The No. 3-seeded Grace Christian boys basketball team defeated No. 6 Seward 51-30 on Wednesday in the Class 3A state basketball tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.
Seward (19-8) now must win twice to take fourth place at the tournament. The Seahawks face No. 7 Houston at noon Thursday to try and stay alive in the tournament.
Houston lost 55-39 to No. 2 Nome-Beltz on Wednesday. The Seahawks lost 62-49 to the Hawks on Feb. 17.
Seward struggled on offense in falling to 0-4 this season against the Grizzlies, the defending 3A state champ. The Seahawks were not able to score 10 points in any quarter.
The game was tied at 8 after the first quarter, but Grace led 25-17 at the half and 39-25 after three quarters.
“We were down at halftime, but we were feeling pretty decent about where we were,” Seward head coach Al Plan said. “We knew we were going to have to step up our level to stay with them down the stretch.
“In the third quarter, we did that for a little while, but they just take advantage of any mistakes that you make. And they don’t make very many of them themselves.”
Seward’s Emerson Cross cut the gap to 31-25 with a 3-pointer in the third quarter, but the Grizzlies then went on a 10-0 run to take control of the game.
“They’re a great team,” Plan said. “They’re well coached. When they’ve got the lead, they know how to hold on to it.”
The Seahawks had 18 turnovers to Grace’s 11, and the Grizzlies had 16 points off of turnovers to Seward’s 2.
The Grizzlies had the height advantage, so the Seahawks rebounded well in losing that battle 33-30. Seward was 13 of 45 from the floor, though, while Grace was 21 of 51.
Nick Ambrosiani had 10 points for the Seahawks, while Ben Ambrosiani had 9 points and 8 rebounds. Also, Bergen Davis had 8 and Emerson Cross had 3.
For Grace, Ashton Clarkson and Kellen Jedlicka — the Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year — had 11, while Bristol Tobin had 9, Robbie Annett had 8, Henry Beck had 7, Royce Rock had 3 and Brayden Clarkson had 2.
Seward was playing at state for the first time since 2013, the same year the Seahawks last defeated conference rival Grace.
