SoHi girls, boys notch weekend sweep of Kodiak

The Soldotna boys basketball team swept a pair of Northern Lights Conference games from Kodiak on Friday and Saturday in Soldotna.

Friday, the Stars (7-10 overall, 3-3 in the NLC) nailed five 3-pointers in the first quarter en route to claiming a 60-35 victory over Kodiak.

The Stars went on to make 10 3-pointers in a game they led 22-5 after the first quarter against the Bears (2-15, 0-6). SoHi’s Timmy Smithwick had six 3-pointers in amassing 26 points, while teammate Derek Evans did the dirty work inside for 15 points.

Saturday, the Stars did not hit as many 3s, but still rolled to a 62-32 victory. Soldotna have five 3-pointers, and was able to go 19 of 29 from the free-throw line, compared to Kodiak’s 3 of 8.

Smithwick had 16, while Evans had 13. For Kodiak, Augie Caguing had 14.

On the opening possession of Friday’s game, Eli Sheridan found a soft spot in the Bears’ 1-3-1 zone and buried a trey, and SoHi rolled from there.

“I’m glad they gave us 3s and I’m glad we hit them,” Soldotna coach Mark Tuter said.

Kodiak coach Dave Anderson said he has an inexperienced squad. He said that as the Stars continued to bomb away from the outside, he did not call timeout because he wants his team to learn how to respond to hot shooters.

While Anderson said he was surprised all of the Stars were hitting shots, he wasn’t surprised when Smithwick came off the bench and hit his first two 3-point attempts for a 19-3 lead with 1 minute, 15 seconds, left in the first quarter.

“We moved the ball well against the zone,” Smithwick said. “We moved the ball around the arc and we weren’t settling for shots.”

Anderson was not happy with how aggressively his team was closing out on shooters, and that task was extra tough against Smithwick. The guard said he has found he is actually more accurate a few steps beyond the arc.

“Most players take away the arc, but they don’t think you are shooting when you are a few steps back,” he said.

Tuter said that once those long bombs start falling, it opens up the floor for the rest of the offense, particularly the post moves of Evans.

“He’s got some moves now,” Tuter said of Evans. “He’s been working on it hard.”

On defense, Soldotna started the first quarter with a full-court press. While the press didn’t generate a ton of turnovers, it sped up the game and Kodiak missed those quick shots. Tuter said Caleb Spence had a great night on defense.

“We had 10 shots rattle in and out,” Anderson said. “Those are shots that usually fall. That would have made the score a little closer.”

Kodiak went to a man-to-man in the second half and fared better, as SoHi won the third quarter 17-12 but Kodiak won the half 25-22. Anderson said players like Albert Monge, Wesley Walker and Noah Koller did a good job coming off the bench and adding energy to the man-to-man defense.

Soldotna girls 39, Kodiak 33

The visiting Stars notched an NLC triumph in Kodiak on Friday.

SoHi had the game’s first six points and led by as many as 11 in the first half. Kodiak had three treys in the third and shrunk the deficit to 30-26, but the Stars started the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run.

Claire McElroy and Lindsey Wong had nine for the Stars.

Soldotna girls 51, Kodiak 27

The visiting Stars hit four 3-pointers in the opening quarter to take a 20-7 lead and control of the NLC contest.

Daisy Nelson poured in 20 points for Soldotna, while Wong added 10.

Friday girls

Stars 39, Bears 33

Soldotna 16 6 8 9 — 39

Kodiak 8 7 11 7 — 33

Soldotna (39) — Nelson 2 0-2 4, Miller 1 0-0 3, Schmidt 2 0-0 4, Wong 4 0-1 9, Blossom 1 1-3 3, Brush 1 1-2 3, McElroy 4 1-4 9, Tuisaula 0 0-0 0, Kindred 1 0-3 2. Totals — 17 3-15 39.

