The Cook Inlet Academy boys basketball team defeated Lumen Christi 47-13 on Saturday in the fourth-place game of the Class 1A state tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.
The Eagles (25-4 overall) went 4-0 against the Archangels this season, but CIA had won just 52-49 in the Peninsula Conference final at Lumen Christi on March 1.
Eagles head coach Ben McGarry said Lumen’s gym is a tough place to play. He also said his team did not shoot well and had foul trouble in the title game.
That was not the case Saturday, as the Eagles led 17-1 after a quarter, 33-3 at halftime and 47-6 after three quarters.
“We came out and shot the ball really well, right from the first possession,” McGarry said. “We had no foul trouble, and played really clean, good defense as well.
“We were on a roll right from the opening tip.”
The Eagles were 13 of 25 from the floor in the first half, while Lumen was 0 for 19.
Cook Inlet Academy loses two seniors after this season. With so much of the team returning, McGarry told his team to focus on next year after a Thursday quarterfinals loss to Minto.
The coach said the Eagles watched a lot of basketball at state and noted the defense of the best teams.
“My dad’s an assistant coach with me and he’s always telling the guys offense sells tickets — people want to see it — but defense wins championships,” McGarry said of his father, Gerry. “It’s true.
“People in the gym want to see you score. They love a fast-paced game. But at this level, you’ve got to be able to lock a team down.”
The coach said his squad did just that Saturday.
“They should have made a couple — just weird bounces that didn’t go in for them,” McGarry said of the Archangels. “It’s odd not to have a field goal for two and a half quarters, obviously.
“So it wasn’t all incredible defense. But on the whole, our defensive intensity and positioning and everything was absolutely outstanding.”
Ian McGarry led the Eagles with 19 points on offense. Coach McGarry said Ian set the tone for the game by scoring the team’s first 11 points of the game.
Alek McGarry added 14 points and coach McGarry said a lot of those came in the second quarter to help carry the team.
Coach McGarry said he was happy to be able to start seniors Nehemiah Barnes and Jeremiah Dillingham.
“Nehemiah is a real hustler,” McGarry said. “He can chase guys around.
“He was out there with the starting group, even though that’s not his usual role. He was in it. He knew what he was doing. He played hard and helped us set a good tone the first couple of minutes.”
Dillingham normally starts for CIA, but was limited Saturday by injury.
“His regions and state play was the best he’s been playing all year,” McGarry said. “So I was happy to see he finished the season on a real high note.”
The Eagles also got 6 from Brandt Rollman, 4 from Matthew Phillips, and 2 apiece from Jonas Oyoumick and Lucas Oyoumick.
For Lumen, Carson Wingate had 6, Kyle Boquet had 3, and Coln Murkowski and Noah Tzvetcoff had 2 apiece.
McGarry said Rollman had a couple of nice moves to the basket. In addition to defense, he said offensive contributions from players other than his sons are what will put the team at another level.
The team is anxious to add to CIA’s state titles in 1999, 2002 and 2005.
“I told them I need a couple of weeks off to regroup and find my life again,” McGarry said. “But they’re like, ‘When is the next open gym?’
“They’re into it.”
McGarry thanked his assistants — his father and Chad Cragg — for all the work they put into the team this season. The coach also said the team’s crowds at state were impressive, especially considering the team played three games at 8 a.m. and another at 9:30 a.m.
