on where the season and where the Flivver basketball program stands.

“For us, we just have to be better,” he said. “We’re still on an uphill climb. Bucky’s had eight years now that have really been good. And winning breeds winning.

“We’ve been on an uphill climb. I think we’ve got groups right now, coming all the way down through our program that are there,” he added. “So, we want to make sure that we do it the right way.”

Nora paced Kingsford with 23 points. Sleik contributed 14 and Gavin Grondin added eight.

Both teams resume their schedule on Thursday. Kingsford will look to rebound at North Dickinson (2-5), while the Mountaineers shoot for 10 in a row when they travel to Manistique (5-5).