Moose boys score key win over Kodiak

PALMER — The undefeated Wasilla Warriors have already locked up the top spot and a first-round bye in the upcoming Northern Lights Conference Championships. That has left three other teams — Palmer, Kodiak and Colony — in a race for the No. 2 seed and the remaining first-round bye.

Palmer stayed alive in that race with a key NLC win over rival Kodiak Friday night in Palmer. The Moose scored a 61-54 victory over the Bears, and improved to 5-3 in NLC play. That puts Palmer in a second-place tie with Colony, also 5-3. Kodiak dropped to 5-4 with the loss.

“This is a good win. That’s a good team. They’re going to be tough to beat tomorrow,” Palmer head coach Chuck Martin said.

The Moose and Bears meet again Saturday at 2:15 p.m. at PHS.

“These are big games for us to put us in the position we want ourselves to be in,” Martin said.

The top two teams in the conference earn the first-round byes in the tournament, slated to start March 9 in Kodiak.

Junior Clayton Southwick scored a game-high 31 points in the win. Dae Osiensky added 10, and Liam Hughes-Duffy chipped in nine. Payton Martin also hit a pair of three-pointers in the victory.

“Offensively I think we’re finally starting to get comfortable,” Martin said. “We’re finding a comfort level with our roles.”

The Moose also weathered a late Kodiak push. Palmer’s Colyn Halbert used a steal and a layup to give the Moose a double-digit lead late in the third. But early in the fourth, Kodiak was able to cut Palmer’s lead to just four.

Palmer responded and pushed its advantage back to 10.

“The mindset is to always get stops, get rebounds,” Southwick said of keeping Kodiak out of reach of an opportunity to take the lead.

Southwick scored 10 of his 31 in the fourth-quarter. Hughes-Duffy was 5 of 6 from the free throw line during the final frame.

Southwick said the Moose were also aware of Kodiak’s ability to shoot the ball.

“That’s a good team. They’ve got a lot of good shooters. They can shoot it in for sure,” Southwick said.

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

Palmer boys 61, Kodiak 54

Friday, Palmer High School

Kodiak 15-17-5-17—54

Palmer 18-18-8-17—61

Kodiak (54) — Rocheleau 4 2-2 13, Morzo 2 2-3 7, Cauging 6 0-0 18, Walker 2 2-4 6, Giron 1 0-0 2, Maugrohaug 2 0-0 2; Totals: 17 6-9 54.

Palmer (61) — Osiensky 3 2-5 10, Martin 2 0-0 6, Hawkins 1 0-0 3, Hughes-Duffy 1 7-8 9, Southwick 11 6-10 31, Halbert 1 0-0 2; Totals: 19 15-23 61.

3-point field goals: Kodiak 8 (Cauging 4), Palmer 8 (Southwick 3); Total fouls: Kodiak 18, Palmer 10