Malemutes beat Moose for fourth

ANCHORAGE — Saturday afternoon, as Palmer tried to rally, there was still fight left in the Moose. There just might not have been enough gas left in the tank to fuel that fight.

Lathrop hit a pair of three-pointers to build an early lead, and held on to grab a 58-41 win over the Moose during the ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Championships fourth-place game at UAA’s Wells Fargo Arena.

“Mentally we were ready, physically, we really didn’t have any legs left,” Palmer head coach Jason Marvel said outside his team’s locker room after the loss. “Three days, with seven guys in the rotation, that’s tough.”

Tremon Washington and Kyle Carlson each hit three-pointers for Lathrop within about the first minute of play as the Malemutes established early momentum.

“We knew going in they were great shooters, but they caught us off guard a little bit,” Marvel said.

Senior Brian Selmer led the Moose with 11 points and eight rebounds in the loss. Senior Connor Looney added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Washington poured in a game-best 20 for the Malemutes.

Palmer used a double-overtime win over Thunder Mountain Friday to move into the fourth-place match.

Looney capped a late six-point Palmer run with a steal and a basket to help the Moose avoid elimination and lead Palmer to a 62-57 double-overtime victory over the Falcons during the consolation semifinal round.

Thunder Mountain, which fell to Colony during the quarterfinals, took a 57-56 lead with 1 minute and 41 seconds left in the second overtime, but the Moose rebounded with the rally. Junior James Nisbett gave the lead right back to Palmer with a basket at the 1:21 mark, and senior Nathan Mayer hit a pair of free throws before Looney was able to ice the game with his late points.

Palmer and Thunder Mountain played to a 4-4 tie during the first extra period.

The Falcons led late in regulation, but Selmer forced overtime, hitting a shot with 42 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Thunder Mountain had led by two possessions during the final minutes of the game. Ben Jahn hit a three-pointer to give the Falcons a 48-44 lead with 2:07 left in the fourth.

Selmer posted a double-double to lead the Moose, collecting 21 points and 10 rebounds. Looney added 15 points in the victory, and Nisbett chipped in 12. Senior Hayden Niekamp led the Moose with 13 rebounds.

Despite a loss in the final game of the year, Marvel said he’s thrilled about what his team accomplished during the 2012-13 season, particularly his five seniors — Looney, Selmer, Mayer, Niekamp and Cameron Christiansen.

“This is the first senior class since 2004 that’s won a region title, won a game at state, beat Wasilla at Wasilla. That’s a lot of firsts for our program in a long time,” Marvel said.

Earlier this season, Marvel said he hoped the 2012-13 edition of the Moose changed the culture of Palmer boys basketball.

“I feel like we did,” he said. “I feel like we’re going in the right direction.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him @matsu_sports.

Lathrop 58, Palmer 41

ASAA 4A boys fourth-place game

Saturday, UAA

Palmer 8-7-11-15—41

Lathrop 11-13-9-25—58

Palmer (41) — Ramoth 2 4-4 9, Looney 2 6-8 10, Mayer 1 0-0 3, Nisbett 3 0-0 6, Selmer 4 3-7 11, Niekamp 0 2-2 2; Totals: 12 15-21 41.

Lathrop (58) — Washington 8 1-2 20, Cunningham 4 1-1 10, Carlson 5 0-0 11, Howard 1 0-0 2, Gladden 3 0-0 6, Green 2 3-4 8, White 0 1-2 1; Totals: 23 6-9 58.

Three-point field goals: Palmer 2 (Ramoth, Mayer 1), Lathrop 6 (Washington 3); Total fouls: Palmer 14, Lathrop 17.

Palmer 62,

Thunder Mountain 57 2OT

ASAA 4A boys consolation semifinals

Friday, Sullivan Arena

Thunder Mountain 12-13-12-11-4-5—57

Palmer 18-6-14-4-10—62

Thunder Mountain (57) — J. Tupou 2 0-1 4, Seymour 3 3-3 11, Calloway 2 0-0 5, Grussendorf 1 0-0 3, S. Jahn 2 0-0 4, V. Tupou 2 0-0 5, B. Jahn 8 7-17 25; Totals: 20 10-21 57.

Palmer (62) — Ramoth 1 0-0 2, Looney 6 3-7 15, Mayer 0 4-4 4, Christiansen 1 0-0 2, Nisbett 5 1-3 12, Selmer 7 6-7 21, Niekamp 2 2-4 6; Totals: 22 16-25 62.

Three-point field goals: Thunder Mountain (Seymour, B. Jahn 2), Palmer 2 (Nisbett, Selmer 1); Total fouls: Thunder Mountain 18, Palmer 16.