BENCHMARK: Reserves help fuel Wasilla’s energy on court

WASILLA — Beau Cork will never forget his first varsity basket.

During the final seconds, the Wasilla senior and first-year varsity player seeing his first action of the Doc Larson Roundball Classic took the ball on the wing and drilled a three-pointer just before the buzzer to provide the exclamation point in the Warriors in a 70-33 win over Service Friday at Wasilla High School.

Cork hit the shot right in front of the Wasilla bench, and could barely turn around before he was lifted into the air by teammates. It’s a moment fans don’t typically see in a scenario like Friday’s matchup — a consolation game of an early-season tournament with a nearly 40-point margin of victory — but to Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen, it was an example of the type of energy and enthusiasm the Warriors shared Friday night.

“For a guy like Beau Cork to enjoy the moment. We are telling our kids, don’t shoot, don’t shoot, don’t shoot. But at the same time he’s a senior who has never scored in a varsity game of basketball. Obviously the fans ate it up. Obviously you don’t want to take a shot a buzzer when it’s a controlled game, but at the same time enjoy a moment for a kid who has never scored a point in his varsity life. He’s a great kid,” Engebretsen said.

The celebration of Cork’s three was also appropriate considering the presence of Engebretsen’s bench the entire tournament — from the performance of Harris Fife during a win over Ketchikan, to key minutes courtesy of the likes of Caden Dudley and Levi Houck to the raucous applause after freshman Luke Devine made an acrobatic move underneath the basket to get his first bucket of the game minutes before Cork knocked down his shot.

“I gave kudos to how hard we can play to our entire bench. They were the reason we could keep going. You could see on any possession right there, and guys on the floor can feed off that a little bit,” Engebretsen said of the inspiration from the bench. “And they love any chance they get.”

Engebretsen said that presence of the bench is central to the energy the Warriors showed on the floor Friday.

And stellar defense.

“We came out and were really, really good defensively,” Engebretsen said.

Wasilla held Service to 24 percent shooting in the game, and the Cougars shot just 12.5 percent from beyond the arc. The Cougars were held to single digits in scoring in three of the four quarters.

Engebretsen said his team has already squandered leads two or three times this season, and was pleased with the turnaround Friday.

“This time we decided, let’s don’t do that. We guarded for the entire second half,” Engebretsen said.

Wasilla also had success on the offensive side, shooting 58.3 percent overall. The Warriors were also 5 of 9 from beyond the arc. Kobe Brown continued his tear through the early chunk of his senior season with a game-high 23 points on 9 of 13 shooting. Aeron Milliron finished with a double-double, scoring 14 with his game-high 11 rebounds. Reilly Devine added 13 points and nine rebounds.

Wasilla finished 2-1 in the tournament that featured six squads from Alaska — Service, South Anchorage, Ketchikan, Bartlett, Barrow and the host Warriors. Bartlett edged defending 3A state champion Barrow for the Doc Larson title. It’s the first time with an all-Alaska field during the eight-year run of the tourney — the event typically includes squads from the Lower 48 — but Engebretsen was pleased with the field. Barrow captured a state title last season, while Wasilla, Ketchikan and Bartlett were all in the 4A state tournament last season. Engebretsen said he expects all of the teams in the Doc Larson field to be in at lest contention for a state tourney berth this season.

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

Wasilla boys 70, Service 33

Doc Larson Roundball Classic

Friday, Wasilla High School

Service 8-14-5-6—33

Wasilla 19-12-18-21—70

Service (33) — Williams 1 0-0 3, Harvin 4 0-0 8, Fromm 4 2-3 10, Muller 4 2-2 12; Totals: 13 4-5 33.

Wasilla (70) — L. Houck 2 0-0 4, Brown 9 2-2 23, Headdings 2 0-0 5, R. Devine 4 5-6 13, L. Devine 1 0-0 2, Fife 1 0-0 2, I. Houck 2 0-0 4, Milliron 6 2-4 14, Cork 1 0-0 3; Totals: 28 9-12 70.

3-point field goals: Service 3 (Muller 2); Total fouls: Service 7.