Wasilla boys move into state title game

ANCHORAGE — Last season, Wasilla stood one win away from the 4A state title game, but the Soldotna Stars squashed the Warriors hopes for a trip to the championship with a victory over Wasilla in the semifinal round.

On Tuesday, once again, the Warriors found themselves just a single win away from the title game and, once again, Soldotna was standing in their way.

But Wasilla wasn’t going to let history repeat itself.

Wasilla posted a 49-46 overtime win over the Stars during the ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Basketball Championships semifinals at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.

“We didn’t want to be in the same position we were last year,” Wasilla senior Cody Pfeifer said. “We just wanted to step up and win this game, and go to the championship.”

Wasilla overcame a fourth-quarter deficit and a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Soldotna senior Boomer Blossom that forced overtime to advance to its third state title game since 2003.The Warriors trailed 31-30 heading into the fourth and had to watch as their late 42-39 lead instantly disappeared when Blossom hit an off-balance three-pointer from the top of the arc as regulation time expired. But Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretesen said, despite the adversity, faith proved to be the difference for his players.

“The ultimate thing I can say about this group, I wasn’t worried about them when they were down in the fourth quarter or going into overtime because they have faith in each other,” said Engebretsen, who will guide his group into a final match against West Anchorage Wednesday at 9:15 p.m at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. “They have faith in each other from top to bottom. Faith has been our motto.”

Sophomore Connor Devine scored five of his 12 points in overtime to help the Warriors grab the win. After Blossom his three free throws during two trips to the line during the extra period to give the Stars the 45-44 advantage, junior Corey Mock found Devine underneath and the 6-foot-7 post finished to give the Warriors the 46-45 lead.

Blossom hit another free throw to tie the game at 46, but Devine found one more chance to shine.

With the scored tied, Wasilla guard Joel Quenga moved the ball inside to Devine, who went to the basket, got the bucket and drew the foul. Devine hit the free throw to complete the three-point play.

Soldotna has one final shot at tying the game, but Pfeifer got a finger on Blossom’s deep trey as time ran out in overtime.

The Stars, who will play Colony in the third-place game Wednesday at 1 p.m., played in its second consecutive overtime game and third since the Northern Lights Conference Championships. Soldotna edged defending state champion Dimond in double-overtime on Monday. The Stars suffered an overtime loss to Colony in the NLC semifinals earlier this month.

Soldotna head coach Matt Johnson said his team — which lost five seniors from last year’s state runner-up team — simply refuses to die.

“We’re like a cat with nine lives,” Johnson said. “We love these kind of situations and the kids make big plays.”

While Soldotna has to settle for a third-place match, Wasilla can now focus on a date with 4A power West Anchorage in the state title game. The Warriors made history with a win over West last year, becoming the first eight-seed to knock off a top team in the first round of an ASAA-sanctioned boys tourney. But the Warriors know Wednesday will bring different challenges.

“We’ll just think about what they have now,” Pfeifer said. “Rebound, play defense and take it one possession at a time.”

Wasilla 49, Soldotna 46 OT

4A boys' semifinals

Tuesday, Sullivan Arena

Wasilla 15-7-7-13-7—49

Soldotna 8-18-5-11-4—46

Wasilla (49) — Mock 2 0-0 4, Kuiper 4 0-1 8, Stahle 0 0-1 0, Pfeifer 6 4-5 16, Devine 5 2-4 12, Ford 3 0-1 6; Totals: 21 6-12 49.

Soldotna (46) — Story 2 2-3 5, Blossom 8 5-8 26, Carver 0 1-2 1, Stichen 3 2-4 8, Bosick 1 3-4 5; Totals: 15 13-21 46.

3-point field goals: Wasilla 1 (Stahle 1), Soldotna 5 (Blossom 5); Rebounding: Wasila 38 (Devine 8), Soldotna 28 (Blossom 5); Assists: Wasilla 8 (Mock 6), Soldotna 7 (Story, Withrow 2); Total fouls: Wasilla 17, Soldotna 18.