Warriors use buzzer-beater to beat Palmer boys; Wasilla sweeps Moose

PALMER — It took four offensive rebounds and a tipped ball, but the Wasilla Warriors found a way to stun the Palmer Moose.

Senior Reilly Devine lifted Wasilla to a 36-35 win over the Moose, scoring the go-ahead layup with 1.2 seconds left Tuesday night in a packed Palmer High gymnasium.

“All the sudden the ball was in my hands,” Devine said after the win. “At first I thought (the shot) was coming out and my heart just stopped. And then I saw it was going in.”

Devine and fellow senior Aeron Milliron each had a pair of offensive rebounds on the long possession. But it was a tipped ball from Devine’s younger brother Luke that set up the game-winning basket. After Wasilla’s fifth shot on a long possession, Palmer senior Isaac Atkins secured a rebound for the Moose. Atkins had the ball at the baseline. Rather than falling out of bounds, Atkins tried to move the ball back to a teammate. Luke Devine, a sophomore, was able to get a hand on it, and tipped the ball right to Reilly.

Reilly Devine praised the work of his teammates for keeping the possession alive and providing him the opportunity to be in the right place at the right time.

“That’s kind of our thing. We just keep pounding and pounding and pounding,” Devine said. “That’s what we’ve been doing all season. It just shows the heart we have. We’re not in it for ourselves, we’re in it for each other.”

Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen it’s the effort and determination of his players that stands out.

“One thing I never question in these guys, especially my three guys that are starters for the last three years, is their grit,” Engebretsen said, referencing third-year starters Milliron, Reilly Devine and Daniel Headdings. “What I really appreciate is everybody on the team, all the way down the bench, has really bought in to what that grit and toughness really looks like.”

Wasilla needed the Devine buzzer-beater to outlast a Palmer team that hit a handful of big shots in the second half. The Moose drained five three-pointers during the final two quarters, including a Jacob Titus three that gave the Moose a 35-34 lead with 39 seconds left to play.

“Their role players stepped up and made tough shots today,” Engebretsen said.

Titus hit a trio of threes in the second half. His first three-pointer of the game cut Wasilla’s lead to 23-21 with 2:28 left in the third. The junior hit another three-pointer with 5:02 left in the fourth that gave Palmer a 29-28 lead.

Seniors PJ Cutright and Jared Hawkins also hit key three-pointers for the Moose. Cutright, a 6-foot-3 center, gave Palmer its first lead of the second half, a 24-23 advantage, with a three-pointer from the corner with 1:30 left in the third. Hawkins gave Palmer a 32-30 lead with just more than three minutes left in the game.

“They did a good job of executing. They made play after play after play,” Engebretsen said of the Moose. “Our guys didn’t panic.”

Senior all-state standout Clayton Southwick led Palmer with 11 points in the loss. Reilly Devine said it took a team effort to defend a player like Southwick.

“He’s a great player,” Devine said.

Devine said he walked into the Palmer gym expecting that caliber of game.

“Nothing short of what happened,” Devine said. “It’s always a tough game, especially at Palmer.”

Daniel Headdings led Wasilla with a dozen points in the win. Devine added 10 and senior Jordan Knight pitched in eight.

Both teams continue their big week with games against Colony. Palmer, now 6-3 in Northern Lights Conference play, makes the short trip to Colony High to play the host Knights at 7:30 p.m. Wasilla hosts Colony Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

Wasilla is now 8-1 in the NLC.

Wasilla girls get by Moose

The Wasilla Warriors needed to weather a few storms, and foul trouble, to get past upset-minded Palmer Tuesday night.

Wasilla survived Palmer’s 24-point fourth quarter, and grabbed a 71-62 victory over the Moose at Palmer High School.

Seniors Azlynn Brandenburg and Maclaren Obremski led Wasilla with 17 points each in the win. Junior Olivia Davies added 17 points.

After trailing 15-12 following the first quarter, the Warriors scored a combined 45 points in the second and third quarters. Brandenburg and Obremski scored seven points each in the second, and Davies added eight in the third.

Wasilla led 57-38 heading into the fourth, but three Warriors fouled out during the final quarter.

Palmer junior Abriana Busbey scored 13 of her 21 points during the final quarter to help the Moose cut the Wasilla lead to single digits. Senior Julia Benshetler added 17 points in the loss.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com

Wasilla boys 36, Palmer 35

Tuesday, Palmer High School

Wasilla 10-6-9-11—36

Palmer 12-2-12-9—35

Wasilla (36) — Knight 3 2-2 8, Headdings 4 3-5 12, R. Devine 5 0-2 10, Dudley 1 0-0 2, Milliron 1 2-2 4; Totals: 14 7-11 36.

Palmer (35) — Atkins 4 0-2 9, Titus 2 0-0 9, Hawkins 1 0-0 3, Southwick 4 2-4 11, Cutright 1 0-0 3; Totals: 12 2-6 35.

Wasilla girls 71, Palmer 62

Tuesday, Palmer High School

Wasilla 12-22-23-14—71

Palmer 15-11-12-24—62

Wasilla (71) — Brandenburg 5 5-5 17, Davies 4 7-10 16, Obremski 6 4-7 17, Lawhead 1 2-4 4, Green 4 3-7 11, Titus 2 1-2 5; Totals: 22 22-36 71

Palmer (62) — Busbey 5 9-12 21, Pettingill 1 3-6 5, Uschmann 1 0-0 2, Bowman 3 2-3 9, Geise 1 2-4 4, Benshetler 7 2-4 17, Alley 1 0-0 2; Totals: 19 18-29 62.