Moose have eyes on upset

PALMER — When his seventh-seeded Moose step onto the court to face the second-seeded West Anchorage Eagles during the opening round of the ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Championships at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage on Thursday, Palmer head coach Jason Marvel knows about everyone will see his squad as the absolute underdog. But Marvel has been around the game long enough to know that once the ball is tipped, anything can happen.

“No one expects us to beat West. The only ones who believe are the ones in our locker room,” Marvel said. “The boys are upset-minded. They know they’re underdogs, and they know that’s a good place to be.”

West and Palmer have played this season once before. West Anchorage grabbed a 71-47 victory over the Moose, but that was during the first game of the season. Marvel said it was good for his team to see the Eagles, but knows both teams have improved — especially his squad.

“The kids know what to expect. They’re a pressure team full of athletes,” Marvel said. “But we’re playing good basketball right now. We’re more disciplined at the end of the season than we were at the beginning. We’re going to be ready to come and play.”

Discipline could be the key for the Moose, especially when you look at the contrasting styles of each opponent.

“One of the most important things is trying to control the tempo,” Marvel said. “They want to run up and down (the floor). They have the athletes. We don’t want to play at that pace. West will try to force tempo, and want to slow it down.”

Establishing their post presence will be key for the Moose, Marvel said. All-conference senior forward Sean Niekamp is averaging double digits in points and rebounds. Senior Kevin Montgomery has also been key in the latter weeks of the season.

“With both Sean and Kevin I think we have an advantage in there, as long as we can get it into the post,” Marvel said.

Marvel has watched his team make major improvements throughout the season. Part of that can be attributed to the Moose battling through a tough schedule. Palmer is the lone 4A boys team to see every other team on the bracket.

The Moose have also played Kodiak three times, Bartlett twice, Service twice and Wasilla twice, and scored wins over Kodiak, Wasilla, Juneau-Douglas and North Pole.

West and Palmer meet at 6:45 p.m. on Thursday. Third-seeded Service and sixth-seeded Wasilla follow in the late game at 8.

“I think we match up really well,” Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen said recently.

Wasilla won its third straight Northern Lights Conference title earlier this month and Service finished third in the Cook Inlet Conference tournament.