Seniors lead Kings past young Warrior squad in 4A state hoops tourney

ANCHORAGE — The Wasilla Warriors powered through the 2015-16 with three underclassmen and no seniors in the starting lineup. With the young group, the Warriors were the top team in the Northern Lights Conference during the regular season, finished as the runner-up in the NLC tournament and earned the fourth seed in the state tournament.

But on Thursday, Ketchikan showed how much experience matters on Alaska’s biggest stage.

The senior-laden Kings used a big second half to beat Wasilla 71-50 during the quarterfinal round of the ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Basketball Championships Thursday morning at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.

Wasilla led 25-23 at halftime, but Ketchikan scored a combined 48 points during the final two quarters. Ketchikan capped the game with a 27-15 fourth quarter run to move into the semifinal round.

Junior Isaac Houck, Wasilla’s most experienced player on its roster, finished with a team-high 21 points in the loss. The three-year starter shot 7 of 12 from the field and collected seven rebounds. Freshman Daniel Headdings scored 10 points for Wasilla. Sophomore Reilly Devine finished with nine rebounds.

Senior Jason James was one of four Kings in double figures, scoring a game-best 23. Senior Isaac Johnson scored 16. Senior Nathan Bonck added 13 and senior Mo Bullock chipped in 11.

With the loss, Wasilla drops back into the consolation semifinals and will face either Juneau-Douglas or Bartlett Friday at 8 a.m. at the Alaska Airlines Center.

Ketchikan 71, Wasilla 50

4A boys quarterfinals

Thursday, Anchorage

Ketchikan 9-14-21-27—71

Wasilla 11-14-10-15—50

Ketchikan (71) — James 8 6-6 23, Standley 3 0-0 8, Bullock 4 2-2 11, Johnson 6 1-3 16, Bonck 5 3-4 13; Totals: 26 12-15 71.

Wasilla (50) — Brown 1 5-6 7, Headdings 3 4-5 10, Devine 4 0-1 8, Houck 8 4-4 21, Milliron 1 1-2 4; Totals: 17 14-18 50.