Three Kings

WASILLA — If something works once, you might as well try it again.

If you’re not convinced, just ask Paul Manabat.

The Ketchikan guard nailed a buzzer-beating shot from halfcourt to cap a 29-point Ketchikan third quarter of a 77-67 nonconference win over the Wasilla Warriors at Wasilla High School on Saturday.

Manabat’s shot was nearly identical to the halfcourt heave he hit as time expired in the third quarter of a win over Houston on Thursday.

And much like its win over Houston, Ketchikan used a big third quarter and several shots from beyond the arc to score the victory over Wasilla.

“They did what they wanted to do today,” Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen said of the Kings, who finished with 11 three-pointers in the game.

Ketchikan buried six of those threes in a third quarter in which the Kings erased a double-digit deficit.

Manabat, Matt Carpenter and Jeff Whicker each hit a pair of long shots during the eight-minute span.

While the Kings were taking the shots they wanted to take, Engebretsen felt the exact opposite was true for the Warriors.

“We were taking the shots they wanted us to take instead of the shots we wanted to take,” Engebretsen said of the Warriors, who were outscored 44-27 during the final two quarters.

Wasilla opened the game with a 10-4 run and closed the first eight minutes by scoring 10 of the final 12 points of the first quarter.

Midway through the second, thanks to a Cody Pfeifer three-point play, the Warriors stretched its lead to 18.

“Part of that is rebounding the ball,” Engebretsen said. “We rebounded the ball well in the first half. We were guarding and in the position to get stops.”

But in the second half, the impatient Warriors steadily saw their lead decrease.

“We were taking shots too quickly,” Engebretsen said. “The shots they wanted us to take.”

Whicker scored 10 of his game-high 21 points in the third quarter. He was one of three Kings in double figures. Carpenter scored 13 of his 19 in the third, and Jose Scudero added 18.

Senior captains Adrese LaVern and Tillerman Kroon each posted 14 points.

Kroon scored Wasilla’s first four points in the game, and LaVern collected 11 points during Wasilla’s 26-point first quarter.

Junior Cody Pfeifer scored seven of his team-high 15 in the first.

Ketchikan didn’t take a lead until Carpenter hit a three-pointer with 4:50 left in the third to put the Kings ahead 49-47. Carpenter padded that advantage with another three-pointer on Ketchikan’s next possession.

Carpenter’s bombs capped a 19-5 Ketchikan run.

On Friday, LaVern scored 18 points to help the Warriors earn a 61-54 win over the Kings. Pfeifer added 14 points in a win that snapped a four-game losing skid.

Wasilla has a pair of nonconference games left during the regular season. The Warriors hots North Pole on Friday and West Valley the following afternoon.

The Warriors currently sit at the top of the Northern Lights Conference Northern Division with a 7-3 mark, but rivals Palmer and Colony could both jump the Warriors in the standings. Palmer (6-1) is in second and has games against Colony, Soldotna and Kenai during the next week.

Colony (5-2) sits in third with games against Palmer, Kenai and Soldotna during the next week.

The top team from the Northern Division will earn a No. 1 seed during the NLC Tournament, which starts March 5 in Kodiak.

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

Ketchikan 77, Wasilla 67

Saturday, Wasilla High School

Ketchikan 12-21-29-15—77

Wasilla 26-14-17-10—67

Ketchikan (77) — Carpenter 6 5-7 19, K. Manabat 3 0-0 8, P. Manabat 2 2-2 8, Whicker 8 2-4 8, Scudero 7 2-2 18, Pahang 0 1-2 1, Headley 1 0-0 2; Totals: 27 12-17 77.

Wasilla (67) — Schierman 2 0-0 4, Mock 0 1-4 1, Kroon 5 2-2 14, Kuiper 4 0-0 9, LaVern 5 3-6 14, Orr 1 0-0 2, Pfeifer 6 3-4 15, Knowles 3 0-1 6, Green 1 0-0 2; Total: 27 9-17 67.

Three-point field goals: Ketchikan 11 (Whicker 3), Wasilla 4 (Kroon 2); Total fouls: Ketchikan 18, Wasilla 19; Fouled out: Ketchikan P. Manabat, Wasilla- none.

Wasilla 61, Ketchikan 54

Friday, Wasilla High School

Ketchikan 16-15-9-14—54

Wasilla 11-16-22-12—61

Ketchikan (54) — Carpenter 4 3-4 13, K. Manabat 1 0-0 2, Pihl 1 0-0 2, P. Manabat 2 3-4 8, Whicker 3 6-10 12, Scudero 2 2-2 7, Pahang 3 0-0 8, Bousley 1 0-0 2; Totals: 17 14-20 54.

Wasilla (61) — Schierman 1 0-0 3, Mock 2 0-0 4, Kroon 1 0-0 3, Kuiper 1 2-2 5, LaVern 5 5-6 18, Orr 0 2-2 2, Pfeifer 6 2-2 14, Knowles 5 0-3 10, green 1 0-0 2; Totals: 22 6-11 61.

Three-point field goals: Ketchikan 6 (Carpenter, Scudero 2), Wasilla 6 (LaVern 3); Total fouls: Ketchikan 14, Wasilla 18.