Warrior senior hits game-winner in boys' title game

March 11, 2007

KENAI - Jesse Bean has been hitting crucial shots for the Wasilla Warriors throughout his four-year career with WHS varsity basketball squad.

And on Saturday night, he hit another.

The UAF-bound senior drilled a shot with 12 seconds left in overtime to give Wasilla a 63-62 win over crosstown rival Colony, and the Warriors their second straight region title.

Bean scored a game-high 22 points in the title bout, and afterward he was named the region player of the year for the second consecutive year.

Wasilla senior Dexter Pearce hit a three-pointer in the final seconds of regulation to tie the game at 53-53 and force overtime.

In the extra period, Wasilla scored on its first two possessions to take a 57-53 lead, but Jaron Murphy hit back-to-back shots for the Knights to tie the game at 57-57.

After Pearce gave Wasilla a temporary lead, Colony junior Grant Niver hit a big three to put the Knights up 60-59 with just more than a minute left in the overtime.

As the seconds ticked off the clock, Colony senior Ryan Coffman converted a big layup to give Colony the 62-61 lead, but that was before Bean destroyed all of Colony's hopes of scoring the upset.

Colony established itself as the team with the momentum early, jumping out to a 17-10 lead. The Knights rolled into the game, riding the thrill of scoring a 71-65 double-overtime win over Soldotna in the semfinals.

Wasilla, who edged Kenai in the other semifinal match, chipped away at the CHS advantage, and thanks to a Matthew Stearman bucket, took an 18-17 lead on the first possession of the second quarter.

Freshman John Palmer enjoyed one of the best games of his young career with 15 points. He hit three, three-pointers and was 6-of-8 from the free-throw line.

Palmer hit a three at the buzzer at the end of the third quarter to give Colony a 42-41 lead, and then stretched that lead to four points with a trey on the first possession of the fourth.

In the semifinal action, Wasilla overcame a hostile environment and a poor shooting night from star guard Jesse Bean to hold off the Kenai Kardinals for the second time this season with a 60-51 win.

Following Wasilla's big win over Kenai, coach Jason Marvel said the victory came in exactly the kind of tournament atmosphere teams dream of competing in.

&#8220That's the type of ballgame you like to play in,” Marvel said after his team used a decisive 13-0 run in the fourth quarter to put away a feisty Kenai squad that gave top-ranked Wasilla a definite scare.

&#8220They're a dangerous, dangerous team,” Marvel said of Kenai, which made seven field goals from behind the arc.

Bean made just two shots from the floor, but still finished with 10 points and nine rebounds for the Warriors, who got four players in double figures. Shane Green and Logan Williams led Wasilla with 11 points each, and Jeremiah Collins added 10.

Kenai's Nate Saltzgiver led all scorers with 18 points, including four three-pointers.

Kenai took a one-point lead into the final quarter, but Wasilla forced a couple big turnovers midway through the period to key the run. Perhaps the biggest play of the game came with just over four minutes to go, when Collins got a steal and raced down court for a lay-up. The guard's attempt missed the mark, but Williams was right there for a monstrous follow-up dunk that firmly seized the momentum for Wasilla.

&#8220Our defense finally came through in the fourth quarter,” Marvel said.

Wasilla's vocal band and fans battled with Kenai's all game in an atmosphere that Bean called the most hostile he's ever encountered.

&#8220Kenai fans are the worst,” he said.

Following the win, Marvel credited his team for not folding despite some tough adversity.

&#8220It's not always one player, it takes everybody,” he said.

Against Soldotna, Colony used scrappy play to counter the Stars' height advantage and turn the affair into a slugfest.

The Stars led 26-22 after the first half before Colony fought its way back in.

Junior sharpshooter Doug Gray hit four three-pointers, and scored a game-high 28 points in Colony's 71-65 double overtime win.

Gray scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, and 10 in the two overtimes. He was 4-for-4 in the second overtime, and accounted for all of Colony's points in the final four minutes of the game.