“The Big Dog” Mitch Vosburg Daily Press Escanaba junior Demetrius Jacques (20) drives to the basket during a Great Northern Conference boys’ basketball game against Kingsford on Feb. 2, 2024 at Escanaba High School.

ESCANABA — Parent’s night was spoiled for Escanaba boys basketball in a 72-42 Great Northern Conference home loss to No. 3 Kingsford on Friday.

The Eskymos are now 7-8 overall and 1-5 in GNC play.

“They beat us in all areas,” Esky coach Scott Hanson said. “They’re a really good team. They’re No. 3 in the UP for a reason.”

The Flivvers improve to 14-2 and 4-1 in GNC play.

“It was a good win for us,” Kingsford coach Dan Olkkonen said. “We shot the ball really well tonight. Our bigs played great tonight.”

Kingsford opened up a quick 5-0 lead behind a triple from junior Gavin Grondin and a layup from senior Jacob Markworth to force the orange and black to burn a timeout. Esky senior David Romps connected in the paint to pull to 5-2 with 6:17 remaining in the frame.

Then the Flivvers exploded with a 14-0 run behind 3-pointers from senior Connor Quick and junior Gavin Trevillian and six points from Grondin for a 19-2 lead with 59 seconds remaining in the frame.

Eskymo senior Shane Wallin splashed from 3-point range, but his shot was matched by a triple from sophomore Owen Olkkonen 13 seconds later to preserve the Flivvers’ 17-point advantage after the first frame.

“We kind of broke down offensively,” Hanson said. “On Tuesday we were able to make shots to stop the bleeding when Menominee was making shots. Tonight, we couldn’t get those shots, we couldn’t sustain our offense and (Kingsford) went on big runs.”

The Flivvers kept their foot on the gas in the second frame. Primarily, the Flivvers kept connecting on corner 3’s in what felt similar to a glitch on “Double Dribble” for NES.

In fact, Kingsford connected five times from long range in the second quarter and 11 times in the first half.

“We took maybe 12, 13 (3-pointers) agame, but they just kept going in tonight,” Olkkonen said. “They just felt good. When you feel good and when you’re playing well the basket becomes a little bit bigger for you.

Kingsford also found success on the boards.

“(Escanaba) very rarely had more than one shot (in a possession),” Olkkonen said. “Ee rebounded the ball well. We pushed the ball up the floor and got inside and out. We hope we shoot this way the rest of the year.”

The Eskymos enter their final six games of the regular season next week. The first half of the slate features a trio of matchups against top 5 teams in the UPSSA Division 1-3 and Division 4 rankings.

No. 2 Munising comes to town at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Then it’s back-to-back road games against No. 2 Marquette and No. 5 Norway on Thursday and Friday.

After that, it’s No. 4 Painesdale Jeffers rolling into town on Feb. 16.

“The boys are ready for the challenge,” Hanson said. “We showed on Tuesday against Menominee that we can play with anyone. It didn’t happen for us tonight, but I’m hoping for good things next week.”

Box Score

Escanaba 5 14 15 8 – 42

Kingsford 22 24 16 10 – 72

Escanaba: Wallin 11, Peacock 6, Morgan 6, Romps 5, Johnson 4, Noel 4, Stevenson 2, Gracia 2, Cousineau 2; FT: 5-12; Fouls: 11; Fouled out: none; 3-pointers: Wallin 3, Peacock 2

Kingsford: Grondin 24, Sleik 11, Markworth 11, Trevillian 9, Olkkonen 6, Quick 3, Wallis 3, Weber 2, Kriegl 1; FT: 4-9; Fouls: 12; Fouled out: none; 3-pointers: Grondin 4, Trevillian 3, Olkkonen 2, Quick 1, Wallis 1, Markworth 1