The Kenai Central boys hoops team couldn’t survive a comeback by Ketchikan in a 62-52 nonconference loss Thursday on the opening day at the O’Brady’s Invitational at South High School.
The Ketchikan boys orchestrated a massive rally to topple Kenai in what turned out to be a 26-point swing in the third and fourth quarters. Kenai took charge early and led 33-20 at halftime. By the early minutes of the second half, the Kardinals had bolstered their lead to 16 points.
From there, Ketchikan caught fire and closed the gap to 41-33 after the third quarter, and took the lead by the midway point of the fourth quarter. Overall, the Kings outscored the Kards 29-11 in the final frame. It also helped that the Kings also converted 15 of 19 free throws.
The Kings were spurred by the 19 points scored by Jason James, a game high. Kings teammate Isaac Johnson had 13 and Matt Standley notched 11.
Garrett Fitt led the way for Kenai with 14 points, while Marshall Vest added 10. Josh Jackman and Taylor Landry chipped in eight points each.
Kenai suffered from cold shooting in the second half as well. After shooting 59 percent from the floor in the first half, the Kards dropped to 35 percent in the second. Ketchikan, on the other hand, shot 43 percent in the first half and 53 percent in the second.
The loss dropped the Kenai boys to 5-6 overall this season.
WARRIOR RUMBLE
The Nikolaevsk and Wasilla C teams split, while Nenana swept Alak, Thursday in the opening day of play at the round-robin ConocoPhillips/Warrior Rumble in Nikolaevsk.
The Nikolaevsk boys stormed to a big 74-36 victory over Wasilla C, getting 27 points from Felemon Molodih.
Nikolaevsk, which led 37-15 at the half, also received 18 points from Nikit Fefelov and 10 points from Neil Gordeev.
Jacob Gilbert paced Wasilla C with nine points.
The Wasilla C girls team ran away from Nikolaevsk in the second half for the 56-33 victory.
Nikolaevsk led 9-8 after one quarter and trailed 23-19 at the half. But Wasilla took control with a 16-5 third quarter.
Cheyenne O’reen had 13 points for Wasilla C, while Kalycia Hodge and Colleen Haan had 12 points apiece and Breanna Drorbrough added 10.
For Nikolaevsk, Megan Hickman had a game-high 14.
In the early games, the Nenana girls defeated Alak 55-35. Angel Brown had 13 for Nenana, while Raquell Bartel-Salas and Araya Stoffa each had 11. For Alak, Kai Nashoukpuk had 18.
The Nenana boys won 58-35. Jerome Salas paced the Lynx with 23 points, while Darin Morny had 13 and Chris Jerue added 11. For Alak, Katuk Danik had 12 and Anthony Sarren added 10.
In tournament action today, the Wasilla C girls face Nenana at 2:45 p.m., the Wasilla C boys face Nenana at 4:15 p.m., the Nikolaevsk girls face Alak at 5:45 p.m. and the Nikolaevsk boys face Alak at 7:45 p.m.
Saturday, the Alak girls play Wasilla C at 9 a.m., the Alak boys play Wasilla C at 10:30 a.m., the Nikolaevsk boys face Nenana at noon and the Nikolaevsk girls face Nenana at 1:30 p.m.
Cordova Tipoff
Palmer swept North Pole on the opening day of the Cordova Tipoff, while Ninilchik and Cordova split.
The Ninilchik girls notched a 46-33 victory over Cordova. Cordova led 11-9 after the first quarter, but Ninilchik won the second quarter 13-5 and third quarter 15-4.
Olivia Delgado and DeeAnn White had 13 apiece for the Wolverines, while Jordan Finney added 11. Diane Felix had nine for Cordova.
The Cordova boys pulled out a 58-57 victory over Ninilchik.
Cordova was 4 of 8 from the free-throw line, while Ninilchik was 10 of 23.
Dalton Geppert had 14 for Ninilchik, while Austin White had 12 and Tyler Presley had 10.
The Palmer girls topped North Pole 64-28, while the Palmer boys defeated North Pole 63-51.
Tuesday girls
Wasilla C 56, Nikolaevsk 33
Wasilla C 8 15 16 17 —33
Nikolaevsk 9 10 5 9 —33
WASILLA C (33) — Hodge 4 4-6 12, Badger 1 0-0 2, Drorbrough 3 3-4 10, Haan 4 4-7 12, Gilbert 0 0-0 0, O’reen 6 1-4 13, Crawford 2 0-0 5, Moore 1 0-0 2, Nagl 0 0-0 0. Totals — 21 12-21 56.
