Kingsford Flattens Gladstone In G.N.C. Basketball

GLADSTONE---There wasn't much that Gladstone Braves Coach Phil Griebel could say Friday night after his team lost to the Kingsford Flivvers in a Great Northern Conference match-up. The Braves never seemed to get into a rhythm on either end of the court and lost to the Flivvers, 64-34.

The score wasn't pretty, and the action on the court was just as ragged as the score.

"We started out really flat and just didn't have any energy at all in the first half," Griebel said. "They were playing at a different speed than we were. It looked really ugly. We probably had more turnovers than points in the first half. It was disappointing."

Indeed. The Braves scored just 12 points in the first half, and the only basket they had in the second quarter came with three seconds left in the half when Blake Ballard got a steal and raced up-court for a lay-up. But at that time, Gladstone was behind, 25-10.

"We played scared," Griebel said. "Timid. Flat. And I don't know why."

Kingsford's defense was a part of the reason, as the Flivvers forced the Braves into a number of low-percentage shots. But Gladstone also had a handful of unforced turnovers, with passes bouncing off of guys' hands. Other times, some guys dribbed the ball out of bounds or tried to force passes into the paint where there were no openings. Kingsford led, 13-8, after one quarter.

Then came the dreadful second quarter, when Gladstone managed only two free throws before Ballard's basket at the end. The Flivvers got a pair of three-pointers from Caleb Harrington, six of his game-high 21 points.

Caleb Harrington scores for Kingsford.

The third quarter was better for Gladstone, as the Braves put 16 points on the board. The problem for the Braves was that Kingsford also scored 16 points in the quarter.

"I thought we played a lot harder in the third quarter," Griebel said. "We started getting some turnovers and the tempo started getting up a little bit. But every time we made a shot, they made a shot."

The fourth quarter was not pretty for Gladstone, as the Flivvers outscored the Braves, 23-6. Even the Kingsford bench players had fun at the Braves' expense.

"It got to the point that I think we just kind of gave up," Griebel said. "I'm disappointed. The guys are really down and disappointed. I don't think it can get much worse than today. The only thing that we can do is go up from here."

Besides Harrington's 21 points, Aidan Wienke had 16 points and Cole Michaud scored 15. Kingsford improved to 5-2 overall, 2-1 in the Great Northern Conference.

Jared Vuksan scored a meager seven points to lead the Braves. Gladstone is now 5-3 overall, 1-2 in the GNC. The boys have a non-conference game against Gwinn on Tuesday, before traveling to Menominee next Friday for another GNC game.

"We'll get back to work," Griebel said. "These kids are resilient. I'm sure that they'll forget about this (loss) by the end of the night. We'll move forward. It's all we can do."

The game against Gwinn will not be on the radio, but the game in Menominee will be broadcast on WGKL-FM (105.5), WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see videos from the game. Thanks to Nate Bellville for taking those videos for us.

Date	Time	Opponent	Score	Record

12/6	7:15 PM	Big Bay deNoc Black Bears	73 - 61 (W)	1-0

12/11	7:15 PM	Marquette Redmen	51 - 58 (L)	1-1

12/14	7:30 PM	at Escanaba Eskymos	78 - 66 (W)	2-1

12/18	7:15 PM	Mid Peninsula Wolverines	68 - 61 (W)	3-1

12/28	6:15 PM	at St. Ignace Saints	82 - 67 (W)	4-1

1/3	7:15 PM	at Mid Peninsula Wolverines	61 - 67 (L)	4-2

1/7	7:30 PM	at Westwood Patriots	66 - 56 (W)	5-2

1/11	7:15 PM	Kingsford Flivvers	34 - 64 (L)	5-3

1/15	7:15 PM	Gwinn Model Towners	60 - 55 (W)	6-3

1/18	8:00 PM	at Menominee Maroons	63 - 70 (L)	6-4

1/23	7:30 PM	at Ishpeming Hematites	62 - 76 (L)	6-5

1/26	3:00 PM	Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils	66 - 67 (L)	6-6

2/5	7:20 PM	at Marquette Redmen	43 - 53 (L)	6-7

2/8	8:00 PM	at Kingsford Flivvers	57 - 62 (L)	6-8

2/12	7:15 PM	Negaunee Miners	46 - 79 (L)	6-9

2/15	7:15 PM	Menominee Maroons	55 - 65 (L)	6-10

2/18	7:30 PM	at Big Bay deNoc Black Bears	81 - 55 (W)	7-10

2/22	7:15 PM	Escanaba Eskymos	48 - 57 (L)	7-11

2/26	7:30 PM	at Manistique Emeralds	69 - 54 (W)	8-11

3/4	6:00 PM	at Kingsford Flivvers	56 - 53 (W)	9-11

3/6	7:00 PM	Menominee Maroons	64 - 61 (W)	10-11

3/11	8:00 PM	at Grayling Vikings	68 - 73 (L)	10-12