Warrior boys cap season with OT win

SOLDOTNA — As the four-time defending Northern Lights Conference champions, the Wasilla Warriors are not accustomed to playing on the consolation side of the bracket.

But after a tough loss to Soldotna in their tourney opener, that’s exactly where the Warriors found themselves Friday morning. Despite the disappointment of not moving forward, the Warriors rebounded to score a 51-48 overtime victory over the Kenai Kardinals during consolation round action of the Northern Lights Conference Championships at Soldotna High School.

“It’s a lot better to end the season with a win, not have to go home without a little pride,” Wasilla sophomore Dane Kuiper said as he and his teammates walked from the locker room after the game.

Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen was pleased to see his team bounce back from a tough loss to fourth-seeded Soldotna in the quarterfinals.

“It’s nice for these guys to end on a win, realize how much growth we have to have in the next eight months,” Engebretsen said.

Wasilla outscored Kenai 7-4 during the extra period and survived the Kardinals’ 13-point fourth quarter before clinching the win.

“Putting that away, that felt good,” Wasilla’s Cash McGregor said. “We’ve had close games like that, we’ve let slip away.”

Stone Krueger scored six of his eight points in overtime to help Wasilla win.

“He was huge for us today. I was really pleased he was able to make it down,” Engebretsen said of Krueger, who suffered a concussion during a loss to Lathrop last week. “He stepped up and did a great job.”

McGregor said it was nice to see another Warrior come back after injury.

“He’s been tough all year,” McGregor said of Krueger. “Both me and him have had our injuries. He’s stuck in there. That’s kind of been the motto of this team. Everyone’s been hurt at some point this year. It’s been rough, but he’s been pushing through it.”

With the loss Thursday, Wasilla was knocked out of contention for one of the NLC’s two automatic bids for the state tournament. ASAA does award a pair of at-large bids based on teams’ Winning Percentage Index, the formula used to rank 4A basketball squads in Alaska. Wasilla is expected to be out of reach of an automatic berth once the final standings are released Sunday.

Wasilla is expected to return the bulk of its roster and will lose only three players. The Warriors will graduate senior forwards Dustin Cook and Nate Hanson. Kuiper, Wasilla’s sophomore standout, is moving with his family to Arizona.

Kuiper said it’s nice capping his two-year WHS varsity career with a victory.

“It’s hard leaving these guys, but it’s nice getting the final win with the family,” Kuiper said.

Kuiper led the Warriors with 19 points in the win. McGregor added 13. Kuiper and Cook pulled down five rebounds each.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow @matsu_sports.

Wasilla 51, Kenai 48 OT

NLC consolation round

Friday, Soldotna High

Kenai 10-9-12-13-4—48

Wasilla 13-9-10-12-7—51

Kenai (48) — Theisen 1 0-0 2, Battitstelli 5 0-0 11, McKee 6 0-0 12, Fitt 6 2-2 14, O’Neal 1 0-0 3, Kibling 2 0-0 4, Liedes 1 0-0 2; Totals: 22 2-2 48.

Wasilla (51) — Baham 0 2-2 2, Brown 1 0-0 2, Krueger 4 0-3 8, Kuiper 6 7-8 19, Garnett 1 0-0 3, McGregor 6 0-0 13, Cook 1 0-0 2, Hanson 1 0-0 2; Totals: 20 9-13 51.