NLC semis: Wasilla boys win in OT, WHS girls cruise

PALMER — Valley hoops fans have been anticipating an all-Valley matchup in the championship game of the boys bracket. The Kenai Kardinals nearly crashed the party.

Top-seeded Wasilla needed extra time to get past an upset-minded Kenai squad, scoring a 57-50 overtime victory over the senior-laden Kardinals during the Northern Lights Conference Championships semifinals Friday at Palmer High School.

“We found a way to grind it out, get it done at the end,” Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen said after the victory.

Engebretsen said there is a big difference in level of experience between the two squads. Kenai sports a half-dozen seniors, four that start. Wasilla doesn’t have a senior in the starting lineup, and only two on the roster.

“I spent plenty of time telling (my players) this week, Kenai starts four seniors, and seniors play for something,” Engebretsen said.

With those seniors, Kenai had the upper hand early, leading 13-10 after the first quarter and 23-19 at halftime.

“Our young mentality, not being there, not knowing what it took,” Engebretsen said of the slow start.

Wasilla junior Isaac Houck, arguably Wasilla’s most experienced varsity player, said facing an older team like Kenai is difficult.

“They’re tough. They know what they’re doing,” Houck said.

But in the second half, a pair of underclassmen came through for the Warriors. Sophomores Aeron Milliron and Reilly Devine combined for 27 points in the second half and overtime to help the Warriors post the win, and move into the NLC title game for the second straight year.

Devine scored 11 of his 13 points during the final 20 minutes of play, Milliron scored all 14 of his points during that stretch.

Milliron scored nine points in the third quarter, a key span for the Warriors. The sophomore went to the basket with 3:33 left in the third to put Wasilla ahead 26-25, the Warriors first lead of the second half. Milliron scored all seven of Wasilla’s points during a 90-second stretch, a span capped by a three-pointer from the corner that gave Wasilla the 31-28 advantage.

“He helped us out a lot,” Houck said of Milliron. “Scoring, rebounding.”

Wasilla held a lead until Kenai’s Josh Jackman buried a three-pointer with 5 minutes left in regulation, a shot that gave Kenai the 40-37 advantage. Jackman hit a pair of jumpers near the 3-minute mark of regulation and Conner Johnson sank a pair of free throws to push Kenai’s lead to 48-44.

But that would mark Kenai’s final scoring in regulation. Wasilla used buckets by Devine and Kobe Brown to force overtime. Wasilla outscored Kenai 9-2 during the 4-minute tiebreaker.

Kenai suffered a significant loss late, while still holding a lead. Mere moments after sparking the Kards with a pair of quick mid-range jumpers, Jackman went down to the floor with an injury, and had to be helped off the court. Jackman’s injury came with 2:35 left in the fourth, with the Kards up 46-44.

Without Jackman on the floor, the Warriors were able to hold Kenai without a field goal until Marshall Vest hit a jumper with 1:09 left in overtime.

“Unfortunately it had to go with Jackman getting hurt. I feel for that kid,” Engebretsen said.

In addition to the 14 and 13 for Milliron and Devine, Brown added 11 for the Warriors. Wasilla senior Justin Lee scored six first-half points for Wasilla, and was key to the victory, Engebretsen said.

“In the first half, he was our lead guy. If he doesn’t show up and play like he did, I’m not sure if we get over the hump,” Engebretsen said.

Vest led Kenai with a game-high 18. Keith Ivy chipped in 11.

With the victory, Wasilla moves into the NLC title game and will face Palmer Saturday at 5:15 p.m. at Palmer High. Both Wasilla and Palmer earned the NLC’s automatic bids to the 4A state tournament.

With the loss, Kenai play its final game Saturday afternoon, meeting Colony in the NLC third-place game at 1:45 p.m.

Wasilla girls cruise past Stars

The good news for Soldotna: the Stars finished with their highest scoring total in three meetings with the Warriors this season.

The bad news: Wasilla beat Soldotna by 30 or more points for the third time this year.

Wasilla used a 61-30 victory to cruise into the NLC final for the 16th time in the last 17 years.

Eleven different players recorded a least a bucket for Wasilla. Freshman Olivia Davies led Wasilla with 11 points. Catherine Baham added nine. Leya DePreist and McKenna Dinkel chipped in eight each.

Lindsey Wong led Soldotna with a game-high 14 points.

With the win, Wasilla moves forward to face rival Colony in the NLC title game Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Soldotna will meet Palmer Saturday at noon in the third-place game.

Wasilla boys 57, Kenai 50 OT

Friday, Palmer High

Kenai 13-10-7-18-2—50

Wasilla 10-9-14-15-9—57

Kenai (50) — Ivy 5 0-0 11, Vest 6 3-4 18, Landry 1 2-2 4, Jackman 4 0-1 8, Fitt 1 0-0 2, Johnson 2 3-4 7; Totals: 19 8-11 50.

Wasilla (57) — Brown 5 1-4 11, Headdings 3 0-0 6, Devine 5 3-5 13, Houck 3 1-2 7, Milliron 5 2-2 14, Lee 2 2-2 6; Totals: 23 9-15 57.

Three-point field goals: Kenai 4 (Vest 3); Wasilla 2 (Milliron 2).

Wasilla girls 61, Soldotna 30

Friday, Palmer High

Soldotna 4-9-6-11—30

Wasilla 17-15-18-11—61

Soldotna (30) — Nelson 2 2-4 6, Miller 1 0-0 2, Schmidt 0 1-2 1, Wong 6 0-0 14, Brush 1 2-2 4, Kindred 1 0-0 2; Totals: 11 5-8 30.

Wasilla (61) — Kelly 3 0-0 7, Davies 4 1-3 11, Drorbaugh 1 0-0 3, Heath 2 0-0 4, Baham 3 0-0 9, Lindeman 1 0-0 2, Brandenburg 2 1-2 5, Wheeler 1 0-0 2, Anderson 0 2-2 2, Dinkel 3 2-2 8, DePriest 4 0-0 8; Totals: 24 6-10 61.