ACS boys edge Wasilla

WASILLA — It may not have produced the outcome the Wasilla Warriors were looking for. But it’s a matchup Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen will take at any time.

With the score tied late in regulation, Anchorage Christian’s Demarcus Hall buried the go-ahead three-pointer with four seconds left in the fourth to lift the Lions to a 56-53 nonconference win over the Warriors Tuesday night at Wasilla High School. It marked Wasilla’s second straight game against one of the top 3A teams in the state. Last Friday, Wasilla beat defending 3A state champion Grace Christian 52-48 in Anchorage. ACS was third in the 3A tourney last year.

“I’d play this game again,” Engebretsen said of the matchup after the loss.

Engebretsen said playing the top 3A teams in Alaska present an ideal opportunity for the Warriors to play top competition.

“That’s exactly why we scheduled Grace and ACS two-thirds the way through our season, toward the tail end,” Engebretsen said. “I knew they’d be great tests. They’re two of the top-3 3A teams, and 3A is definitely a level you respect.”

And the Warriors learned some things, Engebretsen said. ACS used a 21-point second quarter to leap ahead. Despite trailing by double-digits, Wasilla jumped back into the game with a 19-point fourth and tied the game at 53 with an Aeron Milliron steal and layup with 80 seconds left to play.

“We realized we made plenty of mistakes. We couldn’t catch the ball clean, and we were still in the ball game,” Engebretsen said. “We found we can go down by 15 and have enough grit to tie it back up before the thing’s all said and done.”

Engrebretsen agreed it was an off night for the Warriors, coming off a three-game road trip.

“Our focus wasn’t very good today, but we can fix that right away,” Engebretsen said.

But he liked to see his players stick with it.

“I’m proud of the kid for their grit and toughness,” Engebretsen said.

Wasilla entered the fourth quarter in a nine-point hole, but cut the game to three possessions with a Levi Houck layup at the 3:57 mark of the final frame. Daniel Headdings scored five straight points for Wasilla, and hit a three-pointer with 2:51 left to cut the ACS lead to 53-49. Headdings followed with a steal on his defensive end, and fed a pass to Jordan Knight, who capitalized on a fast-break to bring the Warriors within two.

With 1:20 left, Milliron grabbed a steal and went the length of the court to tie the score at 53.

With just four seconds left, Hall hit his fourth three-pointer of the day to give ACS the 56-53 lead. ACS hit nine three-pointers in the game. Orlando Lozano also hit four shots from beyond the arc.

Reilly Devine led Wasilla with 16 points in the loss. Headdings added 13.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Anchorage Christian 56, Wasilla 53

Tuesday, Wasilla High

ACS 10-21-12-13—56

Wasilla 13-8-13-19—53

ACS (56) — Parks 1 0-0 2, Smallwood 2 0-0 4, Onochie 2 3-5 7, Cho 2 2-2 6, Guzman 2 0-0 4, Dickerson 2 0-0 4, Luzano 4 0-0 12, Hall 6 0-1 16; Totals: 21 5-8 56.

Wasilla (53) — Knight 1 1-2 3, Houck 4 1-3 9, Headdings 5 2-3 13, R. Devine 7 2-2 16, Dudley 1 0-0 2, Milliron 3 2-6 8, L. Devine 0 2-2 2; Totals: 21 10-18 53.

3-point field goals: ACS 9 (Hall, Luzano 4); Wasilla 1 (Headdings 1); Team fouls: ACS 18, Wasilla 11