Moose earn hoops sweep over Kards; Stars get past Palmer

PALMER — The Palmer boys used big second and third quarters to build their lead, and the girls had to wait for the final minute for the go-ahead basket as the Moose swept the Kenai Kardinals at Palmer High School Friday night.

Senior Adam Ramoth scored nine of his game-high 21 points in the second quarter and senior James Nisbett was 7 for 7 from the free-throw line in the third quarter. Both helped lead the Palmer boys to a 58-48 Northern Lights Conference win over the Kards.

“We had a real nice second-quarter run,” Palmer head coach Brandon Blake said of the Moose, who trailed 11-8 after the first eight minutes.

Ramoth scored 21 points and Nisbett added 14. Both were key, Blake said. But Blake also noted a pair of other key players, Cody Wells and Chandler Jones.

“Chandler Jones really stepped up and played well. He brought a lot of energy. Cody brought a lot of energy, had three or four steals in the second, and did a nice job as well,” Blake said.

Jones finished with six points in the game. Wells added four.

After Kenai took an 11-8 lead into the second-quarter, Palmer used a 17-5 second-quarter run to lead 25-16 at the half. A 17-point third added to the Palmer advantage.

Nisbett finished the game 10 for 12 from the line, and drained all seven of his free throws during the third quarter.

“He was getting into the paint,” Blake said of Nisbett, who consistently attacked the basket.

Keith Ivy led Kenai with 13 points and Miles Jones added a dozen.

Kenai scored nearly half its points, 20, in the fourth quarter. Five of Kenai’s nine three-pointers came during the final period. Jones hit four three-pointers, and Ivy hit three shots from behind the arc.

Sophomore gives Moose win

Sophomore Carly Venzke hit the go-ahead basket with a minute left in regulation to lead the Palmer girls to a 32-30 NLC win over Kenai Friday night.

Venzke, who scored half of her eight points during the final minute of the game, hit the shot to break a 28-28 tie. Venzke iced the game with a pair of late free throws.

Venzke, Katie Bowman and Leya DePriest each scored a team-high eight points for the Moose. Bowman scored five of her eight during the fourth quarter.

Locked in a defensive battle, Palmer managed only single digits in scoring during each of the first three quarters. The Moose trailed by five heading into the final quarter, but grabbed the conference win with 15 fourth-quarter points.

Kenai and Palmer were tied 10-10 at halftime. Kenai led 8-6 after the first quarter, but was held to only two second-quarter points.

Justice English led Kenai with 18 points. She hit all six Kenai free throws and five of Kenai’s 11 field goals in the game.

Stars score win over Moose girls

PALMER — The Soldotna Stars were at the free throw line early and often Saturday, and the Stars made the Moose pay.

Soldotna finished 22 for 26 from the line, and scored a 52-26 Northern Lights Conference victory over the Moose at Palmer High School. Soldotna (2-0 in NLC play) was 9 for 10 from the line in the first quarter and cemented the game in the fourth, with a 10 for 11 effort at the free throw line.

Makayla Wong and Julie Litchfield each scored a game-high 13 points for the Stars. Katelynn Kerkvliet added a dozen. Eleven of Litchfield’s points came in the first half. Wong was 7 for 8 from the free throw line in the win.

Carly Venzke led the Moose with nine points.

Soldotna uses OT to get past Moose boys

PALMER — The Soldotna Stars used 11 free throws during the extra period Saturday to earn a 63-55 overtime win over Palmer at Palmer High School.

Soldotna, which trailed for most of the game, hit 11 of 16 free throws during the four-minute tiebreaker to earn the NLC win over the Moose. Nathan Spence forced overtime, hitting a free throw with 22 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 48.

Soldotna opened the game with a five-point run. But after Palmer took the lead during the initial minutes of the first quarter, the Moose didn’t trail until Daniel McElroy hit a free throw with 2:40 left in regulation to give SoHi the 41-40 advantage.

Max Conradi and McElroy had buckets down the stretch for SoHi. Adam Ramoth and James Nisbett both drove the lane during the final two minutes to get key baskets for the Moose.

Nisbett’s bucket gave Palmer a 46-45 lead with about 40 seconds left. Palmer took another lead when Ramoth hit a pair of free throws with 29 seconds left. But each time Palmer took the lead, the Stars answered with free throws.

Ramoth led the Moose with a game-high 25 points. McElroy scored 18 for the Stars. Conradi added 15. Colton Young and Drew Fowler had 10 each. Fowler hit a pair of key three-pointers in the fourth quarter.

Palmer boys 58, Kenai 48

Friday, Palmer High School

Kenai 11-5-12-20—48

Palmer 8-17-17-16—58

Kenai (48) — Thiesen 2 1-2 5, Shirnberg 4 0-0 9, McKee 2 0-0 4, Bratell 1 0-0 3, Saaveda 0 2-2 2, Ivy 5 0-0 13, Jones 3 0-0 12; Totals: 17 3-4 48.

Palmer (58) — Ramoth 7 6-8 21, Jones 3 0-1 6, Ferris 1 0-0 3, Wells 1 2-4 4, Nisbett 2 10-12 14, Christiansen 2 0-0 4, Yanez 2 2-4 6; Totals: 18 20-29 58.

3-point field goals: Kenai 9 (Jones 4), Palmer 2 (Ramoth, Ferris 1); Total fouls: Kenai 18; Palmer 13.

Palmer girls 32, Kenai 30

Friday, Palmer High School

Kenai 8-2-12-8—30

Palmer 6-4-7-15—32

Kenai (30) — Ostrander 1 0-0 2, English 5 6-10 18, Stanbeck 1 0-0 2, Burns 4 0-0 8; Totals: 11 6-11 30.

Palmer (32) — Venzke 3 2-3 8, K. DePriest 1 0-2 2, Bowman 3 2-4 8, Osiensky 2 0-0 4, Ledger 0 2-2 2, L. DePriest 4 0-0 8; Totals: 13 6-11 32.

3-point field goals: Kenai 2 (English 2); Palmer 0; Total fouls: Kenai 14, Palmer 13.