Host Palmer boys win Elks Showdown

PALMER — The Palmer Moose have enjoyed some early success this season, but head coach Chuck Martin has viewed his team as a work in progress. After earning three straight wins and a tourney title during the annual Palmer Elks Showdown, Martin believes the Moose may have learned some things about themselves.

“We’re finally kind of figuring out who we are, which we hadn’t done early,” Martin said after Palmer’s 52-28 victory over Service Saturday evening at Palmer High School. “If we can keep driving down our turnovers, we have a chance to be a pretty good team.”

Palmer, now 9-2, is building a foundation on the play of its defense, Martin said. The Moose allowed only 75 combined points during three Showdown wins over North Pole, Anchorage Christian School and Service.

“That’s exactly what we’ve said. We preach that every year to all of our teams,” Martin said of the importance of play on defense. “The game honors defense and rebounding, and taking care of the ball. Any team that can defend and rebound and take care of the ball has a chance to compete with anybody. This team has been able to, so far, defend at a pretty high level. We’re pretty tough. We’ve really started to execute defensively in the last three to four weeks.”

Martin said the number of turnovers on offense has been a major concern, especially early in the season.

“If we can keep driving down our turnovers, we have a chance to be a pretty good team,” Martin said. “We’re a good rebounding team, but we’re not a great rebounding team. We’re a very good defensive team. We still have to finish possessions.”

Limiting turnovers and offensive execution will be a focus as Palmer heads into a busy and difficult stretch, with games against Wasilla, Ketchikan and Colony during the next two weeks.

“Those things can come back to haunt you against the better teams in the league,” Martin said. “We’ve got to continue to work to solve some of those problems, but I like where we’re at. I think we’ve played a lot better the last couple weeks, and it has a lot to do with us finally figuring out who we are.”

Martin said he also believes Palmer scored a signature win during the Showdown, with the 59-36 victory over Anchorage Christian School Friday.

“For us to beat ACS by 23 was big. They are a gifted offensive team. We locked them up. They were uncomfortable all night long,” Martin said. “That’s a really good win.”

ACS finished fourth in the 3A state tournament last season, and entered the Palmer game with an 8-1 record. It’s only prior loss came to East Anchorage, a 4A squad. Before Friday, the previous scoring low for ACS was 70 points against Homer. Martin said another key win for the Moose was a victory over defending 3A state champion Grace Christian in December.

“Those two teams are probably going to be in the (3A) final four. They might be in the championship,” Martin said.

Palmer senior Clayton Southwick scored a game-high 33 points during the victory over the Lions.

“Clayton was really good. It was his best game of the year,” Martin said.

Southwick was a first-team all-state selection last year, and is expected to be a player of the year candidate this year. Martin said it’s no secret that a lot of Palmer’s offense goes through Southwick, but the Moose need to be able to consistently complement the 6-foot-7 standout. The Moose do have players with the ability to shoot the ball, Martin said.

“Across the board we shoot it better than we did the last couple of years,” Martin said. “The biggest key for us is really figuring out identity-wise, who we are offensively.”

Palmer has had some of those performances Martin is looking for. Senior Jared Hawkins hit four three-pointers and scored 13 points during the win over Service. Guards Isaac Atkins and Jacob Titus have also shown the ability to hit some shots.

Southwick was named boys’ MVP of the 2018 Palmer Elks Showdown. Hawkins, Titus and Dae Osiensky also represented the Moose on the all-tournament team.

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

Palmer boys 52, Service 28

Palmer Elks Showdown

Saturday, Palmer High School

Service 2-12-4-10—28

Palmer 11-12-16-13—52

Service (28) — Guidry 1 0-0 3, Morgan 0 2-5 2, Gail 2 0-0 4, Bailey 1 0-0 2, Quilasing 0 2-3 2, Carey 0 2-2 2, Fanger 1 1-2 3, Toala 2 0-0 5, Helgeson 0 2-2 2, Thomas 1 0-0 3; Totals: 8 9-14 28.

Palmer (52) — Hawkins 4 1-2 13, Rankin 2 4-4 9, Southwick 4 5-6 14, Oviok 1 1-3 3, Cutright 0 2-2 2, R. Marshall 4 3-6 11; Totals: 15 16-23 52.

3-point goals: Service 3 (3 tied with 1), Palmer 6 (Hawkins 4); Total fouls: Service 18, Palmer 17.