NIKOLAEVSK (33) — S. Klaich 0 0-0 0, K. Klaich 0 0-0 0, Yakunin 0 0-0 0, Johnson 3 0-0 6, E. Fefelov 0 0-0 0, V. Fefelov 1 0-1 2, Mametieff 1 0-1 2, Kalugin 2 3-7 7, N. Gordeev 1 0-0 2, E. Gordeev 0 0-0 0, Hickman 5 3-5 14. Totals — 13 6-14 33.
3-point goals — Wasilla C 2 (Drorbrough, Crawford), Nikolaevsk 1 (Hickman). Team fouls — Wasilla C 14, Nikolaevsk 16. Fouled out — none.
Ninilchik 46, Cordova 33
Ninilchik913159—46
Cordova115413—33
NINILCHIK (46) — Delgado 6 1-3 13, Sinclair 1 2-3 4, Goins 2 1-2 5, White 6 1-2 13, Finney 5 1-1 11, Clark 0 0-0 0. Totals — 20 6-11 46.
CORDOVA (33) — Bourgeios 1 0-0 3, Hoepfner 2 0-0 4, Malazzo 0 0-0 0, Tabava 0 0-0 0, Navaro 0 1-2 1, Felix 3 0-0 9, Martinez 0 0-0 0, Phillips 2 2-4 6, Mattson 0 0-0 0, Butler 2 4-6 8, Peeldes 1 0-2 2. Totals — 11 7-14 33.
3-point goals — Cordova 4 (Felix 3, Bourgeios). Team fouls — Ninilchik 8, Cordova 15. Fouled out — Phillips.
Tuesday boys
Nikolaevsk boys 74, Wasilla C 36
Wasilla C 10 5 8 12 —36
Nikolaevsk 17 20 20 17 —74
WASILLA C (36) — Gilbert 4 0-0 9, Kauffman 1 2-2 5, Campbell 2 0-2 4, Jones 0 0-0 0, Shaw 0 0-0 0, Koval 1 2-4 4, Fuller 2 0-0 5, Horwath 1 0-0 3, Waygle 1 4-5 6. Totals — 12 8-13 36.
NIKOLAEVSK (74) — Boquecosa 0 0-0 0, K. Molodih 3 0-0 6, G. Trail 1 0-0 2, Yakunin 0 0-0 0, N. Fefelov 6 3-4 18, Gordeev 5 0-0 10, F. Molodih 12 3-6 27, J. Fefelov 2 0-0 5, M. Trail 1 0-0 2, Kalugin 2 0-0 4. Totals — 32 6-10 74.
3-point goals — Wasilla C 4 (Gilbert, Kauffman, Fuller, Horwath), Nikolaevsk 4 (N. Fefelov 3, J. Fefelov 1). Team fouls — Wasilla C 7, Nikolaevsk 9. Fouled out — none.
Kings 62, Kardinals 52
Ketchikan 11 9 13 29 —62
Kenai 14 19 8 11 —52
KETCHIKAN (62) — Lee 0 0-0 0, James 7 5-7 19, Standley 3 2-2 11, Smith 1 0-0 3, Bauer 0 1-2 1, Bullock 2 2-2 6, Johnson 4 4-4 13, Bonck 4 0-0 8, Tut 0 1-2 1. Totals — 21 15-19 62.
KENAI (52) — Ta. Landry 3 2-2 8, Ivy 2 1-1 6, Vest 4 0-0 10, Brazell 0 0-0 0, Tr. Landry 0 0-0 0, Tuttle 0 0-2 0, Jackman 3 1-2 8, Beiser 3 0-0 6, Fitt 5 -4 14, Dye 0 0-0 0. Totals — 20 7-11 52.
3-point goals — Ketchikan 5 (Standley 3, Smith, Johnson), Kenai 5 (Vest 2, Ivy, Jackman, Fitt). Team fouls — Ketchikan 12, Kenai 14. Fouled out — none.
Cordova 58, Ninilchik 57
Ninilchik6101520—57
Cordova10141321—58
NINILCHK (57) — A. Koch 0 0-0 0, Appelhanz 0 0-0 0, Presley 2 6-8 10, G. Koch 3 0-0 8, Geppert 6 0-7 14, Brandt 3 1-3 7, Bartolowits 0 0-1 0, Mumey 0 0-0 0, Adams 0 0-0 0, White 4 3-4 12. Totals — 18 10-23 57.
CORDOVA (58) — Castillo 0 0-0 0, Muma 2 0-1 5, Songer 3 4-4 11, Hamberger 0 0-0 0, Sjostedt 6 0-2 12, Jewell 4 0-0 8, Plant 4 0-1 8, Gillespie 0 0-0 0, Jimenez 0 0-0 0, Werner 5 0-0 14. Totals — 24 4-8 58.
3-point goals — Ninilchik 5 (Presley 2, Geppert 2, White); Cordova (Werner 4, Muma, Songer). Team fouls — Ninilchik 18, Cordova 23. Fouled out — Presley, Jewell.