Kodiak (33) — Barcelon 0 0-0 0, Fangonilo 5 2-2 13, Hernandez 0 2-4 2, Macatuno 1 0-0 2, Gongora 2 1-2 7, Chia 0 2-2 2, Mutch 1 0-2 2, Matautia 2 0-2 5, Carstens 0 0-0 0. Totals — 11 7-14 33.

3-point goals: Soldotna 2 (Miller, Wong), Kodiak 4 (Gongora 2, Fangonilo, Matautia). Team fouls — Soldotna 14, Kodiak 15. Fouled out — Macatuno.

Friday boys

Stars 60, Bears 35

Kodiak 5 5 12 13 —35

Soldotna 22 16 17 5 —60

KODIAK (35) — A. Caguing 0 0-0 0, Monge 1 0-0 3, Alcaide 2 0-0 4, Bezona 0 0-0 0, Morzo 1 2-4 4, Walker 1 0-0 2, B. Caguing 0 2-2 2, Osowski 4 0-3 8, Rocheleau 3 0-0 8, Mangrobang 1 1-2 4, Koller 0 0-0 0. Totals — 13 5-11 35.

SOLDOTNA (60) — Trammell 0 0-0 0, Kuntz 1 1-2 4, Sheridan 2 0-0 5, McElroy 0 0-0 0, Reutov 0 0-0 0, Casey 1 0-0 2, Spence 1 0-0 2, Dickson 2 0-1 6, Smithwick 8 4-4 26, Evans 4 7-15 15, Kant 0 0-2 0. Totals — 19 12-24 60.

3-point goals — Kodiak 4 (Rochelean 2, Mangrobang, Monge); Soldotna 10 (Smithwick 6, Dickson 2, Sheridan, Kuntz). Team fouls — Kodiak 20, Soldotna 10. Fouled out — none.

Saturday girls

Saturday

STARS 51, BEARS 27

Soldotna 20 9 14 8 — 51

Kodiak 7 7 6 7 — 27

Soldotna (51) — Nelson 9 2-5 20, Miller 0 1-5 1, A, Schmidt 0 0-0 0, Wong 4 2-3 10, Blossom 2 0-0 6, Brush 4 0-0 10, McElroy 0 0-0 0, D. Schmidt 1 0-0 2, Tuisaula 0 0-0 0, Kindred 1 0-4 2. Totals — 21 5-17 51.

Kodiak (27) — Barcelon 1 0-0 2, Fangonilo 6 0-0 13, Villaroya 0 0-0 0, Macatuno 0 0-0 0, Gongora 2 0-0 6, Chia 0 0-0 0, Mutch 1 0-0 2, Matautia 2 0-2 4, Carstens 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 0-2 27.

3-point goals — Soldotna 4 (Blossom 2, Brush 2); Kodiak 3 (Gongora 2, Fangonilo).  Team fouls — Soldotna 9, Kodiak 13. Fouled out — none.

Saturday boys

Stars 62, Bears 32

Kodiak 6 14 5 7 —32

Soldotna 13 18 14 17 —62

KODIAK (32) — A. Caguing 5 0-0 14, Monge 1 0-1 2, Alcaide 2 0-0 5, Bezona 0 0-0 0, Morzo 1 3-5 5, Walker 0 0-0 0, B. Caguing 1 0-0 2, Osowski 0 0-2 0, Rocheleau 1 0-0 2, Mangrobang 0 0-0 0, Koller 1 0-0 2. Totals — 11 3-8 32.

SOLDOTNA (62) — Kuntz 3 0-0 7, Sheridan 1 1-5 3, Casey 3 2-2 8, Spence 2 2-2 7, Dickson 1 2-3 4, Smithwick 4 6-7 16, Evans 3 6-10 13, Kant 2 0-0 4. Totals — 19 19-29 62.

3-point goals — Kodiak 5 (A. Caguing 4, Alcaide); Soldotna 5 (Smithwick 2, Kuntz, Evans). Team fouls — Kodiak 19, Soldotna 10. Fouled out — Bezona.