Wasilla boys split with Juneau

JUNEAU — To the Wasilla Warriors chagrin, the Juneau rain made its way onto the basketball court as the Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears beat Wasilla 57-49 Friday night.

It was raining three pointers in the first half. Juneau guard Kaleb Tompkins started the affair, and Guy Bean joined in the fun from beyond the arc to get the crowd roaring with approval.

“This is kind of the game we’ve been waiting for him to have,” said JDHS head coach Steve Potter of Tompkins. “He didn’t play perfect, but he played with a lot of effort.”

Wasilla’s Zack Garnett took a charge, which seemed to quiet the homecoming crowd for a moment. Bruce Jones intercepted Wasilla’s full-court inbounds pass on the following possession. Juneau took the momentum and ran with it, literally.

Trailing by one point to start the second quarter, Jacob Thibodeau hit two 3-pointers in a row. Speedy Juneau point guard Treyson Ramos hit a step-back jumper from just inside the 3-point line. JDHS would eventually miss, but the damage had been done. Bean hit two more 3-pointers before the half, when Juneau headed to the locker room with a six-point lead. To start the second half, Bean created just enough space to launch a 3-pointer over two defenders outstretched arms, and made the shot, erupting the crowd and his teammates in celebration.

The Warriors played tough defense, but were outmatched by the size of the JDHS forwards and the speed of Ramos, negating Wasilla’s attempt at a full-court press by simply running past them.

Wasilla’s Alex Baham led the Warriors in scoring with 14. Baham hit two 3-pointers and was perfect from the free throw line. Ryen Milliron and Isaac Houck each chipped in 11. Milliron hit 5 of 6 free throws in the second quarter, but that was nearly all the offense that the Warriors could muster up.

Two of Kobe Brown’s three points Friday came in spectacular fashion. Driving to the basket with a full head of steam, Brown elevated over a pair of six-and-a half-foot-tall Juneau forwards, absorbed contact, and put the ball in the basket off glass with his left hand with just over a minute left in the third quarter.

“It’s always tough to come down here. These are great games and it is great competition to prepare you for league games coming up,” said Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen.

The Warriors came out in the fourth quarter determined to cut into the JDHS lead. Baham swished a three-pointer, looking confidently around at his teammates on defense, who would not allow an open shot attempt. Juneau’s Bryce Swofford took the shot attempt that wasn’t open, battling through a foul to make the tough contested layup. Swofford would make the free throw, to the cheers of the student section.

“The guys were excited to back at home and play here in front of the crowd. They made it a really fun environment and our guys feed off of that,” said Potter.

Tompkins added two more 3-pointers for JDHS, but Wasilla’s Houck countered with his own, and the JDHS lead was down to just four points. With a little more than a minute left in the fourth quarter, the Crimson Bears passed up on multiple open looks from behind the arc. The tension in the gym was palpable, with the crowd expecting it to be a 3-pointer that would seal the victory. In the shuffle of defenders, Ramos was left wide open. Catching the pass in stride, Ramos made a running layup off the glass from 10 feet out. Juneau was not prepared to lose on their home court on homecoming weekend.

“Treyson does a lot of things well for us. He does a great job moving up the floor and finding the right man. That was a great play. It gave us the confidence we needed to seal it from there,” Said Potter.

Juneau came into the game averaging better than 62 points per game. Jones was called for goaltending in the second half.

Brown attempted another physically contested layup for Wasilla, but could not make the basket. Juneau sprinted towards victory, extending their lead to 8 when Guy Bean capitalized on the fast break for JDHS.

“That game is really anybody’s game if we don’t make our free throws down the stretch,” said Potter.

Tompkins hit five of six free throws in the fourth quarter.

Juneau 57, Wasilla 49

Friday, Juneau-Douglas High School.

Wasilla 13-11-9-16—49

Juneau-Douglas 12-18-6-21—57

Wasilla (49) — Milliron 2 5-6 11, Trotta-Miriglioad 2 2-3 6, Baham 4 4-4 14, Houck 4 2-4 11, Devine 1 2-2 4, Brown 1 1-2 3.

Juneau-Douglas (57) — Ramos 2 2-2 6, Tompkins 5 5-6 18, Swofford 1 2-5 4, Bean 6 1-2 17, Thibodeau 2 0-0 6, Jones 1 2-4 4, Klein 0 2-3 2.

3-point field goals: Wasilla 5 (Milliron 2, Baham 2, Houck 1) Juneau-Douglas 9 (Tompkins 3, Bean 4, Thibodeau 2).

JUNEAU — Wasilla rebounded with a 49-43 win over Juneau-Douglas in Juneau Saturday night.

Isaac Houck scored 15 points to help the Warriors improve to 2-1 during their three-game stay in Juneau. Alex Baham and Chris Trotta-Mirigliano added 10 each.

Wasilla scored 13 of its 17 fourth-quarter points at the free throw line, hitting 13 of 16 attempts during the final eight minutes. The Warriors were 3 of 6 from the line during the first three quarters combined.

Zach Garnett was 7 of 10 from the line for the Warriors.

Wasilla 49, Juneau 43

Saturday, Juneau

Wasilla 9-9-14-17--49

Juneau 9-12-8-14--43

Wasilla (49) — Milliron 0 1-4 1, Trotta-Mirigliano 4 1-3 10, Baham 3 2-2 10, Garnett 1 7-10 9, Houck 5 4-6 15, Devine 1 2-2 4; Totals: 14 17-27 49.

Juneau (43) — Schultz 1 0-0 3, Ramos 2 0-0 4, Yadao 1 0-0 3, Tompkins 6 0-0 14, Swofford 1 3-3 5, Bean 2 0-0 4, Jones 3 2-2 8, Klein 0 2-2 2; Totals: 16 7-7 43.

3-point field goals: Wasilla 4 (Baham 2), Juneau 4 (Tompkins 2); Total fouls: Wasilla 12, Juneau 22.

Warriors top Thunder Mountain

JUNEAU — Thursday, Wasilla edged Thunder Mountain 56-55 in overtime. Alex Baham was 4 of 4 from the free throw line during the extra period for the Warriors. Isaac Houck added three points in overtime.

Houck was big in the fourth quarter for WHS. He scored six of his team’s 11 fourth-quarter points, and was 4 of 5 from the free throw line in the final period of regulation. Baham led the Warriors with a game-high 20. Houck added 11, and Ryen Milliron chipped in nine.

Wasilla boys 56,

Thunder Mountain 55 OT

Thursday, Juneau

Wasilla 15-8-13-11-9--56

Th. Mtn 16-12-11-8-8--55

Wasilla (56) — Milliron 9, Trotta 1 0-2 2, Baham 6 6-6 20, Garnett 3 0-0 6, Houck 2 7-10 11, Devine 1 0-0 2, Schneider 1 0-0 2, Lee 1 0-0 2; Totals: 20 13-18 56.

Th. Mtn (55) — Uddipa 2 5-6 9, Saviers 3 0-0 6, Manning 7 1-4 16, Calloway 7 0-4 18, Olsen 3 0-0 6; Totals: 22 6-14 55.

3-point field goals: Wasilla 3 (Baham 2), Th. Mtn. 5 (Calloway 4) Total fouls: Wasilla 19, Th. Mtn. 14.