The Nikolaevsk boys basketball team wrapped up the Cook Inlet Classic title at Cook Inlet Academy in early and convincing fashion Friday, defeating Kodiak ESS and then Cook Inlet Academy.
The Warriors girls followed with another tournament crown Saturday by finishing off a 3-0 run through the tournament that was identical to the boys.
The Warriors boys capped Friday by topping the Eagles 77-33. Nikolaevsk led 24-4 after the first quarter with press and transition game that was too much for the Eagles to handle.
“They make a lot of mistakes, but they make up for them with energy and effort,” Nikolaevsk coach Steve Klaich said of his squad. “I’m happy they played hard from the beginning of the game to the end.
“They’re an athletic group, but there’s still a lot of things they need to work on. But with the intensity, effort and teamwork, it’s looking good.”
CIA head coach Ryan McMilin said Friday was a learning experience for his young club. Last season, the Eagles saw presses like the one Friday, but it was graduates Brady Hammond and Noah Leaf breaking them.
McMilin liked the third quarter, where CIA outscored Nikolaevsk 12-10.
“We came out in the second half and decided we were going to put our noses in there a little more than in the first half,” McMilin said. “In the first half, they were acting like they’d never seen a press before. They did, they just weren’t the ones breaking it.”
McMilin had a ton of respect for Nikolaevsk coming into the season, and the display by the strong and quick team Friday did nothing to change his opinion.
“It was a team thing,” Klaich said. “Everybody played well and everybody played together. It’s something any coach would have been thrilled with.”
Kalenik Molodih paced the Warriors with 22 points, while Sage Stanish had 12 and Isaak Fefelov and Zachary Trail had 10 points apiece.
Hunter Moos had 10 points before fouling out for CIA. McMilin also mentioned the play of freshman Isaac Johnson, who had nine steals Thursday and continued with his gung-ho play Friday.
Earlier Friday, Nikolaevsk topped Kodiak ESS 69-28.
Michael Trail led a balanced attack with 14 points, while Zachary Trail had 11 and Kosta Nikitenko added 10.
Mason Mullan paced Kodiak ESS with 10.
Nikolaevsk girls 54, Soldotna C 43
The Warriors led 13-8 after one quarter and 24-22 at halftime. Nikolaevsk then outscored the Stars 12-7 in the third quarter and 18-14 in the fourth quarter.
Markiana Yakunin paced the Warriors with 19 points, while Elizabeth Fefelov had 15 and Justina Fefelov had 11.
Drysta Crosby-Schneider had 13 points to lead the Stars.
Nanwalek boys 52, CIA 29
Uriah Huntsman poured in 33 points to lead Nanwalek on Saturday.
Nanwalek finished 2-1 at the tournament, while CIA was 0-3. Hunter Moos and Isaac Johnson each had 10 points for CIA.
Nikiski JV girls 34, CIA 7
The Bulldogs finished 2-1 at the tournament by defeating the short-handed Eagles on Saturday.
For Nikiski’s JV, Bailey Epperheimer, Angela Druesdow and Jada Glaves each had eight points.
Adara Warren had six points for CIA.
Nikolaevsk girls 40, CIA 17
The Nikolaevsk girls jumped out to an 18-4 lead on the way to victory Friday.
The first quarter featured the Warriors leaning on their press and transition game. After that, Nikolaevsk coach Bea Klaich wanted her team to focus on running the half-court offense against Cook Inlet Academy’s zone.
“We see zone all year long,” Klaich said. “I’m glad they ran zone against us.”
The Nikolaevsk girls also got quite the challenge from CIA’s Adara Warren, who had 15 of her team’s 17 points.
“She’s a good player,” Klaich said of Warren. “My defense had a really hard time stopping her and my help defense was not as good as I hoped it would be. They’re definitely an up-and-coming team. It’s good to see.”
After taking last season off, the Eagles program returns this season and had five players Friday. Coach Josh Hawley said the Eagles are taking it one step at a time and that he saw some good things Friday.
“In just two weeks of practice, it’s not easy to go all the way back to the fundamentals,” Hawley said. “I wish I had more like two months to get ready. We just have to keep building and building.”
For Nikolaevsk, Markiana Yakunin led the way with nine points.
