Kingsford senior Jack Kriegl (4) directs traffic in the second half against Ludington during a Division 2 regional semifinal Thursday in Gaylord. Ludington prevailed 50-42. (Sean Chase photo)

GAYLORD — Over the past two seasons, the Kingsford boys basketball team has had Ludington’s number.

The Flivvers beat them last year on their trip to the Breslin Center. However, Thursday was a different story as the teams met up in Gaylord for the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 2 Regional 9 final.

This time, the Orioles came out on top, securing a 50-42 win.

“Just kind of a microcosm of these kids and who they are,” Flivvers’ head coach Ben Olsen said. “We’ve won four district championships, two regional championships. We’ve been here four straight years. We got down 16 or 18, and we could have folded it up and packed it in, said, ‘Oh well, game’s over.’

“But we fought back to within two or three. It just didn’t go our way tonight like it has so many times in the past.”

Kingsford ends its season with a 17-7 overall record. The Flivvers were 4-4 in Great Northern UP Conference action.

While the loss stings, it also means the end of the road for Kingsford’s six seniors – Owen Olkkonen, Sid Olson, Jack Kriegl, Mathew Sundquist, Isaac Lebouef and Alex Erickson.

“They mean everything,” coach Olsen said. “That’s the hardest thing. You go into the locker room and that’s the last time this group, I’m going to have more seasons, I’m going to have more teams, but that breakdown was the last time this core group of kids is going to be together.

“It happens every year and you don’t want to lose any of them. You want them all to come back, but that’s not the way life is. That’s not how it rolls. I’ll be in their corner, like I told them, ‘I love every single one of them.’ If they need anything, I’m there for them. That’s all you can do, really.”

Ludington came out swinging in the first quarter and opened up a 6-1 lead. That’s when the Flivvers began to rally.

Erickson and Kriegl both connected on layups, cutting the lead to one point.

Orioles’ senior Cam Gunsell responded with a layup of his own, pushing the lead back to three points. However, Gaige Sorensen immediately answered with a layup. He would bury a 3-pointer later in the quarter.

Once the dust settled, Kingsford found itself trailing, 12-10, entering the second.

Flivvers’ junior Jett Buckley knocked down a 3-pointer to open the quarter, putting them ahead by one point.

Then things took a turn for the worse as Ludington went on a 14-0 run.

Sorenson stopped the bleeding, converting an and-one with 30 seconds left in the second and Kingsford went into the halftime break down by 10.

During the intermission, coach Olsen reminded his kids about the path they took to get to Gaylord.

“Just that we’ve been in these situations before,” coach Olsen said. “I knew they were going to come out and fight and they went on almost another run, it felt like.

“We hadn’t made shots. I thought we missed some layups in the first half that we normally make. They made some shots, and that’s kind of where that separation came from. I think it evened out and maybe even got a little bit better of them in the second half. It’s a microcosm of our season, too. We’ve always had one quarter that’s done us in in big games.”

Ludington rattled off six-straight points to open the third quarter, forcing a Flivvers’ timeout.

Once the huddle broke, Kingsford began to mount a comeback.

The Flivvers outscored the Orioles, 14-6, behind four points from Blake Tomasoski.

“These kids never think they’re going to lose,” coach Olsen said. “When we were down 16, I don’t think there was anyone who thought our season would be over. Blake (Tomasoski) is kind of our emotional leader. He does so much stuff that isn’t on the stat sheets. Fortunately, he’s coming back. He’s going to be one of the catalysts moving forward for this team.”

Kingsford continued to stifle the Orioles’ offense in the fourth quarter, and with three minutes to play, the deficit was cut to three points.

Sorensen would score again with 34 seconds left to play, but it wasn’t enough to overtake Ludington.

Orioles’ sophomore Kyle Himes Jr. went two-for-two at the charity stripe to seal the 50-42 win.

“Shout out to my seniors, I’m losing some great ones again,” coach Olsen said. “We’re just going to have to reload and try to figure it out again.”

As a team, Kingsford connected on three triples while going 4-for-7 at the line.

Sorensen led the Flivvers with 15 points.

Kingsford also received contributions from Olkkonen (6 points), Buckley (7 points), Kriegl (4 points), Sundquist (4 points) and Tomasoski (6 points).