Brothers lead South to upset win over CHS

ByMATT TUNSETH

Frontiersman

ANCHORAGE — A little brotherly love goes a long way.

South's Cousin brothers — junior Kevin and seniors Anthony and D.J. — combined for 37 points and five steals to help the Wolverines hand Colony its first loss in 21 games in the ASAA First National Bank 4A state semifinals Friday night at Sullivan Arena.

“It means a lot to us,” Kevin Cousin said following the Wolverines' 57-46 win.

Anthony Cousin led the Wolverines with 27 points for South, which nabbed 10 steals in the game and consistently forced the Knights into difficult shots.

Colony shot just 30 percent in the loss.

South used its superior size to great advantage early on, grabbing eight first-quarter offensive rebounds as they took an 11-9 lead after the first quarter.

“That's as athletic as a team we've played all season,” Colony coach Jeff Bowker said.

The Wolverines wasted little time stretching out their lead, opening the second with a thunderous dunk by Trevor Smith that ignited a 10-2 run. South showcased its quickness in the second quarter, getting three fast-break baskets off of steals in the Colony back court, eventually pushing the lead to 28-18 at the half.

Kevin Cousin was the primary thief for the Wolverines, nabbing all three of his steals in the opening half. Six of Colony's eight first-half turnovers were the result of South steals.

Cousin said there's a simple explanation for South's speed in the backcourt.

“That's all we do. We get up at 4 o'clock in the morning and we run,” Cousin said of he and his two brothers.

But the tournament's top seed wasn't getting run off that easily. Colony finished the third quarter on an 11-2 run off two baskets from Josh Mosely a three from Cody Huggins and a hoop each from Jaron Murphy and Matt Stearman to cut South's lead to 40-36 heading into the fourth.

Colony got to within three points on a Doug Gray trey midway through the fourth, but that was as close as the Knights would get as the Wolverines dashed Colony's hopes of returning to the state title game for the second straight year.

Jaron Murphy led Colony with 13 points, while Moseley added 10, Doug Gray and Cody Huggins had six each, Grant Niver had five, Matt Stearman scored four and Antone Zagars had two.

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com

WOLVERINES 57, KNIGHTS 46

4A state semifinals

Saturday, Sullivan Arena

South 11 17 12 17 — 57

Colony 9 9 18 10 — 46

South (57) — A. Cousin 7 11-15 26, K. Cousin 4 0-2 9, Stevens 2 7-7 11, Smith 3 1-2 7, D.J. Cousin 1 0-0 2, Colbern 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 19-26 57.

Colony (46) — Zagars 1 0-0 2, Hugins 2 0-0 6, Murphy 3 7-10 13, Niver 1 2-2 5, Gray 2 1-1 6, Moseley 5 0-0 19, Stearman 1 2-2 4. Totals: 15 12-15 46.

Three-point field goals —South 2 (A. Cousin, K. Cousin), Colony 4 (Huggins 2, Niver, Gray). Total fouls — South 16, Colony 21.