Wasilla boys squash rally, grab OT victory

PALMER — Welcome back Cameron Brown.

After missing four games due to injury, the Wasilla junior guard hit the game-tying free throw to force overtime and scored five of his game-high 28 points during the extra period to lead the Warriors to a 70-59 win over the Kenai Kardinals during the Northern Lights Conference Championships quarterfinals Thursday evening at Colony High School.

“It felt really good, really good to play with my teammates again,” said Brown, who suffered a concussion at Soldotna about two weeks ago.

Brown was forced to watch from the sidelines as his team won three of its last four games to earn the No. 3 seed in the NLC tourney. But Thursday, Brown was at the free throw line with his team trailing by one point with nine seconds left in regulation. Brown missed the first free throw, but drained the second to tie the game at 55 and force overtime.

“It was the biggest relief of my life,” Brown said.

Kenai, which trailed by double-digits during the second half, took its first lead of the final two quarters with 20 seconds left in regulation. Kenai’s Josh Jackman got the basket and drew the foul. The basket tied the score at 54, and Jackman completed the three-point play with the free-throw to give his team the 55-54 lead.

Brown was charged with the foul.

Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen said it was big for Brown to be called for the foul on Kenai’s go-ahead play, and then turnaround and tie the game for his team.

“He’s a junior who’s made a ton of plays for me. As soon as that happened, we just made eye contact. He knew what I wanted. He knew that he was going to have to try to make a tough shot, and he didn’t shy away from it. He knew that without having to have a two-minute conversation,” Engebretsen said.

In the final seconds, Brown drove the lane, put up a shot and drew the foul that set up the free-throw attempts.

Brown also sparked Wasilla early in overtime, driving to the basket to provide the first score of the extra period. He followed a Stone Krueger bucket with a three-pointer to spark a 7-1 Wasilla overtime run.

Alex Baham hit another three-pointer to push Wasilla’s lead to nine.

“That was big. That gave us energy,” Brown said of the Wasilla shots on the offensive end.

Kenai trailed by 10 points heading into the final quarter, but clawed back into the game.

“They definitely played a good game. We kind of came out lackadaisical in the second half,” Brown said.

Miles Jones helped spark the Kenai rally with a pair of big three-pointers in the fourth. Jackman scored seven of his team-high 16 in the fourth quarter.

Jones hit his first three with 5:11 left to cut Wasilla’s lead to 47-44. His next three-pointer came after Wasilla had extended its lead back to eight points.

The Jones three-pointer was the beginning of a 7-1 Kenai run that was capped by a Trevor Shirnberg three-pointer.

The Shirnberg three came with 1:05 left in regulation and cut Wasilla’s lead to 54-52.

Engebretsen said Kenai, 0-10 during the regulation season, played his team very tough.

“It’s regions. It doesn’t matter what you do throughout the entire season. Everyone shows up to play. Everyone gives a great game in this first round. That’s what makes our region terrific,” Engebretsen said.

With the win, Wasilla moves forward to play second-seeded Kodiak Friday at 3:15 p.m. in the semifinals. Kenai will cap its season in the consolation game at 11:45 a.m.

Wasilla 70, Kenai 59 OT

NLC quarterfinals

Thursday, Colony High

Kenai 12-11-11-21-4—59

Wasilla 14-14-16-11-15—70

Kenai (59) — Thiesen 4 0-1 11, Shirnberg 4 2-4 10, McKee 5 0-2 12, Jackman 5 5-6 16, Foree 1 0-0 2, Jones 2 0-0 6; Totals; 22 7-13 59.

Wasilla (70) — Brown 9 8-11 28, Carney 1 0-0 3, Krueger 3 1-2 10, Baham 2 2-4 7, McGregor 3 6-7 12, Houck 1 0-0 2, Burns 3 2-4 8; Totals: 23 19-28 70.

3-point field goals: Kenai 8 (Thiesen 3), Wasilla 5 (Brown 2); Total fouls: Kenai 23, Wasilla 15.