For the second time in two days, the Soldotna boys hoops team went to overtime, but on this occasion came out with the victory.
The SoHi boys won 66-60 in double overtime Friday over Metlakatla at the Clarke Cochrane Christmas Classic tournament in Ketchikan, making it three overtime periods the Stars have played in two days. SoHi lost 56-54 in Thursday’s overtime contest to Philomath, Oregon.
The win advanced the Stars to Saturday’s fourth-place game against Bishop Blanchet, which defeated Nikiski 57-29.
SoHi junior Jersey Truesdell poured in 35 points for the Stars, including 20 of his team’s 26 points in the fourth quarter after starting with just eight points through three quarters. Truesdell was hot from 3-point land, hitting eight shots from beyond the arc.
Brock Kant also pitched in 17 for SoHi.
Metlakatla broke open a tight game in the third quarter by outscoring SoHi 20-4, giving the Chiefs a 39-24 lead, but the Stars turned up the wick in the fourth by winning the final eight minutes 26-11, forcing OT with things tied at 50-all.
Both teams finished the extra period still tied at 58 apiece before SoHi finished it out with an 8-2 double OT period.
Soldotna girls 61, Thunder Mountain 40
In Friday’s girls bracket, Soldotna won the first girls tournament semifinal over Thunder Mountain, setting up the Stars for Saturday’s championship game against Lathrop, which defeated Ketchikan 58-21 in Friday’s other semifinal.
Ituau Tuisaula and Brittani Blossom used different styles to lead the Stars in scoring, with Tuisaula netting a game-high 24 points on 11 buckets, while Blossom sunk five 3-pointers to finish with 21.
The Stars staked out an early 20-12 lead, then outscored the Falcons 31-13 in the second and third quarters to grab a 51-25 lead entering the fourth.
Bishop Blanchet boys 57, Nikiski 29
The Braves pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Bulldogs Friday at the Clarke Cochrane tournament in Ketchikan.
Bishop Blanchet led 34-23 going into the fourth quarter but outscored Nikiski 23-6 in the final frame to seal the win.
Until then, Nikiski had kept it close, even after Bishop Blanchet won the second quarter 18-2 to grab a halftime lead of 26-10. The Bulldogs outscored the Braves 13-8 in the third quarter to get themselves back in the game.
Noah Litke paced Nikiski with 10 points while Jace Kornstad had eight. Bishop had all 10 of its players reach the scoring column.
Joe Floyd Christmas Tournament
The Ninilchik girls lost twice on Friday at the Kodiak tournament with scores of 47-11 to Bethel and 37-14 to North Pole, both upperclass schools. Bethel competes at the Class 3A level while North Pole competes at 4A.
In boys action, Ninilchik lost 71-25 to Bethel.
Friday boys
Stars 66, Chiefs 60
Soldotna 10 10 4 26 8 8 —66
Metlakatla 9 10 20 11 8 2 —60
SOLDOTNA (66) — Rich 0, Morrison 0, Chumley 8, Truesdell 35, Kant 17, Wells 3, Rosin 0, Michael 1, Denna 2.
METLAKATLA (60) — Hayward 18, Buxton 0, King 8, Beal 3, Casperson 7, Rolando 3, Henderson 0, Hudson 21.
3-point field goals — Soldotna 11 (Truesdell 8, Kant 2, Chumley 1); Metlakatla 6 (Hayward 4, Beal 1, Casperson 1).
Team fouls — Soldotna 20; Metlakatla 20. Fouled out — Rolando.
Braves 57, Bulldogs 29
Nikiski 8 2 13 6 —29
Bishop Blanchet 9 17 8 23 —57
NIKISKI (29) — Mysing 3, Weathers 2, Smith 0, Kornstad 8, Handley 4, Litke 10, DeSiena 2, Gray 0.
BISHOP BLANCHET (57) — Byrne 2, Martin 10, Knowles 2, Sauvale 11, Joynt 4, Prinzivalli 2, Fotopoulos 4, Woodward 11, Korman 4, Moore 7.
3-point field goals — Nikiski 5 (Litke 2, Kornstad 2, Mysing 1); Bishop Blanchet 4 (Woodward 3, Moore 1).
Team fouls — Nikiski 12; Bishop Blanchet 11. Fouled out — none.
Friday girls
Stars 61, Falcons 40
Soldotna 20 13 18 10 —61
Thunder Mountain 12 4 9 15 —40
SOLDOTNA (61) — McGillivray 0, Buckbee 0, Blossom 21, A. Schmidt 4, Bouscher 0, Tuisaula 24, Leadens 0, Crosby-Schneider 6, D. Schmidt 6.
THUNDER MOUNTAIN (40) — Garcia 5, Garcia 4, Traxler 7, Hauck 2, Dilley 2, Lewis 2, Sikes 0, Fenumai 16, Frommhoz 0.
3-point field goal — Thunder Mountain 3 (Fenumai 3); Soldotna 5 (Blossom 5).
Team fouls — Thunder Mountain 10; Soldotna 16. Fouled out — none.
