The Homer, Kenai and Nikiski girls, and Homer and Seward boys, advanced to the semifinals after the first day of the Southcentral Conference tournament Thursday at Anchorage Christian Schools.
The girls semifinals will be ACS vs. Homer at 4 p.m. today and Kenai Central vs. Nikiski at 7 p.m. today. The winner of each semifinal gets a berth to the Class 3A state tournament.
ACS topped Seward 74-17, Homer defeated Grace Christian 33-18, Kenai set down Redington 40-33 in overtime, and Nikiski also needed overtime for a 46-43 victory over Houston.
The Bulldogs and Kardinals have already played three times this season — Kenai won 41-29 on Dec. 21, Kenai won 29-27 on Feb. 10 and Nikiski won 41-22 on Feb. 25. Like every other team in the conference, Homer wasn’t able to stick with the Lions at all, losing 71-15 on March 7.
In the girls fourth-place bracket, Seward and Grace play at 9 a.m., and Redington and Houston play at noon. Saturday’s girls schedule is the fourth-place game at 9 a.m., the third-place game at noon and the championship at 4 p.m.
The boys semifinals will be Grace vs. Homer at 5:30 p.m. and ACS vs. Seward at 8:30 p.m., with the winners of each game getting a berth to the Class 3A state tourney.
Grace defeated Nikiski 76-34, Homer edged Houston 48-46, Seward got past Redington 65-49 and ACS topped Kenai 78-50.
Grace defeated Homer 80-48 on March 6, while ACS topped Seward 57-42 on Feb. 21.
In the fourth-place bracket, Nikiski and Houston will play at 10:30 a.m. and Kenai and Redington will play at 1:30 p.m. Saturday’s boys schedule has the fourth-place game at 10:30 a.m., the third-place game at 1:30 p.m. and the championship at 5:30 p.m.
Homer girls 33, Grace Christian 18
The Mariners, the No. 2 seed out of the South, used tight defense to shut down the Grizzlies, the No. 3 seed out of the North. Grace won both of the regular season matchups between the two teams.
Homer led 8-5 after the first quarter, but then allowed a total of just two points in the second and third quarters to take a 24-7 lead. While Homer finished 15 of 33 from the floor, Grace was 6 of 42.
For the Mariners, Laura Inama had nine points, while Rylee Doughty had seven points, Mariana Carroll had six points, Kaylin Anderson had four points, Sailey Rhodes had four points and Mel Morris had three points. Carroll had nine rebounds, while Inama had five steals.
Tessa Binder had 10 points for Grace, but Homer was able to hold the star to 2 of 18 shooting. Also for the Grizzlies, Kennedy Wood had four points, Julia Tanner had two points and Genevieve Trevithick had two points.
Grace Christian boys 76, Nikiski 34
The Grizzlies, the No. 1 seed from the North, cruised past the Bulldogs, No. 4 from the South. Grace also won its only regular season meeting with Nikiski.
Nikiski trailed by 16-9 after the first quarter, but Grace ended any suspense with a 47-13 halftime lead.
Kayden Lamebull-Ingram had 17 for the Grizzlies, while Paul Kopp had 11, Luke Leftner had 11, Andrew Beck had 10, Nathan Ivanoff had nine, Caden Jones had five, Sloan Leftner had four, Jaren Miller had four, Tyler Binder had two and Clayton Jackson had two.
Noah Litke provided almost all of the offense for Nikiski, pouring in 28 points. Michael Mysing added the other six. Brady Bostic added five rebounds for Nikiski.
Kenai Central girls 40, Redington 33, OT
After defeating the Huskies by 12 on March 6, the Kardinals, No. 3 from the South, had to go to overtime to get the job done at the Southcentral Conference tournament against Redington, No. 2 from the North.
Kenai jumped out to an 11-3 lead after the first quarter and an 18-11 lead at the half. By the end of the third quarter, the Huskies cut the gap to 21-20 and then had it tied at 30 at the end of regulation. The Kards were able to win the extra frame 10-3.
Damaris Severson paced Kenai with nine points and 10 rebounds. Kailey Hamilton had eight points, 16 rebounds and seven steals. Also for Kenai, Jaiden Streiff had eight points, Bethany Morris had seven point and Taylor Pierce had two points.