In the other Friday girls game, Nikiski’s JV topped Soldotna’s C team 33-27. Angela Druesdow had 16 points to lead the Bulldogs.
Nanwalek boys 63, Kodiak ESS 18
The Eagles received 29 points from Uriah Huntsman in cruising past Kodiak ESS on Friday.
Marcus Wilson added 11 for Nanwalek, while Isaiah Bales had 10.
Friday boys
Warriors 69, Kodiak ESS 28
Kodiak ESS 6 10 9 3 — 28
Nikolaevsk 21 19 13 16 — 69
KODIAK ESS (28) — Kalmakoff 0 0-0 0, Inga 3 1-2 9, Peterson 0 0-0 0, Tr. Amodo 1 0-0 2, Bircher 1 2-5 4, Te. Amodo 0 0-0 0, Reft 0 0-0 0, N. Lind-Charliaga 0 0-0 0, Mullan 3 2-2 10, R. Lind-Charliaga 0 0-0 0. Totals — 9 5-9 28.
NIKOLAEVSK (69) — Boquecosa 3 0-3 6, Molodih 4 0-0 9, Fefelov 3 1-2 8, Jackson 0 0-0 0, Stanish 4 0-2 8, Yakunin 1 0-0 3, Kalugin 0 0-0 0, Nikitenko 5 0-0 10, Z. Trail 5 1-2 11, M. Trail 7 0-0 14. Totals — 32 2-9 69.
3-point goals — Kodiak ESS 5 (Inga 2, Mullan 2, Te. Amodo); Nikolaevsk 2 (Molodih, Yakunin) Team fouls — Kodiak ESS 5, Nikolaevsk 9. Fouled out — none.
Eagles 63, Kodiak ESS 18
Kodiak ESS 5 4 6 3 — 18
Nanwalek 17 24 14 8 — 63
KODIAK ESS (18) — Kalmakoff 0 0-0 0, Inga 0 0-0 0, Petterson 0 0-0 0, Tr. Amodo 3 0-4 6, Bircher 1 1-3 3, Te. Amodo 4 0-2 9, Reft 0 0-0 0, N. Lind-Charliaga 0 0-0 0, Mullan 0 0-0 0, R. Lind-Charliaga 0 0-0 0. Totals — 8 1-8 18.
NANWALEK (63) — Demas 3 3-6 9, Wilson 5 1-2 11, Bales 5 0-0 10, Jimmy 2 0-0 4, Huntsman 14 1-5 29. Totals — 29 5-13 63.
3-point goals — Kodiak ESS 1 (Te. Amodo). Team fouls — Kodiak ESS 10, Nanwalek 7. Fouled out — none.
Warriors 77, Eagles 33
Nikolaevsk 24 15 10 29 — 77
CIA 4 13 12 4 — 33
NIKOLAEVSK (77) — Boquecosa 1 0-0 2, Molodih 10 1-4 21, I. Fefelov 4 0-0 10, Jackson 1 0-0 2, Stanish 6 0-1 12, Yakunin 1 0-0 2, Kalugin 2 0-0 6, Nikitenko 3 0-1 6, Z. Trail 5 0-0 10, M. Trail 3 0-0 6. Totals — 36 1-6 77.
COOK INLET ACADEMY (33) — Moos 5 0-0 10, Johnson 3 0-2 6, Cragg 1 0-0 3, Walsh 0 1-2 1, Anderson 0 0-1 0, Boyd 3 0-0 6, Peterson 0 0-0 0, Leaf 3 0-0 7. Totals — 15 1-5 33.
3-point goals — Nikolaevsk 4 (Fefelov 2, Kalugin 2); CIA 2 (Cragg, Leaf). Team fouls — Nikolaevsk 11, CIA 10. Fouled out — Moos.
Friday girls
Warriors 40, Eagles 17
Nikolaevsk 18 4 6 12 — 40
CIA 4 6 2 5 — 17
NIKOLAEVSK (40) — S. Klaich 1 0-0 3, K. Klaich 3 0-2 6, Z. Fefelov 1 0-2 3, Kain 1 0-0 3, Lasiter 1 0-0 2, Yakunin 2 4-4 9, Brown 0 0-0 0, Mametieff 1 0-0 2, J. Fefelov 2 0-0 4, Hickman 0 0-0 0, E. Fefelov 4 0-0 8. Totals — 16 4-8 40.
