Friday peninsula hoops roundup

The Soldotna girls kept their opening weekend of basketball rolling Friday night with a dominant 62-29 win over Northern Lights Conference opponent Kodiak at the Powerade/Al Howard Tip-Off tournament. The game did not count as a conference contest.

Brittani Blossom led an experienced lineup with 22 points, including 11 in a second-quarter outburst. Blossom drained four 3s along the way.

In Friday’s other contest, Bethel prevailed over Cordova 37-22.

Stars head coach Kyle McFall said he has called on his squad this opening weekend to play stout defense in order to get a good jump on the season.

“Our main focus is to win our own tournament,” he said. “We have an opportunity to do that (Saturday) night.”

The Stars did well on that goal by holding the Bears to just four made shots in the first half as SoHi grabbed a 20-5 first-quarter lead and a 42-9 lead at the halftime break.

“You can see it, when we play good defense, we get out on transition and grab rebounds, it works well,” McFall said.

SoHi’s defense made life difficult for the Bears in the early going as it forced Kodiak into turnovers and mistakes that resulted in breakaway buckets and second-chance points.

While Blossom was sinking jumpshots and 3-pointers, Ituau Tuisaula was mopping up in the post and finished with 13 points for SoHi.

Blossom’s first two field goals of the game were 3s, and in the second quarter, she scored nine straight points herself.

A triple by Blossom with 3:48 left in the third quarter put SoHi up 53-18, and the Stars pushed the lead to 61-20 after three quarters to force a running clock in the fourth.

Craig Jung Kenai River Challenge

The Nikiski girls earned their second blowout victory in as many days Friday at Kenai Central High School, topping Kenai Central 50-28.

Senior guard Bethany Carstens led the Bulldogs with 19 points, scoring eight in the first quarter. Emma Wik and Kelsey Clark chipped in eight apiece.

Liz Hanson and Brooke Satathite led Kenai’s attack with eight points each and guard Jaycie Calvert added six.

Carsten’s hot start helped Nikiski to a 15-7 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 30-11 advantage at the half.

In the other girls matchup Friday, Houston defeated Kotzebue 40-27.

On the boys side, the Kardinals prevailed 64-58 in overtime Friday over the Bulldogs.

Tied at 50 apiece after regulation, the host Kardinals outscored Nikiski 14-8 in the extra period, thanks to nine free throws.

Kenai junior Evan Stockton made four trips to the foul line in overtime, hitting six of eight to help Kenai clinch the win. Junior Andrew Bezdecny also had a 3-pointer to help matters.

Bezdecny finished with a team-high 19 points for Kenai, while Stockton had 10 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the free-throw line. Also for Kenai, Adam Trujillo scored 13 points and Dominik Efta chipped in 11.

Jace Kornstad paced Nikiski with a game-high 31 points on seven 3s, and Noah Litke added 15. Cody Handley and Michael Mysing both fouled out for Nikiski.

Kenai got off to a fast start, leading 18-9 in the first quarter and 29-22 at halftime, but Nikiski shut out the Kards in the third quarter 14-0, putting the Bulldogs ahead 36-29.

Kenai came back in the fourth quarter on a 21-14 run to tie it and force overtime.

In the other boys game Friday at KCHS, Houston slipped by Kotzebue 36-35.

Cook Inlet Classic

The Nikolaevsk girls defeated host Cook Inlet Academy 52-25 in Friday’s late girls game at the Cook Inlet Classic. The Warriors move to 2-0 at the tourney while CIA falls to 0-2.

Markiana Yakunin had 20 points to pace the Warriors, while Elizabeth Fefelov added 15. For CIA, Adara Warren led the way with 14.

In the boys late game, Nikolaevsk ran past CIA 70-36. The Warriors are 2-0 at the event, while the Eagles are 0-2.

Justin Trail had 22 points, while Zachary and Michael Trail pitched in 16 points apiece. For CIA, Isaac Johnson had 14.

In Friday’s early girls game, Nikiski JV defeated Soldotna JV 34-28, with both teams coming out of the day 1-1 at the tournament

In the early boys game, Soldotna’s C team notched a 53-50 win over Nanwalek as SoHi moved to 2-0 at the tourney and the Eagles dropped to 0-2. Nathan Johnson, who had 13 points, put SoHi up 51-50 with a layup with 1:22 to play, while Brock Wilson hit a pair of foul shots with eight seconds left. Tyler Johnson added 15 for SoHi.