For Redington, Abbie Fuller had 14 points, Lexi Seymore had 11 points and Marian Aparezuk had eight points.
Homer boys 48, Houston 46
After defeating the Hawks 53-44 on Feb. 22, the Mariners, No. 2 from the South, had a much tighter game on their hands this time around against Houston, No. 3 from the North.
Homer led 12-10 after the first quarter, 22-16 at halftime and 39-25 after three quarters. But Houston finished on a 21-9 kick to make things interesting.
Clayton Beachy had 16 points and six rebounds for Homer, while Eyoab Knapp had 10 points and six rebounds, Parker Lowney had seven points, River Mann had six points, Ethan Anderson had five points, Jonathan Raymond had two points and six rebounds and Michael Munns had two points.
For Houston, Hayden Howard had 14 points, Landon Taylor had nine points, Cole Taylor had eight points, Kyle McLaughlin had eight, Tolupo Falaniko had four and Cody Wyrick had three.
Nikiski girls 46, Houston 43, OT
The Bulldogs, the No. 1 seed from the South, were pushed to the limit by Houston, No. 4 from the South.
Nikiski had defeated the Hawks three times in the regular season, each time by 12 points or more.
The Bulldogs led 12-9 after the first quarter and 22-18 at halftime, but the Hawks stormed to a 34-28 lead after three quarters. Nikiski came all the way back to tie the game at 40 as regulation closed, then won the extra frame 6-3.
Lillian Carstens had a monster night for the Bulldogs, pouring in 25 points and collecting 17 rebounds. Kaitlyn Johnson had eight points and 10 rebounds. Also for Nikiski, Shylea Sutton had five, Bailey Epperheimer had four, Kaycee Bostic had two and Alyssa Nunley had two.
For Houston, Emily Bitler had 13, Katie Richey had 11, Denali Whitted had seven, Anna Whitted had seven, Hanna Elson had three and Icis Garcia had two.
Seward boys 65, Redington 49
The Seahawks, the No. 1 seed out of the South, took care of business against Redington, No. 4 out of the North.
Seward grabbed a 16-7 lead after the first quarter and 37-14 lead at halftime to back up a regular season victory over the Huskies.
The Seahawks hit 29 of 65 from the floor in the game, while Redington was 25 of 64.
Seward stayed rested for the semifinals by putting 10 in the scoring column. Bjorn Nilsson had 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Hunter Hollingsworth had 11 points, Sam Koster had nine points, Tommy Cronin had nine points, John Moriarity had eight points, Max Pfeiffenberger had seven, Trey Ingalls had three, Levi Deboard had two, Connor Spanos had two and Justin McMurray had one.
For Redington, Ruben Bond had 17, Wayde Bowman had 13, Jahzeah Williams had five, Cort Sandefur had five and Tony Rogers had three.
ACS girls 74, Seward 17
The Lions, No. 1 from the North, repeated a regular-season blowout of the Seahawks, No. 4 out of the South.
ACS only has one loss this season and has dominated all conference competition.
The Lions outscored Seward 37-7 in the first quarter and did not look back.
For ACS, Sayvia Sellers had 20 points, Destiny Reimers had 18, Adara Powell had 12, Mykaila Pickard had 10, Sarah Sorrells had six, Kelsey Smallwood had four and Sunny Pedebone had four.
For the Seahawks, Katelyn Lemme had six, Shelby Sieminski had five, Hannah Schilling had four and Sequoia Sieverts had two points and seven rebounds.
ACS boys 78, Kenai Central 50
The Lions, No. 2 from the North, got past the Kardinals, No. 3 from the South, to back up a previous victory in the regular season.
The Kardinals were within 18-17 late in the first quarter, but the Lions dominated the second quarter and the game was never close after that.
Evan Stockton had 12 for Kenai, while Andrew Bezdecny had nine, Jordan Kvasnikoff had nine, Maison Dunham had seven, Kayden Daniels had six, Braedon Pitsch had five and Lucas Tunseth had three.
For ACS, Daekwon Houston had 24, while Sean Malinis had 18.
