The Kenai Central girls and Ninilchik boys basketball squads both lost close games Tuesday at the 50th annual Joe Floyd/Ravn Alaska Winter Classic tournament in Kodiak.
The Kenai girls lost to host team and Northern Lights Conference opponent Kodiak 30-27, while the defending Class 1A state champion Ninilchik boys fell behind in the fourth quarter of a 63-53 game to West Valley, a 4A school.
The tournament’s honoree, Joe Floyd, taught and coached at Kodiak from 1955 to 1981, including basketball, wrestling and baseball.
The Kardinal girls held the Bears to just two points in the opening quarter, but then allowed 12 in the second, leading to a 14-all tie at halftime. In the second half, Kodiak eked out a slim 20-19 lead heading into the fourth quarter, where they held on for a close win over Kenai.
Zenna Chia led the Bears with 12 points, while Brooke Satathite hit seven buckets to lead Kenai with 15 points.
In the boy affair, the two sides were tied up 18 apiece after one quarter, then Ninilchik (2-2 overall) outscored West Valley (3-2) 13-3 in the second frame to seize a 31-21 halftime advantage. The Wolverine’s lead shrunk to 44-36 at the end of the third quarter, and West Valley surged in the fourth to take the lead, outscoring Ninilchik 27-9 to win the game.
“We just ran out of gas,” said Ninilchik coach Nick Finley. “They’re a 4A school, they’re bigger than us and deeper than us, and we weren’t able to execute down the stretch.”
After upsetting 4A opponent Soldotna 39-37 earlier in the season, Finley said he felt like Tuesday’s game against West Valley was winnable, especially after holding a fourth-quarter lead.
“It hurts me because I know we should’ve won that game,” he said. “I felt like we were the better team, but it came down to little mistakes we made.”
Tyler Presley led the Wolverines with 19 points, while teammate Dalton Geppert chipped in 17 and Matthew Bartolowits had 11. Ninilchik big man Austin White was limited to a single field goal and three points.
Ninilchik will face host team Kodiak today at 6 p.m., while the Kenai girls will play West Valley at 1 p.m.
Following the news that the Wrangell boys team backed out of the tournament, a plan was made to have the Kodiak alumni team compete. The Ninilchik boys, who were scheduled to play Wrangell on Thursday, will now play either the Kodiak alumni team or hold a scrimmage with the Kodiak JV team.
Other scores Tuesday included the Fort Pierce, Florida, girls beating West Valley 45-26, and the Kodiak boys toppling the Kodiak Alumni 67-64.
Tuesday girls
BEARS 30, KARDINALS 27
Kenai 6 8 5 8 —27
Kodiak 2 12 6 10 —30
Kenai (27) — Miller 0 0-0 0, Coghill 0 0-0 0, Machen-Gray 0 0-0 0, Wilson 0 0-0 0, Calvert 3 1-3 8, Carrasco 2 0-0 4, Satathite 7 1-4 15. Totals — 12 2-7 27.
Kodiak (30) — Dela Cruz 1 0-0 3, Bushell 2 1-3 5, Cruz 0 0-0 0, Macatuno 2 0-0 4, Mutch 2 1-2 5, Chia 4 4-6 12, Kernan 0 0-0 0, Nocon 0 1-4 1. Totals — 11 7-15 30.
3-point goals — Kenai 1 (Calvert), Kodiak 1 (Dela Cruz). Team fouls — Kenai 14., Kodiak 7. Fouled out — Coghill.
Tuesday boys
WOLFPACK 63, WOLVERINES 53
Ninilchik 18 13 13 9 —53
West Valley 18 3 15 27 —63
Ninilchik (53) — Presley 7 5-7 19, Koch 0 0-0 0, Geppert 7 2-2 17, Clark 0 0-0 0, Bartolowits 4 1-2 11, Mumey 1 0-0 3, Adams 0 0-0 0, White 1 1-2 3. Totals — 20 8-12 53.
West Valley (63) — Whiteside 5 2-2 14, Fields-Colbert 2 0-0 6, Mingo Jr. 5 4-6 16, Wintrey 4 2-4 11, Garcia 1 0-0 2, Stickel 0 0-0 0, Ward 1 1-2 3, Davis 0 0-0 0, Campbell 0 0-0 0, Keeton 0 1-2 1. Totals — 19 17-26 63.
3-point goals — Ninilchik 5 (Bartolowits 3, Geppert, Mumey), West Valley 7 (Whiteside 2, Fields-Colbert 2, Mingo Jr. 2, Winfrey). Team fouls — Ninilchik 16, West Valley 14. Fouled out — none.
