Warrior boys outlast Moose

WASILLA — Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen used one word to immediately describe his team’s win over rival Palmer Tuesday.

“Sloppy.”

Wasilla and Palmer combined for 47 points and 42 free throw attempts during a busy fourth quarter. But as sloppy as it was, the Warriors had an answer for every Moose run, and Wasilla scored a 64-57 win over Palmer at Wasilla High.

“It was a matter of who was going to execute and value the ball down the stretch,” Engebretsen said after the win.

Trailing by 10 at the start of the fourth, Palmer cut the Wasilla lead to four points at four different times during the fourth quarter, but the Moose were unable to ever make it a one-possession game.

“We couldn’t quite get over that hump,” Palmer head coach Brandon Blake said of his team during the final quarter.

Engebretsen wasn’t impressed with his team’s shooting at the free throw line — the Warriors were 12 of 23 in the fourth quarter and 14 of 30 in the game — but the Warriors had key moments at both ends of the floor during the fourth quarter to preserve the win.

Senior Alex Baham scored 11 of his game-high 22 points during the fourth quarter, and used big shots to end Palmer runs. Midway through the fourth quarter, after Palmer sliced Wasilla’s lead to four points for the second time during the period, Baham knocked down a three-pointer to push his team’s advantage to 48-41. Moments later, Baham took an inbound pass from his team’s baseline right after a timeout, got the easy bucket, drew the foul and hit the ensuing free-throw to extend Wasilla’s lead to 10.

Baham also capped the second quarter and started the third with big three-pointers. The senior hit a shot from the deep left corner with 2.1 seconds left in the second quarter to give Wasilla the 27-24 halftime lead. Early in the third quarter, Baham hit another three-pointer to give Wasilla a seven-point lead.

For the Moose, Blake continued to see the good and not-so-good from his young team that includes only two varsity returners.

“It’s one of those games where we did some good things at times, and did some pretty bad things at times,” Blake said. “We played hard, battled a tough region opponent on their home court.”

Sophomore point guard James Blake enjoyed a breakout performance, scoring 20 points. Freshman Clayton Southwick added 11. Sophomore Liam Hughes-Duffy chipped in eight.

With the win, Wasilla improved to 5-5 overall and 1-0 in Northern Lights Conference play. The Warriors are on the road this weekend, with stops at Soldotna Friday and Kenai Saturday.

The Moose are 2-7 overall and 0-2 in NLC play.

Palmer is one of eight teams in the field of the O’Brady’s Invitational Basketball Tournament, which started Thursday at South Anchorage. Results of Palmer’s first-round contest against Glennallen were not available prior to press time.

Wasilla 64,

Palmer 57

Tuesday,

Wasilla High

Palmer 17-12-9-24--57

Wasilla 11-16-14-23--64

Wasilla (64) — Burns 4 2-4 11, Milleron 5 2-6 12, Trotta-Mirigliano 1 0-0 2, Baham 6 7-12 22, Garnett 1 0-0 2, Houck 3 3-6 9, Schneider 2 0-0 4, Lee 1 0-0 2; Totals: 23 14-30 64.

Palmer (57) — Ramoth 2 3-4 7, Farris 1 2-4 4, Hughes-Duffy 2 4-6 8, Southwick 4 1-3 11, Blake 6 6-8 20, Snickers 1 1-2 3, Yanez 2 0-0 4; Totals: 18 17-27 57.

3-point field goals: Palmer 4 (Blake, Southwick 2); Wasilla 4 (Baham 3), Total fouls: Palmer 20, Wasilla 26.