Moose use big 4th quarter to beat Stars

PALMER — Palmer head coach Chuck Martin is the first to admit his basketball team is still working to find its identity. Martin, a longtime Valley basketball mentor in his first season at the helm of the Palmer boys program, has seen quality spans of play from his team. But he’s also watched the struggles through the growing pains.

“We’ve been consistently inconsistent,” Martin said.

But during the fourth quarter Friday, Martin saw what his team is capable of.

After entering the final quarter with a score tied at 31, the Moose used an 18-6 run to cap a 49-37 victory over the Soldotna Stars at Palmer High School.

“We’ve found stretches were we’ve been able to put the ball in the basket,” Martin said after the win.

The Moose had a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter, and didn’t allow a Soldotna point until Timmy Smithwick drained a three-pointer with 1:30 left in regulation.

“We defended. I think we’re a very good defensive team when we’re ahead,” Martin said.

Martin said the way Palmer found its offense in the fourth quarter was also key.

“We continued to go inside,” Martin said.

Palmer senior forward Michael Kluting scored eight of his game-high 27 points in the fourth. Kluting had only one field goal during the final period, but consistently pressured the basket and drew fouls. He was 6 of 6 from the free throw line in the fourth. Kluting’s work inside, also helped open opportunities for the Palmer shooters. Brady Southwick and Clayton Southwick each had key three-pointers during the fourth quarter.

“We’ve shot the ball really well this year when we go inside-out,” Martin said. “The threes we got in the fourth quarter were all post feeds out. We’ve got to learn to play that way all of the time.”

Martin listed a number of good things he saw Friday. Palmer had only seven turnovers and shot 65 percent from inside the arc.

“Our two-point numbers are astronomical,” Martin said.

Martin said Palmer, which opened conference play with losses to rivals Colony and Wasilla earlier this month, has had its struggles on the offensive end. Many of those struggles, he said, have come from impatience and settling for too many three-point attempts.

“We’ve struggled this year being consistent in our execution offensively,” Martin said. “When you don’t execute offensively, it can affect the game in a lot of different ways. We shoot too many threes sometimes and we’re not always patient enough. We haven’t got all of our ducks in a row yet in terms of being the type of consistent team we want to be.”’

In the win, Kluting hit the 27-point total for the third straight game. The senior hit nine shots from the floor and was 7 or 7 from the line.

“I thought he was good in the post tonight. He was low and slow. He scored. I thought the guys did a good job of getting it to him,” Martin said.

Clayton Southwick added nine points for the Moose.

Smithwick scored a team-high 14 for Soldotna. Derek Evans added 10, and Griffen Casey chipped in eight.

Before the lopsided fourth, the game was back and fourth for three quarters. Palmer held just a one-point advantage at the intermission. Smithwick hit a leaning three-pointer at the first-half buzzer to cut Palmer’s lead to 18-17. Soldotna opened the second half on a five-point run. But after Eli Sheridan hit a three-pointer for Soldotna early in the third, neither team led by more than a possession for the remainder of the quarter.

With the win, Palmer capped a busy month that included a pair of tournaments, three conference contests and games against 3A powers Monroe and Grace Christian. The Moose are now 12-3 and 1-2 in conference play. Martin said the hardest thing about the month, which included a long trip to Cordova for a tournament, has been the lack of opportunity to practice.

“We haven’t had a full week of practice in three weeks,” Martin said. “We’ve got to get our legs back under us, get rested and have a good week of practice.”

The Moose will have a full week off before they travel into Anchorage to play West Friday.

“It’s kind of a measuring stick for us,” Martin said of the match against the defending 4A state champions. “Can we go in and play, and play to our strengths to beat a team like that? Then we’ve got to get on a roll in the league, and stay within arm’s length of Colony and Wasilla, get a decent seed and go into the tournament.”

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

Palmer 49, Soldotna 37

Friday, Palmer High School

Soldotna 8-9-14-6—37

Palmer 9-9-13-18—49

Soldotna (37) — Sheridan 1 0-0 3, Casey 3 2-4 8, Spence 1 0-0 2, Smithwick 5 0-2 14, Evans 5 0-0 10; Totals: 15 2-6 37.

Palmer (49) — Martin 1 2-2 5, Ferris 1 0-0 2, B. Southwick 2 0-0 6, C. Southwick 4 0-1 9, Kluting 9 7-7 27; Totals: 17 9-10 49.

3-point field goals: Soldotna 5 (Smithwick 4); Palmer 6 (Kluting, B. Southwick 2).