Warriors win Prep Shootout opener

ANCHORAGE -- Thanks in part to a 20-12 run in the second quarter, the Wasilla Warriors overcame an early deficit to defeat the Juneau-Douglas Bears in the first round of play of the 2003 Alaska Prep Shootout at Dimond High School on

Thursday.

The first period of the contest expired with Juneau holding a 14-7 advantage, but the Warriors used key shots from the guards and pivotal rebounds from the post players to gain momentum and surpass the pesky Bears.

"The second (quarter) really brought us back into the ball game," Wasilla head coach Jason Marvel said.

Wasilla's big man in the middle, 7-foot center Ray Schafer, muscled in three shots from under the basket early in the second period to help the Warriors start their run.

Senior point guard Buddy Bailey hit a pair of buckets in the second, and guard Aaron Roth hit a pivotal three late in the second frame to pull the Warriors within a bucket.

In the final ticks of the second period as Wasilla trailed 26-25, Bailey took the ball down the court for the Warriors. The senior pitched the ball off to Roth, who cut in towards the paint and rather than taking the shot, he found Schafer open on the baseline. Schafer proceeded to jam the ball home and give the Warriors the 27-26 lead going into the half.

The Warriors would not trail again.

The Bears kept with their game plan of lofting up the trey to try to keep the game close. The normally potent JDHS shooters were held to just four buckets from beyond the arc.

"We knew they had a shot, we just played our game," Schafer said of Juneau.

"We stick with what we know, what we do best," Marvel added. "I am not one of those who sits around and plans for teams. We just practice what we know."

The Bears' cut the Warrior lead to five late in the game. Bailey hit a pair of consecutive key shots off the dribble to help Wasilla preserve the lead.

"He kept us running smoothly," Marvel said of Bailey. "He was getting good open looks."

The shooting of Bailey and Roth and the play of the Warrior post players, was a combination that Juneau could not overcome.

Schafer, who scored a game-high 19 points, was aided by the efforts of Luke Schafer and Mason Heible in the paint.

Luke Schafer notched not only a key bucket in the fourth quarter but maintained a consistent presence on the glass, both on the offensive and defensive sides of the court.

"Luke really did a great job of stepping up tonight," Marvel said. "We knew he had to be a factor tonight, there was a lot of contact out there."

"Our outside guys were giving our inside guys and opportunity to play their game," Marvel said.

The Bears were able to cut the score to 53-50 with a minute left in the contest.

Cody Schierman registered a steal with 31 seconds left and was immediately fouled. On the ensuing inbounds pass, Schierman dished the ball off to Bailey who took 10 seconds off the clock before he was fouled. Bailey hit both of his free throws to give Wasilla a more comfortable cushion.

Wasilla was able to control the tempo of the contest, turning the ball over only 11 times in the contest.

Schierman registered five assists with only one turnover.

"We valued our possessions," Schafer said.

WASILLA BOYS 57,

JUNEAU-DOUGLAS 50

WASILLA (57) — Schierman 1 2-2 4; Bailey 5 4-4 15; Roth 3 2-2 11; Gray 0 0-0 0; Cunningham 0 0-0 0; L. Schafer 3 0-2 6; Heibel 1 0-0 2; R. Schafer 8 3-7 19. Totals 21 11-17 57.

JUNEAU-DOUGLAS (50) — Henderson 2 2-2 6; Heumann 4 2-2 13; Hura 2 0-0 4; Hamey 3 3-4 10; Ayers 1 1-2 3; Jones 0 0-0 0; Wild 4 0-0 8; Garvey 1 0-1 2; Nelson 2 0-0 4. Totals 19 8-11 50.

Total fouls — Wasilla 15, Juneau 16. Fouled out — None. Three-point goals — Roth 3, Bailey, Heumann 3, Hamey.

Wasilla 5 22 18 12 — 57

Juneau-Douglas14 12 11 13 — 50