COOK INLET ACADEMY (17) — Delon 1 0-0 2, Cizek 0 0-2 0, Hammond 0 0-0 0, Warren 7 1-3 15, Cragg 0 0-0 0. Totals — 8 1-5 17.
3-point goals — Nikolaevsk 4 (S. Klaich, Z. Fefelov, Kain, Yakunin). Team fouls — Nikolaevsk 7, CIA 8. Fouled out — none.
Saturday girls
Warriors 54, Stars C 43
Nikolaevsk 13 11 12 18 — 54
Soldotna C 8 14 7 14 — 43
NIKOLAEVSK (54) — S. Klaich 2 0-0 5, K. Klaich 1 0-3 2, Z. Fefelov 1 0-0 2, Kain 0 0-0 0, Lasiter 0 0-0 0, Yakunin 6 4-5 19, Brown 0 0-0 0, Mametieff 0 0-0 0, J. Fefelov 5 0-0 11, Hickman 0 0-0 0, E. Fefelov 6 3-10 15. Totals — 21 7-18 54.
SOLDOTNA C (43) — Cook 1 0-0 2, Bouschor 4 0-2 8, Leadens 3 0-1 6, Hilton 0 0-0 0, Fischer 1 0-2 2, McElroy 1 1-2 3, Crosby-Schneider 6 1-6 13, Houser 4 1-2 9. Totals — 20 3-15 43.
3-point goals — Nikolaevsk (Yakunin 3, S. Klaich, J. Fefelov). Team fouls — Nikolaevsk 16, Soldotna 19. Fouled out — K. Klaich, S. Mametieff, Crosby-Schneider.
Bulldogs JV 34, Eagles 7
Nikiski 4 6 18 6 — 34
CIA 2 0 1 4 — 7
NIKISKI (34) — Reichert 2 0-0 4, Hooper 0 0-0 0, S. Epperheimer 0 0-0 0, Zimmerman 2 0-0 4, B. Epperheimer 4 0-3 8, Druesdow 4 0-0 8, Glaves 4 0-2 8, Fardin 1 0-0 2. Totals — 17 0-5 34.
COOK INLET ACADEMY (7) — Delon 0 0-0 0, Hyatt 0 0-0 0, Cragg 0 0-0 0, Hammond 0 1-2 1, Warren 3 0-2 6. Totals — 3 1-4 7.
3-point goals — none. Team fouls — Nikiski 3, CIA 5. Fouled out — none.
Saturday boys
Nanwalek 52, CIA 29
Nanwalek 13 9 18 12 — 52
CIA 6 9 6 8 — 29
NANWALEK (52) — Demas 4 1-3 9, Wilson 4 0-1 8, Bales 1 0-1 2, Jimmy 0 0-0 0, Huntsman 15 3-7 33. Totals — 24 4-12 52.
COOK INLET ACADEMY (29) — Moos 5 0-2 10, Johnson 5 0-0 10, Cragg 0 0-0 0, Walsh 1 1-4 3, Anderson 0 0-0 0, Boyd 1 0-2 2, Leaf 2 0-0 4. Totals — 14 1-8 29.
3-point goals — none. Team fouls — Nanwalek 10, CIA 16. Fouled out — Anderson.
Nikolaevsk’s Kristin Klaich shoots on Cook Inlet Academy’s Emilee Cragg and Anna Cizek on Friday, Dec. 15, 2017, at Cook Inlet Academy. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Cook Inlet Academy’s Adara Warren drives on Nikolaevsk’s Elizabeth Fefelov on Friday, Dec. 15, 2017, at Cook Inlet Academy. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Cook Inlet Academy’s Hunter Moos battles Nikolaevsk’s Randy Boquecosa and Isaak Fefelov for a loose ball Friday, Dec. 15, 2017, at Cook Inlet Academy. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikolaevsk’s Chris Jackson drives on Cook Inlet Academy’s Lucas Cragg on Friday, Dec. 15, 2017, at Cook Inlet Academy. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
