Warriors show no mercy in slaughter of Crimson Bears

ANCHORAGE — Ouch!

The Wasilla Warriors boys opened their state tournament with a decisive kill, skinning the Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears and marching into the semifinals with an overpowering 69-46 win in the opening round of the Class 4A state tournament at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.

“They did what they wanted to do,” said Juneau head coach Steve Potter.

Boy, did they. Wasilla outshot Juneau 55 percent to 35 percent from the floor, went 13-of-15 from the free throw line, held the Crimson Bears offense to single digits in three of four quarters and led by as many as 31 points before Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen mercifully emptied his bench early in the fourth quarter.

Wasilla got standout performances up and down its lineup. Senior guard Cody Pfeifer led the effort with 19 points in just 19 minutes of play, senior guard Drew Ford scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half, junior guard Corey Mock dished six assists, sophomore forward Braydon Kuiper scored seven points and grabbed six boards, and junior reserves Wade Stahle and David Green combined for 13 points without a miss between them.

Then there was sophomore center Connor Devine, who controlled the paint like a dictator, rejecting six Juneau shots, taking a charge and nabbing six rebounds to go along with nine points.

“There are numerous times he carries us,” Engebretsen said of his precocious big man.

Engebretsen said Devine’s ability to intimidate and frustrate in the paint helped allow Wasilla’s guards to keep pressure on Juneau’s ballhandlers.

“His play inside gives the guards an opportunity to overplay,” he said. “They have a lot of faith in each other defensively.”

Juneau guard Tony Yadao scored 15 points to lead the Crimson Bears.

The teams traded punches early before Wasilla broke things open behind Pfeifer and Ford, who combined for 11 points in the final 2:30 of the first quarter as the Warriors ended a 20-9 opening frame on a 12-2 run.

The Warriors didn’t cool down in the second, dominating the Crimson Bears with their long, athletic frontcourt. The Warriors pushed their lead to 36-17 at the half after a dunk from Devine, back-to-back inside buckets from Ford and a sky hook by Kuiper capped a 9-2 run.

Pfeifer and Ford had a dozen points each by halftime for the Northern Lights Conference champions, who shot 56 percent in the first half — compared to 24 percent for the Southeast Conference champs.

Juneau had no options inside, as Devine used his lanky 6-foot-8 frame to continually frustrate the Crimson Bears’ efforts around the basket. He blocked five shots in the first half, allowing the Warriors to sprint toward the locker room with the game already firmly in hand.

The only thing that changed in the second half was the size of Wasilla’s lead, which grew to 60-29 before Juneau trimmed the margin of victory in garbage time.

Wasilla’s win gave the NLC a perfect 3-0 record in the opening round, allowing the conference to claim some bragging rights.

“The NLC dominates,” Pfeifer said.

The victory sets up a semifinal showdown Tuesday against NLC foe Soldotna — the team that knocked a perhaps overconfident Warriors team out of the state tournament in last year’s semis. Wasilla won the only meeting between the teams this season, but the Warriors know all too well how dangerous the hot-shooting Stars can be.

“We stayed up way too late last year and didn’t get any sleep,” Pfeifer said.

Engebretsen said he doesn’t think that will be a problem this season. With half a dozen players who suited up last season, he said he’s confident his team’s leaders will have the Warriors ready for battle.

“It’s a huge thing having six or seven guys returning from last year’s squad,” he said. “I think they’ll be more focused and ready to go.”

WASILLA 69,

JUNEAU-DOUGLAS 46

4A quarterfinals

Monday, Sullivan Arena

Wasilla 20-16-13-20—69

Juneau 9-8-8-21—46

WASILLA (69) — Quenga 0 1-2 1, Mock 1 2-2 4, Kuiper 2 3-3 7, Stahle 2 1-1 7, Bydlon 0 2-2 2, Pfeifer 8 2-3 19, Devine 4 1-1 9, Ford 6 0-0 14, Green 3 0-0 6. Totals – 26 13-15 69.

JUNEAU (46) — Gozelski 2 1-3 5. Saviers 1 0-0 2, Yadao 6 0-0 15, Wilson 1 3-6 5, DeRocher 1 2-2 4, Wheat 0 0-2 0, Calloway 0 2-2 2, Gross 1 2-2 4, Tupou 4 1-2 9. Totals – 16 11-19 46.

3-point field goals — Wasilla 4 (Ford 2, Stahle Pfeifer), Juneau 3 (Yadao 3). Fouled out – none. Total fouls – Wasilla 16, Juneau 13.