For Nanwalek, Uriah Huntsman had 26 points, while Ben Botero had 11 and Marcus Wilson added 10.

Service Cougar Tip Off

The Homer boys basketball team defeated Redington 47-33 in the consolation bracket of the Service Cougar Tip Off on Friday.

Daniel Reutov had 12 points for Homer, while Japheth McGhee had 11. Wayde Bowman had 13 for Redington.

In the other consolation game, Henry Kowunna had 37 points to lead Point Hope to a 60-58 victory over Seward.

For Seward, Max Pfieffenberger had 18 points, while Connor Spanos and Trey Ingalls had 12 apiece.

Homer and Point Hope play for the consolation prize at 2 p.m. today, while Redington and Seward face off at 10 a.m.

In the girls tourney, Redington topped Seward 26-16. Abbie Fuller had 10 points for Redington, while Riley Von Borstel had six for Seward.

In the other girls game, Homer topped Service 30-19. Marina Carroll had 16 points for the Mariners, while Makala Campbell paced the Cougars with five.

Today, Homer plays Redington at 6 p.m. for the title, while Service and Seward play at noon for third place.

Friday girls

Stars 62, Bears 29

Kodiak 5 4 11 9 —29

Soldotna 20 22 19 1 —62

KODIAK (29) — Avery 11, Taboy 0, Marcelo 6, Pascua 4, Pruitt 4, Bartel 2, Berg 0, Spear 0.

SOLDOTNA (62) — McGillivray 6, Buckbee 0, Leaf 1, Blossom 22, A. Schmidt 2, Bouschor 4, Tuisaula 13, Holland 0, Leadens 0, Crosby-Schneider 8, D. Schmidt 6, Fischer 0.

3-point field goals — Kodiak 1 (Pascua); Soldotna 4 (Blossom 4).

Team fouls — Kodiak 9; Soldotna 10. Fouled out — none.

Bulldogs 50, Kardinals 28

Nikiski 15 15 8 12 —50

Kenai 7 4 10 7 —28

NIKISKI (50) — Jeffreys 4, Wik 8, L. Carstens 3, Bostic 0, Johnson 2, Carstens 19, Clark 8, Druesedow 4, Hooper 0, Reichert 2, Zimmerman 0.

KENAI (28) — Calvert 6, Villegas 0, Pierce 0, Hamilton 2, Maw 2, Hanson 8, Streiff 2, L. Satathite 0, Severson 0, B. Satathite 8.

3-point FG — Kenai 1 (Calvert); Nikiski 2 (L. Carstens 1, B. Carstens 1).

Team fouls — Kenai 19; Nikiski 16. Fouled out — none.

Warriors 52, Eagles 25

Nikolaevsk 16 16 11 9 — 52

CIA 6 10 4 5 — 25

NIKOLAEVSK (52) — Klaich 3, Z. Fefelov 6, Lasiter 1, Yakunin 20, Kalugin 0, J. Fefelov 7, E. Fefelov 15. Totals — 21 7-15 52.

COOK INLET ACADEMY (25) — G. Nelson 0, Henderson 6, Hyatt 0, S. Nelson 0, Dohse 3, A. Nelson 0, Castenholz 2, Cragg 0, Hammond 0, Warren 14. Totals — 11 3-9 25.

3-point goals — Nikolaevsk (Yakunin 2, J. Fefelov). Team fouls — Nikolaevsk 12, CIA 10. Fouled out — none.

Huskies 26, Seahawks 16

Redington 12 7 3 4 — 26

Seward 6 3 4 3 — 16

REDINGTON (26) — Simmons 2, Stoker 0, Lytle 2, Aparezuk 8, Seymore 4, Fuller 10, Reavis 0. Totals — 10 5-9 26.

SEWARD (16) — Dow 0, Lemme 0, Ambrosiana 2, Shilling 0, Von Borstel 6, Sieverts 4, Jackson 2, Sewell 2, Dougherty 0, Casagranda 0. Totals — 6 3-5 16.

3-point goals — Redington 1 (Aparezuk); Seward 1 (Von Borstel). Team fouls — Redington 3, Seward 10. Fouled out — none.

Mariners 30, Cougars 19

Homer 6 12 5 7 — 30

Service 3 5 4 7 — 19

HOMER (30) — Inama 8, Bishop 2, Bales 2, Doughty 1, Todd 0, Parish 0, Carroll 16, Kreger 0, Hetrick 1. Totals — 12 6-17 30.

