Palmer boys rally to win over Kodiak

PALMER — Throughout the 2018-19 season, Palmer has struggled to finish games. Friday, the Moose saved their best for last.

Palmer used a 16-point fourth to earn a 43-37 come-from-behind boys’ basketball win over Kodiak at Palmer High School.

“I’m proud of the way they finished, finishing a game finally,” Palmer head coach Jeremy Arnhart said after the win. “Instead of playing the game not to lose, they played the game to win.”

Kodiak led by as many as 10 points in the second half, but Palmer used a fourth-quarter run to grab a key Northern Lights Conference win.

“Today we fell behind, but we battled,” Arnhart said.

Arnhart said Kodiak was using its methodical approach to dictate pace, but his players found a way to overcome it.

“I thought they were trying to control the game, but we kept hanging on,” Arnhart said.

Palmer’s defensive pressure created Kodiak turnovers and led to opportunities on the offensive side for the Moose. Palmer led 11-8 after the first quarter, but Kodiak jumped out front with a 14-3 second-quarter run. Palmer’s lone bucket of the second quarter was a Dae Osiensky three-pointer.

After Kodiak stretched its lead to double digits, Palmer was able to chew away at the advantage and tie the score at 32 midway through the fourth. With 3:43 left in regulation, Joe Rankin hit a three-pointer to give Palmer the 35-32 advantage, its first lead since early in the second quarter.

“It was big for us,” Arnhart said of the Rankin three.

Lavar Marshall scored six of his game-high 15 points in the fourth quarter. Carson Helm hit a pair of three-pointers in the second half, and scored five in the fourth. Ronny Marshall added nine points. Glenn Penemora led Kodiak with 10.

“I’m proud of how they battled for four quarters, they didn’t falter at the end,” Arnhart said of the Moose. “For us that’s a big deal. We can play pretty good baseball, but if we can’t finish it’s going to be hard for us to win games.”

Bears force the split

Sam Gillindo scored 14 points to lead Kodiak to a 53-43 win over Palmer Saturday afternoon to force the two-game NLC series split.

Ronny Marshall led Palmer with 13. Jacob Titus added a dozen.

Palmer girls fall on road

Kodiak scored a 43-30 NLC win over Palmer Friday night in Kodiak. Catherine Uschmann hit a pair of threes and led Palmer with eight points.

Palmer trailed by only four after three quarters, but was held to just a pair of free throws in the final frame.

Kodiak secured the two-game sweep with a 53-43 win over Palmer on Saturday.

Abriana Busbey scored 20 for the Moose.

Wasilla girls post win over Lathrop

Wasilla posted a 60-28 nonconference win over Lathrop Friday night at Wasilla High.

Bella Hays notched a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Sheridan Green also added 16. Harmony McSorely scored 14. Cheyenne Green pulled down 10 boards.

Olivia Davies, who has committed to Division I Hawaii, saw her first action since December, and collected nine points, four rebounds and four assists.

West Valley scored a 51-45 win over the Warriors on Saturday. Davies led Wasilla with 12. Hays had 12 rebounds.

Huskies beat Nenana

Redington handed Nenana its first girls varsity loss of the season Saturday at Redington with a 36-33 win. Abbie Fuller led Redington with 14 points.

Hawks split against Nenana

The Houston High boys celebrated senior night with an 80-43 win over Nenana Friday at Houston.

Cameron Wyrick scored 22 for the Hawks. Matthew Welsh, Owen Mulhaney and Kyle McLaughlin added 10 each.

The Nenana girls beat the Hawks 37-31. Emily Bitler scored 16, more than half of Houston’s total points. The Hawks were held to two points in the first quarter.

Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.