Kingsford junior Gavin Trevillian (23) drives to the basket for a fast-break layup while Escanaba’s Ben Johnson (34) tries to defend the shot on Friday at Flivver Gym. (Terry Raiche photo)

KINGSFORD — The Kingford Flivvers came into Friday night’s Division 2 District 33 final heavily favored against Escanaba. In the two regular season games, the Flivvers defeated the Eskymos by 42 points and 30 points. Plus, the final was held at Flivver Gymnasium.

But as things can go in tournament basketball, the district final was far different than the two previous encounters between the teams. Nevertheless, the Flivvers prevailed 48-40 for their second consecutive district championship.

“Playoffs are always going to be tough, especially in our district,” said junior Gavin Trevillian, who scored 11 points in the victory. “There’s a lot of good teams and good players, obviously.

“But it’s nice to get it done on our own court and have our fans come out, so it was good.”

“I’ve been through this process for a long time and especially when you get to districts, you do everything you can to win, but I think a lot of it is not to lose,” Kingsford coach Dan Olkkonen said. “And that becomes a factor, and it just wears on you. And it’s difficult to beat a team three times (in a season) and they did a heck of a job, but this means a lot, especially on our home court.”

The Flivvers’ Jack Kriegl (4) pressures Escanaba’s David Romps (22) as he tries to get the ball across mid-court on Friday at Flivver Gym. Kingsford took down the Eskymos to win a district title. (Terry Raiche photo)

For a stretch of the first quarter, the Flivvers looked like they were going to hand the Eskymos another drubbing when they ran off 13 straight points to take a 15-5 lead.

Trevillian scored four points, Gavin Grondin hit a triple and Morgan Sleik, Jack Kriegl and Jacob Markworth all added a bucket during the run.

But Escanaba got its claws into the Kingsford offense in the second quarter, holding the high-flying Flivvers to just 10 points.

Escanaba coach Scott Hanson started the game in a 2-3 zone, but switched to a man defense rather quickly.

The move worked as junior forward Javon Stevenson and his teammates made life difficult for Grondin, Kingsford’s leading scorer at over 20 points per game, and the Flivvers to get on track.

“They were all over our plays, all over our backdoor plays,” said Grondin, a 20-plus point per game scorer who finished with 11 in the final. “All over everything. And they came to play tonight. But we’re glad we came out on top.”

“I thought we did an incredible job, probably as good as anybody’s done on Grondin for a full game,” Hanson said.

Hanson’s point was well taken, but Grondin had plenty of scoring support in both the final and the district as a whole. Against Escanaba, Trevillian especially stepped forward offensively, as did Markworth.

Markworth, a 6-6 senior post, finished with a team-high 14 points, including a 3-pointer in the second quarter and seven big points in the third quarter as the Flivvers stayed out front 34-23 heading into the fourth.

“Tonight, I thought Markworth was the difference,’ Hanson said. “I don’t know if you can single out any one thing, but that 3-pointer and that little 10-footer on the baseline were big plays for Kingsford.”

While his team had to struggle to maintain its distance from the Eskymos in the fourth, Olkkonen didn’t want to risk anything. So the veteran Kingsford boss went to a “layups-only” offense with about four minutes left and carried a 36-29 lead.

Kriegl, Grondin and Trevillian did the bulk of the ball-handling and Grondin worked himself free for a driving hoop and two free throws to put Escanaba’s hopes of an upset in mortal danger.

Once again, the play of the sophomore point guard Kriegl was far more impactful than his four points would suggest.

“Jack has had the ball in his hands since he was five,” Olkkonen said. “I can definitely count on him. The strength, the poise, he’s tough. He’s definitely an asset to our team.”

Escanaba senior Shane Wallin, the Eskymos’ leading scorer who had been held to five free throws until late in the game, sank three straight triples in the final 2½ minutes to cut the Flivver lead to 44-38 with 1:18 left, but Kriegl and Sleik knocked down a free throw each and junior sparkplug Joey Weber, once again substituting for senior Cardel Morton (out with illness), sank a layup with 15 ticks remaining to seal the deal.

With the win, the Flivvers advance to the Division 2 Regional 9 semifinal against Sault Ste. Marie (15-9) on Tuesday night at Munising High School.

“We’re not finished yet,” Trevillian said. “We’ve got to keep going and hopefully keep winning games and surviving.”

Meanwhile, the Eskymos can look back on an at-times difficult season with a solid performance in the district in which to reflect.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am with how our kids played,” Hanson said.

“And not just tonight but going back to the first game (of the district), beating a Negaunee team that won 15 games.

“I don’t think anybody thought we had a shot. It’s a loss and it’s disappointing, but I think we gave Kingsford everything they could handle tonight.”

For the Flivvers, it’s a chance to win their second consecutive regional semifinal game and qualify for the regional final in Gaylord on Thursday, March 7 against the winner of Ludington (18-6) and Clare (16-8).

“Last year, the guys saw how focused and intense you have to be,” Olkkonen said. “We want to taste that again.”