The Nanwalek and Ninilchik basketball teams picked up victories at state, while the Soldotna girls and boys lost at the Northern Lights Conference tournament in prep action Thursday.
Ninilchik, the No. 1 seed in the Class 2A state tourney at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage, defeated No. 8 Hooper Bay 73-34 in the first round. The Wolverines move to tonight’s 6:15 p.m. semifinal against No. 4 Unalakleet, which defeated No. 5 Petersburg 43-36.
In the Class 1A state tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center, No. 13 Nanwalek defeated No. 12 Napaaqtugmiut 56-46 in the consolation bracket. Nanwalek takes on No. 8 Newhalen today at 8 a.m. in the consolation semifinal.
In the NLC tourney at Palmer, the No. 5 Soldotna girls lost 42-40 to the No. 4 Moose. The Stars play No. 6 Kodiak, which lost to No. 3 Colony 78-30, to stay alive for fourth place at 10 a.m. today. The girls semifinals are No. 1 Anchorage Christian Schools and Palmer at 1:30 p.m., and No. 2 Wasilla and Colony at 5 p.m.
The No. 6 Soldotna boys lost to No. 3 Palmer 57-50. The Stars play No. 5 Wasilla, which lost to No. 4 ACS 75-72, to stay alive for fourth place at 11:45 a.m. today. The semis are No. 1 Colony vs. ACS at 3:15 p.m. and No. 2 Kodiak vs. Palmer at 6:45 p.m.
Ninilchik boys 73, Hooper Bay 34
The Wolverines got off to a strong start and didn’t look back in moving to 24-0 overall.
Head coach Nick Finley said his squad hit its first six or seven shots of the game, using defense to take control of the contest. The Wolverines led 24-12 after the first quarter and 47-20 at halftime.
“That full-court pressure is something else when you go against it,” Finley said. “We forced the other team into 17 turnovers in the first half, and we were able to capitalize on a lot of those.”
Finley said Landon Colburn was a big factor in the game.
“Landon controlled the tempo from the very beginning,” Finley said. “He had some full-court passes, knocked down a couple 3s, got to the rack and his defense was incredible.”
Colburn finished with 19 points, hitting 7 of his 12 shots. He had nine steals and four assists.
Also for the Wolverines, Cole Moore and Lukah Kalugin each had 13 points, Jaylin Scott had 10 points, Justin Trail had nine points, Blake Lemons had seven points and Wyatt McCloskey had two points.
Ninilchik shot 51% from the floor, while Hooper Bay was at 31%.
For Hooper Bay, Latrell Lake had 11 points, Jerome Nukusuk and Jesse Nanuk each had seven, Mykell Tall had five, and Bill Tinker and Cimium Bunyan had two.
Nanwalek boys 56, Napaaqtugmiut 46
Playing in the first state tournament in school history, the Eagles now have their first victory.
“It means we’re partying up here and having a blast,” Nanwalek head coach Kevin Seville said of the historic victory. “They’re making friends and getting notoriety. It’s significant for our community and for our program.
“For some of these young men, this is the end of the line. I hope they can absorb it all and enjoy it.”
Seville said he is continuing to focus on the team keeping the community in mind. Specifically, the team is thinking about Millie Peterson, a community member who died recently.
“We can hear her cheering from the gates of heaven,” Seville said.
The coach also wants the current players to remember all the former players who paved the way for this opportunity.
Against Napaaqtugmiut, which is located in Noatak, Seville said free throws made a big difference.
“We did better free-throw-wise than we have in the past,” Seville said. “I’m proud of the boys. We practiced free throws after regions. I wanted to make sure we executed better at the charity stripe, so we practiced every day.”
Sean Moonin, Matthias Evans, Tikhon Kvasnikoff, Alexander Jimmy, Cruz Kvasnikoff and Julius Kvasnikoff brought the Eagles victory.
Seville said he has seen Newhalen play. He said Newhalen is scrappy and likes to press, so the ballhandling of Moonin and Tikhon Kvasnikoff will be important.
Palmer girls 42, Soldotna 40
A big comeback in the fourth quarter came up just short for the Stars.
The Moose jumped to an 11-3 lead after the first quarter and then led 25-12 at the half and 33-19 after three quarters. Soldotna then went on a 21-9 run in the final quarter, hitting four 3-pointers, to come up just short of the upset.
The Stars (9-14 overall) had lost twice in the regular season to Palmer by 19 and 14 points.
Katelyn Morrison, Tanner Inman and Josie Sheridan all had 10 points for the Stars, while Ellie Burns had four, Kaitlyn McAnelly had three, Montana Fischer had two and Sadie Lane had one.
For Palmer, Livia Solis had 12, Paige Marshall had nine, Lily Anderson had eight, Larkin Christiansen had five, Kylie Henry and Alyssa Clark had three, and Grace Pickett had two.
Palmer boys 57, Soldotna 50
The Moose were able to hold off the Stars in the fourth quarter by holding onto the ball and hitting foul shots.
Palmer grabbed an 18-14 lead after the first quarter, a 32-23 lead at halftime and 41-34 lead entering the final quarter.
The Moose topped the Stars (9-17 overall) for the third time this season.
Arin Mathis paced Palmer with 16 points, while Evan Rothenbuhler had 11, Kael Galliher and Elzavier Bradley had eight, Antonio Sheldon had six, and Gavin O’Brien and Chad Landon each had four.
For Soldotna, Jakob Brown poured in four 3-pointers on the way to a game-high 17 points. Maleda Denbrock added 14, while Zac Buckbee had eight, Ethan Sewell had five, Andrew Pieh had four and Will Inman had two.
