The Nikiski boys basketball team won its first two games of the round-robin World Youth Basketball Tournament Makahiki Hou Invitational on Monday.
The Bulldogs topped the Algester Hawks of Australia 53-35 and deToledo High School of West Hills, California, 64-61.
Against Algester, Nikiski trailed 10-8 after the first quarter and 24-16 at halftime. But the Bulldogs dominated the second half, leading 34-27 after the third period.
Hunter Holloway paced the Bulldogs with 14 points, while Nathan Carstens added 12.
The Bulldogs continue play at the tournament with a pair of games today.
Soldotna girls lose in overtime
The Soldotna girls basketball team fell to 1-1 at the So Cal Holiday Prep Classic with a 47-43 overtime loss Monday to San Pasqual High School of Escondido, California. The game was played at The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, California.
SoHi coach Kyle McFall said his squad was down 41-37 with just 25 seconds left, but a full-court press led to baskets by Lindsey Wong and Claire McElroy. The coach said his team even had a shot to win at the end, but missed.
McFall said San Pasqual, which has an enrollment of 2,600, had some really good shooters, and that provided the difference in overtime.
“I’m proud of the development,” McFall said. “It was a frustrating loss, but the fight we showed was great.”
He said McElroy had her best game of the season, approaching double figures in points and rebounds. Brittani Blossom got the Stars going with a late 3-pointer, while Wong scored in double figures and Daisy Nelson did a good job running the offense.
SoHi wraps up the round-robin portion of the tournament today against El Cajon Valley of California at 4 p.m. AST.
Championship play is Wednesday, and McFall said that if things fall right, the Stars could still play for the title in the FIBA Gold Division. The division is one of eight at the 64-team tournament.
Bulldogs 53, Hawks 35
Nikiski 8 8 18 17 —53
Algester 10 14 3 8 —35
NIKISKI (53) — I. Johnson 3 0-0 6, Anderson 1 0-0 2, L. Johnson 1 0-0 2, Kornstad 2 0-0 6, Holloway 7 0-3 14, Tauriainen 1 2-2 5, Carstens 4 2-2 12, Pamplin 2 0-2 4. Totals — 21 4-11 53.
3-point goals — Nikiski 5 (Kornstad 2, Cartens 2, Tauriainen). Team fouls — Nikiksi 19; Algester 8. Fouled out — none.
