Wasilla boys post win over Grace

WASILLA — For a 4A squad, facing one of the top 3A programs in the state provides the best of both worlds.

There’s the chance to play top competition, without the risk of a loss affecting a team’s winning percent index, the formula used to rank teams in Alaska.

“These are great games to play. It’s a win-win situation for us,” Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen said. “It gives us the opportunity to work on some things. If we have an opportunity to schedule a top-notch 3A team, we will.”

On Tuesday, Engebretsen’s Warriors had one of those chances, using a solid second half to score a 49-46 win over Grace Christian, which finished third at the 3A state tournament last season.

“It’s a great test of what we’re doing,” Engebretsen said of the midseason game against the Grizzlies. “We get to come out and play a disciplined team like that, play against a great shooter and a really solid point guard.”

The game begins a midseason nonconference stretch for a Wasilla program that jumped out to a 3-1 start in Northern Lights Conference play. The Warriors follow the win over Grace with three straight games against Cook Inlet Conference programs. Wasilla hosts 15-2 Dimond Friday and travels to Anchorage on Saturday to play at Service, which finished fifth in the state tournament last season. Wasilla returns home to host East Anchorage, last season’s state runner-up, Feb. 12.

“It’ll be huge for us. We play three quality programs,” Engebretsen said of the stretch. “We set the schedule knowing we had the potential to get after it. We really want to play those games, to know what we need to do to win a state championship.”

Engebretsen said playing these types of nonconference games are critical as the Warriors work toward their ultimate goal.

“It’s not a goal of ours just to get to state. We want to go to state and win it,” Engebretsen said. “I feel like in our schedule we’ve got to play a couple of teams we feel like are going to be there.”

Tuesday, Wasilla used Kobe Brown’s 18 points and a solid second-half effort to get past the Grizzlies.

“The second half we went into with a game plan, and stayed strong and aggressive,” Engebretsen said.

Junior Isaac Houck and sophomore Reilly Devine combined for nine third-quarter points to help the Warriors erase a halftime deficit. Devine, who scored all of his eight of his points in the second half, used a rebound and putback with 4:30 left in the third to tie the game at 28. He followed with a pair of free throws to knot the score at 30.

Early in the fourth, Brown went to the basket to give Wasilla the 34-32 advantage.

The Warriors wouldn’t trail again.

Brown netted 11 of his team-high 18 in the fourth quarter. Houck finished with 10 points in the game.

Trevor Osborne, who hit a pair of late threes to keep Grace in the game, led the Grizzlies with 20. Tobin Karlberg added 19.

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

Wasilla 49, Grace Christian 43

Tuesday, Wasilla High School

Grace 15-9-8-14—46

Wasilla 11-10-11-17—49

Grace (46) — Osborne 7 2-3 20, McGovern 3 1-2 7, Karlberg 7 4-4 19; 17 7-9 46.

Wasilla (49) — Brown 7 2-5 18, Heddings 2 3-3 7, Devine 1 6-6 8, Houck 3 4-6 10, Milliron 3 0-0 6; Totals: 16 15-20 49.

3-point field goals: Wasilla 2 (Brown 2), Grace 5 (Osborne 4); Total fouls: Wasilla 9, Grace 16.