Juneau-Douglas rides fourth-quarter comeback to top Palmer

JUNEAU — The Crimson Bears staged a stirring fourth-quarter comeback Wednesday, scoring 26 points in the final frame to upend Palmer 56-49 in the last game of the Capital City Classic at Juneau-Douglas High School.

It was a balanced team effort, but senior guard Alex DeRocher's sharp shooting from behind the arc and 11 fourth-quarter points helped lead the Bears to victory.

"We've been working really hard in practice to try to get a win, and this means a lot to us," said DeRocher of the Bears, who are now 2-4 on the year. "We've been struggling, but we're trying to come together as a team. The past couple of games we have, and it's a good feeling."

Down eight points after a Kyle Titus triple to start the fourth, sophomore guard Tony Yadao answered with a 3-ball for the Bears, followed by two Colin Gozelski free throws. But Titus struck again, draining another 3-pointer to push the lead back to 6, 41-35.

But then DeRocher went to work, splashing a triple from the left side. Down 43-38, the Bears went on a 10-2 run, highlighted by a long jumper after a ball fake by Yadao after a DeRocher steal, and then a DeRocher triple after another Palmer turnover. Sophomore guard Lance Ibesate scored a lay-up off a dish from Gozelski before Christian Odom halted the momentum with two free throws.

Gozelski scored a big stick-back after a missed 3-pointer, and it was 48-45, Bears, and the crowd was on its feet.

But the Moose responded with four straight points, including an Alec Calloway deuce off a drive to the cup and a tough runner over Yadao by Odom, pushing Palmer back up by 1, 49-48.

DeRocher struck again with a 3-pointer from the left side, and the Bears never relinquished the lead again after making 5 of 7 free throws, none bigger than the two DeRocher drained in a 1-and-1 situation with 44 seconds left and Bears up just two.

"I was just shooting, hoping it was going in," DeRocher said of his heroics. "It's just something you have to go for. It's luck. It's a small orange rim and a big ball you're trying to shoot into it."

"We started moving more on offense, and that's what created the space for us to get the shots off," JDHS coach Steve Potter said of his team's offensive explosion in the fourth quarter. "Alex is a fantastic shooter, but if he's just standing and we're not moving, you can't get the shot off."

The Bears scored seven straight points en route to an early 9-3 lead, punctuated by a lay-up for Ibesate. The Moose scored four straight to make it 9-7 when Yadao stuck in a nice scoop shot off the glass.

Kevin Montgomery scored inside, and Paul Tupou's lay-up at the buzzer was waived off as JDHS led 11-9 after the first quarter.

Sophomore forward Evan Gross drained a short baseline jumper to start the second quarter, but Palmer answered with a Hunter Dean 3-pointer the other way.

Trading basket for basket, DeRocher matched Dean's triple with one of his own for the Bears, pushing the lead back to 4, 16-12 early in the second quarter.

Gozelski pushed it to 8, 20-12, after a nice reverse lay-up off a dish from Victor Wilson and then two free throws after a steal.

Gozelski then drove baseline and dished to Sele for an easy deuce inside, but a wide-open 3-pointer from Titus halted the Bears momentum and cut the deficit back to 5, 22-17 at the midway point.

Palmer closed the half with a 7-0 run, and it was 22-21, Bears, heading into the break.

Sele started the second-half scoring with a steal and a lay-up, but Brennan Bohman countered with a 3-ball to tie the game at 24-all, and Titus gave Palmer it's first lead of the game with a pull-up runner that rimmed in.

But that was just the beginning of a 12-0 run for the Moose.

Sean Niekamp scored a stick-back and Titus went straight to the cup for a deuce before Niekamp got three the old-fashioned way inside.

Yadao finally stopped the bleeding with a 3-pointer from the wing to cut the deficit to 6, 33-27, and Palmer led 35-30 heading into the fourth.

Titus led Palmer with 16 points, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range, while Odom had 12 and Niekamp 11.

Yadao was the only other Bear in double figures with 11 points.

Both teams shot the lights out, finishing above 50 percent for the night. Once again, 3-point shooting was crucial for JDHS. The Bears made 7 of 14, while the Moose made 5 of 13.

Moose get first win

JUNEAU — Just one night after losing to Service by 21 points, Palmer buckled down to defeat Wrangell 71-44 behind a team effort where five Moose players scored at least eight points.

Kyle Titus led the Moose with 16 points, hitting several deep 3-pointers to ignite the handful of enthusiastic Palmer fans. Christian Odom finished with 13 points, Sean Niekamp chipped in 11 and nine rebounds, and Brennan Bohman and Hunter Dean added eight points each in the win.

Peter Wilson, Wrangell's 6-foot-2 senior led the Wolves with 17 points and six rebounds and Alex Buness and Eric James scored 11 points each in defeat.

Palmer raced to a 25-5 lead, dominating the first quarter with hot outside shooting from Titus and Bohman, finishing the quarter on a 17-0 run. Wrangell fought back to pull within nine at the break.

The Wolves big man duo of Wilson and Buness combined for 19 first half points, most of them coming while Palmer's big men struggled with foul trouble.

Palmer came out of halftime with their guns blazing, owning the third quarter 21-8 as they coasted to a 27-point win.

Palmer coach Jason Marvel said he thought his team gained a little bit of confidence by shooting the ball well against a tough Wrangell team.

"That Wrangell team plays hard and it was a good win for us," he said.

All-tournament team:

Tony Yadao, JDHS; Alex DeRocher, JDHS; Lance Ibesate, JDHS; Darren Muller, Service; Adam Klie, Service; Christian Odom, Palmer; Kyle Titus, Palmer; Peter Olson, Wrangell. MVP: Viliamu Aukusitino, Service