Moose finish strong to top Bears

ANCHORAGE — For the last two seasons, Palmer has had no problem being competitive. But the Moose have struggled to finish games.

After watching his squad pick up its third straight win Thursday, Palmer head coach Jason Marvel thinks his team may have moved past some of those fourth-quarter pains.

Palmer scored 19 points during the final frame to seal a 58-51 win over the Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears during the first round of the Alaska Prep Shootout at Dimond High School in Anchorage.

“That’s been our nemesis,” Marvel said of finishing games. “I have a feeling we’re overcoming that now.”

The Moose, who scored key Northern Lights Conference wins over Kenai and Soldotna last weekend, used those 19 fourth-quarter points to help overcome Juneau’s 20-point third.

“We have seniors stepping up and hitting critical shots when they need to,” Marvel said. “They’re starting to exert themselves. It’s fun to see our guys blossom.”

Senior Sean Niekamp continued his tear in the paint, posted a game-high 15 points and 13 rebounds. Senior Christian Odom added 11 points, senior Kevin Montgomery chipped in 10 and senior Trey Fullmer hit a pair of key free throws down the stretch to help the Moose move into the Shootout semifinals.

Senior Hunter Dean led the Moose outside, hitting 3-of-5 shots from behind the arc.

Marvel said it was not only nice to extend the streak to three wins, but also good to knock off a program the caliber of Juneau.

“It’s a good win for us,” Marvel said. “Juneau’s no walk in the park.”

Palmer jumped out to a 12-4 lead, and led by 12 at the half. But Juneau used a 20-7 run in the third to climb back into the game.

“Our guys saw some adversity, but we were able to finish another ball game,” Marvel said.

Today in the semifnial round, Palmer will play Cordova, which upset host Dimond 62-46.

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

Palmer 58, Juneau 51

Alaska Prep Shootout

Thursday, Dimond High School

Juneau 4-16-20-11—51

Palmer 12-20-7-19—58

Juneau (51) — Ibesate 4 1-3 9, Yadao 3 0-0 7, Gozelski 3 7-12 13, King 5 0-0 10, Calloway 2 0-2 4, Gross 1 0-0 2, Baldwin 2 2-4 6; Totals: 20 10-21 51.

Palmer (58) — Odom 3 5-8 11, Looney 0 4-4 4, Nesbett 0 1-2 1, Dean 3 0-0 9, Straight 2 0-1 4, Buresh 1 0-1 2, Montgomery 4 2-2 10, Niekamp 7 1-3 15, Fullmer 0 2-2 2; Totals: 20 15-23 58.

Three-point field goals: Juneau 1 (Yadao), Palmer 3 (Dean 3); Total fouls: Juneau 17, Palmer 15; Fouled out: Juneau- Yadao.