Warriors ramp up offense, take 2 from Kodiak

WASILLA — The Warriors perfect run against in-state opponents continues after an impressive sweep in back-to-back games against visiting Kodiak.

The Wasilla boys beat the Bears 72-56 Friday, and turned around to pound Kodiak 87-62 Saturday in Northern Lights Conference play. The wins saw the No. 4-ranked large schools team in the state improve to 8-1 overall, with their only loss coming to an out-of-state team at the Doc Larson’s Roundball Classic in December.

On Friday, the one-two punch of 6-10 Connor Devine and 6-6 Braydon Kuiper was too much for the smaller Bears, who scrapped their way through the first quarter only to see the Warriors pull away in the second.

“In the second and third, we started finishing a little bit cleaner,” Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen said. “We knew we had to get after it defensively. They came at us with a lot of energy, they made shots early. It’s a league game and we have to get wins.”

Although the Warriors had a decisive height advantage over Kodiak, the Bears were fearless from beyond the three-point arc, draining nine treys in the game. Austin Frick had six of those buckets and earned the notice of Engebretsen.

“He’s a good player,” the coach said. “He’s been around for awhile. He’s solid. We knew about him, that he could shoot, and he just got going tonight. He hit a couple early and had the confidence to just let them fly.”

While Frick was letting the ball fly, Devine was dominating in the post, finishing with a game-high 27 points and six blocked shots. Along with 20 from Kuiper, the senior duo are a knockout combo on and off the court, Engebretsen said.

“Those two are in the gym every night, every day trying to get better,” he said. “They’re teaching, they’re great teachers in the sense they are really bringing our young guys along and doing a great job. They are head and shoulders above what you would expect. The little things they do off the floor is just as important, and I’m really spoiled having the group that I have, all 10 of my kids.”

Although the score wasn’t close in the end, Kodiak came out strong, holding the potent Wasilla offense to just 12 points in the first quarter. Ahead 12-10 after the first, the Warriors kicked their offense into high gear in the second. They started the quarter on a 10-0 run, sparked by a crowd-pleasing steal and dunk from Dane Kuiper. The third quarter was more of the same, with the Warriors starting on a 9-0 run to extend their lead to 41-20 with about 4 minutes left in the first half.

The Bears saved their best basketball for the end, putting up 26 points in the final quarter, but the spark wasn’t enough to close the gap.

While Wasilla needed the first 8 minutes to warm up Friday, they came out hot right from the tip-off Saturday, outscoring the Bears 28-11 in the first quarter of an 87-62 win.

Dane Kuiper had the hot hand Saturday, leading all scorers with 23 points, while teammate Eric Roberts chipped in 20. And while the Warriors are dominating in the paint, it was their scorching outside shooting that kept the Bears at bay.

Overall, Wasilla made 12 three-pointers, including five each from Roberts and Dane Kuiper. Braydon Kuiper had another strong game with 17 points.

Although neither game was never in jeopardy, Engebretsen said there are definitely areas of the Warriors’ game that needs work.

“We didn’t finish a couple of shots,” he said. “When we get the ball in the paint, that’s a high-percentage shot and they’ve got to go in. Every kid got in there (Friday) and those shots have to go in. I thought in the second and third we started finishing a little bit cleaner.”

He also said defensively, Wasilla needs to make opponents earn every point.

“We need to make sure we’re not giving up any transition buckets, make sure every shot is contested,” he said. “Our goal is 100 percent, every shot contested.”

Wasilla boys 72, Kodiak 56

Friday, Wasilla High School

Kodiak 10-7-13-26—56

Wasilla 12-18-23-19—72

Kodiak (56) — Frick 8 0-0 22, Obas 4 0-0 10, Swearingin 4 1-2 9, Medina 4 1-4 9, Hiner 1 1-2 3, Jimenez 1 0-0 3. Totals: 22 3-8 56.

Wasilla (72) — Devine 11 4-6 27, B. Kuiper 7 5-7 20, D. Kuiper 6 0-0 13, Roberts 2 2-2 6, Ferro 2 0-0 4, Cupo 1 0-0 2. Totals: 29 11-15 72.

Three-point field goals: Kodiak 9 (Frick 6), Wasilla 3 (B. Kuiper, D. Kuiper, Devine 1): Totals fouls: Kodiak 18, Wasilla 12.

Wasilla boys 87, Kodiak 62

Saturday, Wasilla High School

Kodiak 11-12-15-24—62

Wasilla 28-24-18-20—87

Kodiak (62) — Medina 5 5-11 16, Swearingin 5 4-4 15, Hiner 2 8-10 12, Obas 4 0-2 8, Frick 2 0-0 4, Benzona 1 0-0 2. Totals: 21 17-28 62.

Wasilla (87) — D. Kuiper 9 0-1 23, Roberts 8 0-1 21, B. Kuiper 7 2-2 17, Devine 3 3-3 9, Hunt 1 4-6 7, Ferro 2 0-0 4, McGregor 2 0-0 4, Cupo 1 0-0 2. Totals: 33 9-13 87.

Three-point field goals: Kodiak 3 (Medina, Obas, Swearingin), Wasilla 12 (D. Kuiper 5, Roberts 5). Total fouls: Kodiak 19, Wasilla 19.

Wasilla girls too much for Bears

KODIAK — In the end, it the Wasilla girls were just too much for Kodiak in a 60-34 blowout over the Bears Saturday. Although the score seems lopsided, the game wasn’t decided until late.

A scrappy Kodiak team trailed the entire game, but closed to within six points of the Warriors, 37-31, with 20 seconds left to play in the third quarter. But Wasilla quickly closed the door, outscoring the bears 23-3 for the rest of the game.

Alyssa Hutchins led the way for the Warriors with 19 points, while Alexis Imoe added 15.

Megan Pyles cracked double figures for the Bears with 12.

Saturday’s win capped a weekend sweep for the Warriors over Kodiak. Wasilla outpaced the Bears 46-27 on Friday.

Alysha Devine led all scorers with 13 points in game that saw Wasilla allow just 2 Kodiak points in the first quarter and just 10 for the first half.

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.

Wasilla girls, 46, Kodiak 27

Wasilla 11-8-10-16—46

Kodiak 2-8-6-11—27

Wasilla (46) — Devine 13, Ford 10, Hutchins 10, Edwards 8, Dinkel 8, Burke 5, Imoe 3, Koso 3, Brumbaugh 2, Garcia 2. Totals: 13 19-35 46.

Kodiak (27) — Cannon 7, Wandersee 6, Taan 5, Timu 4, Lampl 2, Pyles 2, Aquino 1. Totals: 10 6-12 27.

Three-point field goals: Kodiak 1 (Taan). Total fouls: Wasilla 16, Kodiak 21.

Wasilla girls 60, Kodiak 34

Wasilla 15-17-7-21—60

Kodiak 4-18-9-3—34

Wasilla (60) — Hutchins 19, Imoe 15, Devine 8, Dinkel 7, Koso 4, Brumbaugh 4, Burke 3. Totals: 18 20-29.

Kodiak (34) — Pyles 12, Timu 8, Cannon 5, Taan 4, Wandersee 3, I. Hughes 2. Totals: 10 11-22 34.