Bears upend No. 4 Warriors

The two games against the fifth-ranked team in the state this weekend were viewed as a measuring stick for Juneau-Douglas, and two wins would go along way in validating the hometown team.

Consider the Crimson Bears validated.

Juneau-Douglas hit its free throws down the stretch and managed to keep the Warriors at arm’s length as the Crimson Bears won for the second time in as many nights, 48-42, against a team that entered the weekend No. 5 in the Winning Percentage Index.

Wasilla big man Connor Devine fouled out of the contest at the 3:26-mark of the fourth in a tied contest, 39-39, and the Bears took advantage. With the outside shot not working JDHS shot just 35 percent from the floor, 12 percent from beyond the arc the Bears weren’t able to spread the floor against the 6-foot-9 Devine. But it was a different story when the big man left for good with just more than three minutes remaining. Juneau-Douglas repeatedly attacked the paint when the anchor of Wasilla’s defense fouled out, and the Bears finished the final 2:42 on a 9-3 run with all points coming in the paint or from the free throw line.

“I thought we did a good job getting them to play at our tempo,” Bears coach Steve Potter said. “I thought we made them play faster than they wanted. We had a tough time with their bigs, but today we were a little more effective.

“We did a better job with Ryan (Baldwin) and (De’Andre) Jazz (King) going at (Devine) instead of going around him.”

Devine scored just five points on the night, but his absence at the end of the game was felt sorely on defense and on the boards. The big man also had nine rebounds and three blocked shots in just more than 23 minutes.

“Obviously (fouling out) meant a lot because he changes so much defensively.

He rebounds the ball, defends, changes shots and he does a great job,” Warriors coach Ryan Engebretsen said of Devine’s impact on the game. “Unfortunately he got called on a couple of things we didn’t agree with, but it is what it is and our guards have to keep guys out of the paint as well.”

Junior guard Tony Yadao paced the Bears with 10 points and junior Lance Ibesate, senior Eddie Hurtte and junior Alec Calloway tied for second with seven points apiece.

“I would have liked to close these games out, but we knew it would be a dog fight and we’d have to do all the little things,” Engebretsen said. “(The Bears) play unbelievably hard, they’re well-coached and we see ourselves right there. We’ll be in the mix at the end.”

Braydon Kuiper led all scorers in the game with 12 points. The Warriors did have their chances throughout the game, but Juneau-Douglas responded whenever Wasilla would make a move.

“Coach just regrouped us at halftime, saying if we wanted to win that game we had to come out with more defensive intensity. That’s what we did,” said Hurtte, who celebrated his eighteenth birthday on Saturday. “We got off to a slow start this season, but now we¹re starting to trust our teammates and we’re really starting to come together.”

Juneau-Douglas once again overcame a slow start to win its fourth game in a row, but the first quarter was anything but a model of offensive efficiency.

Neither side could keep control of the ball, but neither was able to capitalize on its chances as two of the top six teams in state battled to score nine points in the quarter, combined, as Wasilla led 5-4 after the first.

Trailing 11-7 after the first 10 minutes of the game, the Crimson Bears found their rhythm during a 7-0 run midway through the second quarter. Two Colin Gozelski free throws, an Ibesate free throw and two lay-ups from Tony Yadao and Alec Calloway sparked a Bears offense that had been stagnant for most of the early going. Still, once again, it all started with Juneau-Douglas’ defense.

The Crimson Bears adjusted their press in the second, eliminating Wasilla’s long, diagonal passes downcourt and trapping the Warriors whenever possible, making their opponents visibly uncomfortable getting into their offensive sets.

“That’s got to be our calling card — we have to hang our hat on our defense. Apparently we¹re not the best shooters in the world,” Potter said. “We have guys who can hit shots, but if our defense gets us easy opportunities, that’s what we need to do.”

Next up for the Crimson Bears (12-4, 2-0) is the crosstown rival Falcons (4-15, 0-4) at 6:30 p.m. at Thunder Mountain High School on Tuesday.