Team Alaska boys win bronze at Arctic Winter Games; Van Dussen, Truax pace victory over Nunavut

The Team Alaska boys bounced back from a tough semifinal loss on Thursday to claim the bronze medal in Arctic Winter Games basketball competition on Friday. In a game that featured multiple lead changes and even more missed shots, Alaska outlasted Nunavut, 80-74.

A pair of local hoopsters turned in outstanding individual performances to lead the home team. Houston’s Deegan Van Dussen led all scorers with 29 points, while teammate Trent Truax added 23 of his own.

“It was definitely tough,” Van Dussen said of the bronze-medal contest. “We had a lot of stuff to overcome, but we did it.”

No one overcame more than Truax, who led all scorers in the tournament with 133 points over five games. The Wasilla 18-year-old suffered a head gash in a bloody collision midway through the third period, but shook it off and returned to the game in time to drop in 11 fourth-period points. Among those points were three of his four 3-pointers on the game, and none was bigger, or more clutch, than the third one. With Team Alaska trailing by a point with just 1:13 remaining, Truax pulled up from three feet behind the arc, midway between the top of the key and the corner on the right side, and nailed it to put the home team up by 2, giving them a lead they would not relinquish.

Van Dussen provided the coup de grace on the ensuing series. After a smothering Team Alaska defense forced a turnover on a midcourt violation, Van Dussen took a pass in the paint from teammate Isaiah Sosa, spun to his left and took it to the hoop with authority and clinched the bronze for Team Alaska. Truax finished as the tournament’s high scorer with 133 points over five games. Van Dussen was second overall with 103 points.

The game got off to a slow start. Team Alaska kept the tempo up with a solid transition game, but both teams had a tough time executing on offense. It was past the midway point in the opening stanza before each squad reached double digits. Coach Matt Peterson attributed some of the early jitters to a lingering letdown from the previous night’s loss, which kept his charges out of the gold medal game.

“It’s nice to see the guys up now,” the former Service High School coach said. “It makes for a good ending.”

This is Peterson’s second Arctic Winter Games coaching stint. He led Team Alaska last year in Wood Buffalo, Alberta, in competition postponed by Covid the previous year.

He said the timing of the Games, which coincide with the end of Alaska’s high school basketball season, makes recruiting a special challenge, especially with rosters needing to be finalized by the end of November. Prep time is limited, too. Peterson said he had one 45-minute practice with the team, most of whom had never played together before.

“We knew we just had to come out and play,” he said. “It’s good to see them be competitive.”

Rules are different at the Arctic Winter Games, too. Only the coach can call a timeout, and there’s also a shot clock, which Alaska prep players do not have to contend with. Still, Peterson said being able to participate in the Games is worth it.

“I love it. The kids are great all around,” he said. “It’s great for us to experience this.”

In Thursday’s semifinal, Van Dussen led Team Alaska with 22 points in an 82-75 loss to Northwest Territories. Truax added 18, and Reed Juliussen and Tyler Grzegorczyk chipped in 10 apiece.

Brendan McAllister put up a game-high 23 points for Northwest Territories, which went on to win the silver medal in Friday night’s mainstage matchup.