SERVICE (19) — Crutcher 2, Stoddard 2, Hopson 0, Noethlich 3, Lambert 2, Campbell 5, Pancio 2, Noland 3. Totals — 7 1-11 19.

3-point goals — Service 1 (Campbell). Team fouls — Homer 14, Service 17. Fouled out — none.

Friday boys

Kardinals 64, Bulldogs 58

Nikiski 9 13 14 14 8 —58

Kenai 18 11 0 21 14 —64

NIKISKI (58) — Mysing 6, Weathers 4, Smith 0, Kornstad 31, Handley 0, Litke 15, DeSiena 2, Gray 0.

KENAI (64) — Efta 11, Felchle 6, Baker 5, Bezdecny 19, Stockton 10, Trujillo 13, Pitsch 2, McKibben 0.

3-point FG — Nikiski 11 (Kornstad 7, Mysing 2, Litke 2); Kenai 2 (Bezdecny 2, Trujillo 2).

Team fouls — Nikiski 14; Kenai 14. Fouled out — Handley, Mysing.

Stars C 53, Eagles 50

Soldotna C 16 16 6 15 — 53

Nanwalek 17 10 11 12 — 50

SOLDOTNA C (53) — N. Johnson 13, Matheson 6, Wilson 9, Gibson 0, Sewell 9, T. Johnson 15, Harper 1, Schwartz 0. Totals — 18 10-24 53.

NANWALEK (50) — Botero 11, Tanape 0, Wilson 10, Bales 0, I. Moonin 1, C. Moonin 0, Huntsman 26, Evans 0, Kvasnikof 0. Totals — 22 4-9 50.

3-point goals — Soldotna 7 (T. Johnson 3, Matheson 2, N. Johnson, Sewell). Team fouls — Soldotna 11, Nanwalek 25. Fouled out — Botero.

Warriors 70, Eagles 36

Nikolaevsk 27 20 13 10 — 70

CIA 6 18 4 8 — 36

NIKOLAEVSK (70) — Boquecosa 6, Brown 2, J. Trail 22, Kalugin 8, Z. Trail 16, M. Trail 16. Totals — 29 6-11 70.

COOK INLET ACADEMY (36) — Moos 6, J. Boyd 7, Johnson 14, Cragg 3, Leaf 2, Walsh 1, Anderson 0, Van De Grift 0, Peterson 0, Zeigler 1, E. Boyd 0, J. Boyd 2. Totals — 15 4-9 36.

3-point goals — Nikolaevsk 6 (J. Trail 4, Boquecosa, Kalugin); CIA 2 (J. Boyd, Cragg) Team fouls — Nikolaevsk 12, CIA 16. Fouled out — none.

Harpooners 60, Seahawks 58

Seward 14 10 13 21 — 58

Point Hope 20 16 11 13 — 60

SEWARD (58) — Basalo 0, Spanos 12, Koster 7, Moriarity 4, Cronin 0, Ingalls 12, McMurray 0, Pfieffengerger 18, Jarvis 3, Nilsson 2. Totals — 23 4-13 58.

POINT HOPE (60) — A. Kowunna 0, Cannon 7, Nukapigaq 0, Tuzroyluk 4, H. Kowunna 37, Frankson Jr. 2, Frankson 2, Hill 8. Totals — 24 6-10 60.

3-point goals — Seward 8 (Ingalls 4, Pfieffenberger 3, Koster); Point Hope 6 (H. Kowunna 5, Cannon). Team fouls — Seward 13, Point Hope 14. Fouled out — Moriarity, Cannon.

Mariners 47, Huskies 33

Redington 4 13 12 4 — 33

Homer 10 12 16 9 — 47

REDINGTON (33) — Bowman 13, Rogers 4, Straughn 9, Gunderson 0, Casida 0, Sandefur 7, Spott 0. Totals — 12 6-15 33.

HOMER (47) — Munns 2, Beachy 9, Reutov 12, Raymond 2, Anderson 2, Kuhn 0, McGhee 11, Swoboda 9. Totals — 20 4-7 47.

3-point goals — Redington 3 (Straughn 2, Bowman); Homer 3 (Beachy 2, Swoboda). Team fouls — Redington 9, Homer 16. Fouled out — none.