Warrior coach praises unselfish play in Wasilla’s win over the Moose

WASILLA — Even though the Wasilla Warriors held a 15-point halftime lead, Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen knew his team still had to make a statement in the third quarter.

“(I told them) the game’s going to be decided in the third quarter,” Engebretsen said. “whether it gets close and they make a game out of it, or whether you decide to take them out of it.”

Well, the Warriors responded.

Wasilla used a 13-4 run early in the third and ran to a 67-44 win over the Palmer Moose at Wasilla High School on Wednesday.

Junior Adrese LaVern scored seven of his game-high 19 and senior Dexter Pearce scored six of his 10 points during the run that helped lift the Warriors to 1-1 in Northern Lights Conference play.

Palmer dropped to 0-4 in conference action.

LaVern and Pearce were two of four Warriors to hit double digits in the game. Junior Jason Flowers added 11 and sophomore John Knowles chipped in 10.

Engebretsen said he was impressed about how well his players were able to find open teammates.

“We were playing unselfish today, and unselfishness will get you a long way,” Engebretsen said.

Palmer head coach Greg Fullmer admitted he was somewhat speechless after the loss, conceding the Moose are a bit beat up after a long stretch of action this month.

Palmer’s month started with a trip to the Phoenix Union High School Tournament in Mesa, Ariz., continued with a pair of NLC games at Kodiak High School and a stop at the three-game Rock Classic at South Anchorage High School last week.

“We’ve played a lot of games, traveled a lot of miles,” Fullmer said.

Senior Justin Draughon led the Moose with 14 points. Junior Bryce Jacobson added 10.

The Warriors built a first-half lead with the help from Flowers and Knowles. The duo combined for 18 of Wasilla’s first 37 points. Knowles hit some early shots in the paint, and Knowles buried a pair of first-half three-pointers.

“They’ve stepped up, work pretty hard and it’s paid off for them,” Engebretsen said.

Wasilla 67, Palmer 44

Wednesday, Wasilla High School

Palmer 11-11-7-15—44

Wasilla 17-20-18-12—67

Palmer (44) — Draughon 5 2-2 14, Parisien 2 1-3 5, Gatto 1 0-0 2, Fullmer 1 0-2 2, Hillis 1 0-2 3, Swetzof 0 0-2 0, Odom 0 5-6 5, Jacobson 4 5-10 13; Totals: 14 13-27 44.

Wasilla (67) — Gray 0 1-2 1, Kroon 4 0-0 8, LaVern 6 7-8 19, Pearce 4 2-2 10, Mock 0 2-2 2, Green 2 2-2 6, Flowers 4 1-2 11, Knowles 4 2-6 10; Totals: 23 17-24 67.

Three-point field goals: Palmer 3 (Draughon 2), Wasilla 4 (LaVern, Flowers 2); Total fouls: Palmer 16, Wasilla 22; Fouled out: Wasilla- Johannes, Knowles