Warrior boys outlast Moose

The Palmer Moose boys' basketball team got a chance Tuesday to avenge an early-season loss to the Wasilla Warriors, but came up short in their bid for victory on home court at Palmer High School.

With a balanced scoring attack and solid free-throw shooting down the stretch, the Warriors sustained a late charge by the Moose to take a 59-52 victory.

"I'm happy with how the kids played tonight, it was a good win for us" said Wasilla coach Chuck Martin. "It's always good when you can come here and get a win."

A matchup of Wasilla's inside muscle and height against the run-and-gun offense of the Palmer Moose never materialized as Palmer showed a different offensive strategy in order to compete with the Warriors.

The Moose instead played a much slower tempo, concentrating on a half-court offense to effectively score points.

"We changed our offensive strategy from the last time we played them," said Palmer coach Brandon Blake. "We worked on a new offense this week that shortened the game to half court and tried to get Ray [Schafer] out of the inside."

The new scheme and a hustling defense worked much better for the Moose Tuesday, enabling them to stay close, unlike the 82-52 drubbing Palmer received at the hands of the Warriors Dec. 21 at Wasilla.

Both teams battled for points in the first quarter, spreading the ball around for a balanced attack. The Moose used their advantage of speed to cut players inside for points and take a 13-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Palmer attack cooled in the second quarter as Wasilla began to adjust to Moose players' cutting to the basket. Meanwhile, the Warriors charged on offense behind points from Travis Webb and Schafer under the basket and three pointers from Scott Faeo and Jake Collins. Wasilla took a 26-20 advantage into halftime.

Both teams looked sluggish offensively in the third quarter, primarily due to the stellar defense played by both teams in the paint. Wasilla continued to get stronger inside to deny cutters and Palmer hustled for steals under the Wasilla basket.

Webb took over for the Warriors in the fourth quarter, muscling the ball inside to keep Wasilla ahead. The Palmer defense intensified midway through the quarter, stepping in front of Wasilla pass attempts inside and breaking down the court for baskets. The Moose were able to close the gap with three pointers from Zac Forsyth, Charlie Bentti and Zach Pettit.

"We weren't being patient and taking care of the ball," Webb said. "Palmer was able to get back in the game by knocking down their shots."

Faced with a deficit that was too large to overcome with the clock running, Palmer was forced to foul in an attempt to stop the clock and get the ball back.

With strong foul shooting down the stretch, hitting 10 of 12 attempts, the Warriors were able to sustain the Palmer push and win the game 59-52.

"I feel good about our game tonight," Blake said. "They played well to come out on top but we were able to get over the hump from our last game with them and gain some confidence."

Webb led all scorers for Wasilla with 17 points, with Schafer adding 14 and Adam Fitt-Chappell 11.

Forsyth and Pettit led the Moose with 16 points each, with Adam Nielson adding 12.

"The best teams slow us down and spread us out," Martin said. "They load up on Ray [Schafer] and Adam [Fitt-Chappell] -- that's why teams must have balance."

Before the game, Palmer players honored Dr. Dan Larson, his wife Susan and Carolyn Brouchard for their community service to high school athletics in the area.