Palmer boys show potential during loss to Thunder Mountain

PALMER — The Palmer Moose were on a roller coaster Friday night.

Mere seconds after Palmer's Tye Ramoth sank a free throw to tie the game at 71 near the edge of regulation, Thunder Mountain's Trent Uddipa competed a three-point play just prior to the final buzzer to give the Falcons a 74-71 win over the Moose during the second day of the Elks Showdown at Palmer High School.

In the second half of the game, the Moose went from trailing by 13 points, to believing they forced overtime, to suffering a slim defeat o their home floor.

Despite being tagged with the loss, Palmer head coach Brandon Blake said he saw something from his squad, which features just one senior and only three juniors.

"I couldn't be prouder of the effort. I really feel like we turned a corner," Blake said after the loss. "We've been having the conversation with this young team all year about what it really takes to compete at the varsity level."

Thunder Mountain, led by standout Jacob Calloway, poured in 26 points in the first quarter, and held a 48-35 lead at halftime. Calloway scored 21 points during the first two quarters, and the Falcons were on pace to flirt with the 100-point mark in the game.

But Blake's young squad came together in the second half.

"I thought my kids did a really good job of changing the tempo of the game in the second half," Blake said.

The Moose held Thunder Mountain to 13 points in each of the final two quarters, giving the Falcons as many points in the second half as they scored in the first quarter alone. Palmer also held Calloway to only three field goals and nine total points in the second half.

Ramoth, one of six sophomores on the varsity squad, opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer, and added a rebound and putback moments later.

Midway through the quarter, Palmer freshman Clayton Southwick and sophomore James Blake nabbed steals on the defensive end and went to the basket for easy layups on consecutive possessions. That stretch cut into Thunder Mountain's double-digit advantage.

"I think it was huge. All the sudden, the momentum shifted," Blake said. "It's the first time I saw James and Clayton and Tye chest-bumping, getting that passion, feeling like they can compete on this level."

Southwick led the Moose with 24 points in the loss. He scored eight of Palmer's 16 in the fourth quarter. Jarred Yanez added 10 in the win, Ramoth chipped in nine and Blake and Jesse Snickers scored eight each.

Blake praised Snickers, Palmer's lone senior on the squad.

"Jesse Snickers came in off the bench and was absolutely outstanding," Blake said of Snickers, a first-year player in the Palmer basketball program. "He made some huge plays for us offensively and defensively."

Palmer also managed to rally without its varsity leader, Chase Ferris, who suffered an injury early in the third quarter. After the loss of Ferris, Yanez was the only Palmer player who saw significant time on varsity last season.

Blake said losing a game that appeared destined for overtime was heartbreaking, but overall he is excited about the potential of his team.

"Hopefully this just takes us in the right direction," Blake said. "We're still going to have our ups and downs this season. It's the way things happen with young teams. But we got a real taste of what it takes to compete at the varsity level."

Thunder Mountain 74, Palmer 71

Elks Showdown

Friday, Palmer High School

Thunder Mountain 26-22-13-13--74

Palmer 20-15-18-16--71

Th. Mtn. (74) — O'Brien 1 0-1 3, Uddipa 3 3-5 9, Saviers 3 2-3 8, Calloway 13 2-3 30, Markovich 4 2-2 10, Olsen 5 2-6 12, Toutaiolepo 1 0-2 2; Totals: 30 11-22 74.

Palmer (71) — Ramoth 4 1-2 9, Debach 2 0-0 4, Ferris 2 0-0 5, Duffy 0 1-2 1, Southwick 9 3-4 24, Blake 3 2-3 8, Snickers 4 0-2 8, Yanez 5 0-0 10; Totals: 25 6-11 71.

3-point field goals: Th. Mtn. 2 (Calloway 2), Palmer 4 (Southwick 3); Total fouls: Th. Mtn. 16, Palmer 20.

South edges Palmer

Palmer enjoyed a 26-point fourth quarter, but South Anchorage held on to edge the Moose 52-49 during the final day of the Elks Showdown, Saturdady.

Alex Adams hit five three-pointers and scored 15 points to help the Wolverines improve to 3-0 over the weekend, and win the boys team tittle of the 2015 Showdown.

Tye Ramoth led the Moose with 13 points. Clayton Southwick and James Blake added 11 each.

After the tourney, Southwick, a freshman, was named the Elks Showdown boys MVP. Blake and Jarred Yanez were named all-tourney for Palmer.

Adams, Jake Swenson and Brydin Pacheco represented South on the all-tourney team. North Pole's Shane Hursh and Thunder Mountain's Jacob Calloway and Trent Uddipa were also named Elks all-tourney.

South 52, Palmer 49

Elks Showdown

Saturday, Palmer

South 10-9-14-19--52

Palmer 10-7-9-26--49

South (52) — Johnson 2 0-0 4, Rochon 2 2-3 6, Babick 0 5-6 5, Kewen 1 0-0 2, Adams 5 0-0 15, Swenson 1 6-6 8, Pacheco 2 01 4, Hobbs 1 0-0 2, Koloske 1 4-6 6; Totals: 16 17-21 52.

Palmer (49) — Ramoth 5 2-2 13, Debach 0 1-3 1, Southwick 3 3-4 11, Blake 2 6-7 11, Snickers 3 1-3 7, Yanez 2 1-3 6; Totals: 15 14-22 49.

3-point field goals: Palmer 4 (Southwick 2), South 5 (Adams 5); Total fouls: Palmer 19, South 24.