Palmer boys open NLC tourney with victory

WASILLA — Fueled by an early run, the Palmer Moose are moving forward.

The Palmer boys opened the Northern Lights Conference Championships with a 45-34 quarterfinal victory over the Kenai Kardinals Thursday afternoon at Kodiak High School in Kodiak.

Palmer, the No. 4 seed in the tourney, started the game on a 7-0 run. Fifth-seeded Kenai didn’t get on the scoreboard until Josh Jackman got a bucket late in the first quarter.

Palmer led 7-2 after eight minutes, and held a 10-point halftime lead. The Moose pushed their advantage to 20 points in the third quarter.

Clayton Southwick led Palmer with 16 points in the win. Payton Martin hit a trio of three-pointers and added 15 points in the victory. Donovan Eiman added 10 for the Moose.

Eiman scored eight of Palmer’s 17 third-quarter points, and all 10 of his points in the second half. Southwick also hit a pair of three-pointers in the third to help push his team’s lead to 20.

Jackman and Luke Beiser scored a team-best 11 each for the Kards.

With the win, Palmer moves into the semifinal round and will play top-seeded Wasilla Friday at 2:15 p.m. at Kodiak High. The game will be a rematch of the 2016 NLC title contest. Palmer is the defending region champion.

Second-seeded Colony will face host Kodiak, the No. 3 seed, in the other semifinal, Friday at 5:45 p.m. Kodiak beat sixth-seeded Soldotna 54-48 Thursday evening in the quarterfinals.

Kenai girls get past Palmer

The Kenai Kardinals held on to score a slim 38-37 win over Palmer in the girls’ quarterfinals Thursday afternoon at Kodiak High.

Kenai never trailed in the game, but the Moose, the No. 5 seed, had opportunities to get the lead, including a missed layup attempt with six second left in the fourth quarter.

The Moose did hit shots to keep them in the game. Early in the fourth quarter, Kassidy Bowman buried a three to cut Kenai’s lead to a pair. Emma Uschmann hit another threee-pointer for the Moose with 1:20 left to tie the game at 36.

Uschmann, a senior captain, led Palmer with 13 points in the loss. Abriana Busbey chipped in 10 and Lorna Suaava added nine.

With the loss, Palmer fell into the bracket’s consolation game and will play host Kodiak Thursday at 12:45 p.m. at Kodiak. Kenai moved forward with the win, and meets top-seeded Wasilla Friday at 4 p.m. in the semifinals.

In the other quarterfinal, third-seeded SoHi beat host Kodiak 41-21. The Stars advanced and will face second-seeded Colony Friday at 7:15 p.m. in the semifinals.

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

Palmer boys 45, Kenai 34

NLC first-round

Thursday, Kodiak High

Kenai 2-8-7-17—34

Palmer 7-13-17-8—45

Kenai (34) — Daniels 2 0-0 5, Beiser 5 1-2 11, Landry 3 0-0 7, Jackson 4 3-3 11; Totals: 14 4-6 34.

Palmer (45) — Osiensky 1 0-0 2, Martin 5 2-2 15, Hawkins 1 0-0 2, Hughes-Duffy 0 0-2 0, Southwick 5 4-4 16, Eiman 5 0-0 10; Totals: 17 6-8 45.

3-point field goals: Palmer 5 (Martin 3), Kenai 2 (Daniels, Landry 1); Total fouls: Kenai 12, Palmer 16,

Kenai girls 38, Palmer 37

NLC quarterfinals

Thursday, Kodiak High

Kenai 9-12-5-12—38

Palmer 9-10-6-12—37

Kenai (38) — Calvert 2 0-0 4, Miller 2 0-0 4, Creighton 1 0-4 2, Satathite 6 11-18 23, Beck 1 3-4 5; Totals: 12 14-26 38.

Palmer (37) — Pettingill 1 0-0 2, Busbey 3 2-3 10, Bowman 1 0-0 3, Suaava 4 0-0 9, Uschmann 4 3-9 13; Totals: 13 5-12 37.

3-point field goals: Palmer 6 (Busbey, Uschmann 2), Kenai 0, Total fouls: Palmer 19, Kenai 14