Seniors lead Wasilla boys to OT win over Palmer

WASILLA — Kody Campbell was the first to admit he struggled offensively for most of the game. But when it mattered the most, the Wasilla senior captain came through for the Warriors.

Campbell hit a fadeaway three-pointer from NBA range with 0.4 seconds left, drew a foul and hit the ensuing free throw to give Wasilla a 51-47 overtime victory over rival Palmer Tuesday night at Wasilla High School.

“Those were my only points of the night. I struggled,” Campbell said after the victory. “But you’ve always got to finish strong as coach said.”

The shot came about a minute after Palmer’s Dae Osiensky hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 47. During Wasilla’s final possession of the extra period with a second overtime still in the cards, Wasilla standout Daniel Headings drew the double-team and shifted the ball to Campbell in the deep left wing.

“I knew the double-team was probably coming,” Headings said. “As soon as I saw the double-team, I kicked it to Kody. He shot it and it fell right through. It felt good to see it go in.”

Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen praised Campbell’s late heroics on a night where things were not easy on the offensive end for the senior.

“He was real honest, said it wasn’t my night. But he still had the confidence to stick the shot,” Engebretsen said.

Campbell wasn’t the only Warrior to struggle on the offensive side. After returning to the court after halftime with the score tied at 22, Wasilla was held to only four points in the third quarter. After holding a lead in the second quarter, Wasilla would not lead again until overtime.

“We battled through adversity and got the win,” Campbell said.

Headdings used a monster effort to help force overtime. The senior scored all 19 of his team’s second-half points, and 23 of Wasilla’s final 29 points.

“He put us all on his shoulders,” Engebretsen said of Headdings. “We were playing behind the entire time. He said, let me find a way.”

Palmer held Wasilla scoreless in the second half until the 3:07 mark of the third, when Headdings slashed to the basket. Wasilla’s only other third-quarter bucket came with a Headdings steal and layup.

In the meantime, Osiensky used a three-pointer to spark a Palmer five-point run early in the third. Ronny Marshall also had four points to push Palmer’s lead to 31-26 in the third.

Headdings used his 15-point fourth quarter to pull the Warriors back into the game. He used a steal and a basket with 2:33 left to cut Palmer’s lead to 36-34. After Marshall answered for the Moose, Headdings used another layup to bring it back to a one-possession game.

Ethan Helm hit a free throw with 33 seconds left to give Palmer the 40-36 lead.

And Headdings struck again, draining a three with 24 seconds left to pull the Warriors within a point.

With 13 seconds left, Palmer took a 41-39 lead with an Osiensky free throw.

But Headdings and the Warriors had one final opportunity in regulation. Headdings drove to the basket and forced overtime with the game-tying layup with just three seconds left in the fourth.

“Daniel really stepped up,” Campbell said.

Wasilla opened overtime on a 6-0 run, with a pair of Headdings buckets sandwiching a Luke Devine basket.

Lavar Marshall and Helm answered with field goals for Palmer. Osiensky hit a pair of free throws with 1:07 left in overtime to tie the score at 47.

Headdings said Palmer came to play Tuesday night.

“They were good. We didn’t play our game, but they played pretty good,” Headdings said.

Engebretsen praised the improvement of the Moose under the guidance of Palmer first-year head coach Jeremy Arnhart.

“Arnhart has done a fantastic job,” Engebretsen said. “His guys come out, compete, play hard. They struggle at times with certain things, but he does a great job of getting them to compete, believe in themselves.”

Arnhart, a former head coach at Barrow, led the Whalers to the 3A state title last year, their third in four years.

“I think the world of the job he does with every team he’s coached,” Engebretsen said.

Wasilla played Barrow regularly in nonconference action during Arnhart’s time with the Whalers.

Jacob Titus and Ronny Marshall led Palmer with 14 each in the loss. Titus hit four three-pointers in the first half.

Wasilla girls get past Palmer

The Wasilla girls scored a 72-36 win over Palmer Tuesday night.

The Warriors outscored Palmer 23-5 in the third and 40-15 in the second half. Bella Hays, one of a pair of Warriors to finish with a double-double, notched 17 points and 15 rebounds. Sheridan Green added 13 points and 13 boards. Diondra Lawhead also scored a game-high 17. Green also led Wasilla with five assists.

Wasilla shot 54 percent from the field and 42 percent behind the arc. Wasilla held the Moose to 22 percent shooting. Catherine Uschmann led Palmer with 13 points.

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