Weekend sweep

WASILLA — Palmer senior Christian Odom silenced a loud Wasilla crowd with a game-tying shot during the final seconds of regulation. But that same crowd erupted as junior Braydon Kuiper buried a buzzer-beater to give the Warriors a 51-49 win over the Moose at Wasilla High School on Friday.

“Odom stuck a terrific shot, a 15-foot runner, guarded, he knocks it down,” Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen said of the score that netted the game at 49 with just four seconds left in regulation. “We came down and matched it on the other end with a tough shot.”

With his foot on the three-point line and his eyes on the basket, Kuiper hit an off-balanced long jump shot, putting the ball off the glass and through the basket, at the buzzer. Kuiper and the Warriors had only 2.2 seconds to work when Odom buried his 15-foot runner during the final moments of regulation to tie the score at 49. And with one final opportunity to end the game before overtime, Wasilla junior Connor Devine said — just like all of the players at fans inside the Wasilla High gym — he watched in suspense as Kuiper’s shot arced toward the basket.

“Everything goes still in your mind,” Devine said.

Kuiper’s shot was the exclamation on a back-and-forth game that marked the Northern Lights Conference opener for both teams.

Wasilla did lead by four late in the game, but Palmer senior Sean Niekamp used a rebound and putback to cut the Warriors’ lead to 47-45. On Wasilla’s ensuing possession, Palmer picked off the inbound and Odom posted the layup to tie the score at 47. With 11.9 seconds left, Devine drew a foul and sank a pair of free throws to give the Warriors the two-point lead. But Odom immediately followed with his clutch runner.

Odom and Niekamp, both three-year varsity players, each posted a team-high 13 points for the Moose.

“His group is very seasoned,” Engebretsen said of Palmer head coach Jason Marvel’s squad. “With that many seasoned kids, you know you’re going to get a lot out of them.”

Odom, Palmer’s senior point guard, finished with six field goals in the game, and each seemed to come at a crucial point.

Late in the third quarter, Odom hit a jumper to cut Wasilla’s lead to 28-27. Following a Wasilla five-point run, Odom hit another short jumper to bring the Moose within three.

In the fourth, after Palmer’s Hunter Dean and Trey Fullmer hit three-pointers to help the Moose stay with Wasilla, Odom grabbed a steal and went to the basket to cut the score to 44-43. Odom’s shot would tie the game twice during the final minutes of regulation.

But while the Moose had their share of big shots, Wasilla also continued to hit clutch baskets.

“You’ve got the ups and downs, but you’ve just got to play through,” Devine said.

Senior Wade Stahle hit a pair of fourth-quarter three-pointers and scored half of his 14 points during the final frame. Devine scored 10 in the fourth quarter.

“You’ve got to let players make plays at that point,” Engebretsen said. “That’s what the fourth quarter is about.”

Devine scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second half. The 6-foot-8 junior forward credited his guards for moving the ball into the paint.

“They did a good job, they were looking for (the forwards),” Devine said. “They hit us when we were open.”

He was also 6-for-7 from the free-throw line during the final two quarters.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/matsu_sports.

Wasilla 51, Palmer 49

Friday, Wasilla High School

Palmer 12-9-8-21—49

Wasilla 10-10-12-18—51

Palmer (49) — Odom 6 0-0 13, Looney 1 0-0 2, Dean 3 0-0 9, Straight 2 0-0 5, Buresh 1 0-0 2, Niekamp 6 1-4 13, Fullmer 2 0-0 6; Totals: 21 1-4 51.

Wasilla (51) — Quenga 2 0-0 5, Kuiper 5 0-0 10, Stahle 5 2-4 14, Devine 8 6-7 22; Totals: 20 8-11 51.

Three-point field goals: Palmer 7 (Dean 3), Wasilla 3 (Stahle 2).