Hoops roundup: Buzzer beater keeps Ninilchik boys perfect
The Bethel girls and Ninilchik boys won the Seahawk Classic on Saturday in Seward.
The Wolverines clinched their title with a dramatic 64-63 victory over Valdez on Saturday, with both teams coming into the game at 2-0 in the tournament.
With 4.4 seconds left, Valdez hit one of two foul shots to take a 63-61 lead. After a timeout by Valdez, Landon Colburn drove the length of the floor, took off on one foot behind the 3-point line at the top of the key, and knocked in the running jumper off the glass at the horn for the victory.
Colburn, who stands 5-foot-8, also burnished his legend at the tournament by throwing down his second in-game dunk of the season. Highlights can be found on the Ninilchik High School Basketball Facebook page.
The Wolverines move to 10-0 with the victory. Ninilchik plays at the Class 2A level, while Ninilchik coach Nick Finley said Valdez is one of the top Class 3A teams in the state. In its last five games, Ninilchik has knocked off four Class 3A teams and a Class 4A team.
Lukah Kalugin led Ninilchk with 22 points, while Colburn had 15, Justin Trail had 13, Jaylin Scott had 10 and Cole Moore had six.
Payton Gage paced the Buccaneers with 18 points, while Dillon Fowler had 16.
Also Saturday, the Seward boys got their first win of the tournament by topping Bethel 53-34. Seward moves to 3-9.
The Seahawks led 26-14 at halftime and 45-22 after three quarters.
Tommy Cronin had 16 for the Seahawks, while Bergen Davis and Ozzy Deal had 10 apiece. Also for Seward, Nick Ambrosiani and Ben Ambrosiani each had seven, and Noah Price had three.
Madden Cockroft paced Bethel with 14.
In girls action Saturday, Bethel defeated Seward 53-39, with both teams coming into the game at 2-0 in the tournament. Seward had a five-game winning streak snapped to fall to 5-7.
Bethel led 31-27 entering the fourth quarter before a 22-12 finishing kick.
Ava Lieb led the Warriors with 14 points, while Kate Smith had 12 and Bryn Garrison added 11.
For Seward, Shelby Sieminski had 20, Lena Jagielski had 10, Hannah Schilling had four, Robin Cronin had three and Hailey Ingalls had two.
Also Saturday, the Valdez girls topped Ninilchik 51-23 as the Wolverines fell to 3-10. Carsyn Hinkle led Valdez with 13.
For Ninilchik, Riley Tucker had 11, Rian Ofstad had six, Autumn Calabrese had three, Rebecca Okonek had two and Zoya Fefelov had one.
Friday, the Seward girls defeated Valdez 25-14. The Seahawks had a 10-0 lead after the first quarter, 14-4 lead at the half and 20-6 lead after three quarters.
Shelby Sieminski paced Seward with 12 points, while Lena Jagielski had eight, Hannah Schilling had three and Hailey Ingalls had two.
For Valdez, Carsyn Hinkle, Carlie VanBuskirk and Momoe Togaga’e had four, and Ambrosia Woodgate chipped in two.
Also Friday, the Valdez boys defeated Seward 49-36. Valdez led 19-9 after a quarter, 29-20 at the half and 43-30 after three quarters.
Payton Gage had 17 points to lead Valdez, while Dillon Fowler had 12, Dennis Mott had eight, Bryce Tucker and Hunter Matthews had five, and Nick Alfaro had two.
For Seward, Tommy Cronin poured in 19. Ozzy Deal had nine, while Kupono Albino had five, Berger Davis had two and Ben Ambrosiani had one.
In the early girls game Friday, the Bethel girls defeated Ninilchik 46-22. The Warriors led 14-5 after a quarter, 26-12 at the half and 37-12 after three quarters.
For Bethel, Ava Lieb pumped in 13 points, while Bryn Garrison and Allie Alexie each had 10. Payton Boney added six, while Isabel Lieb had three, and Fiona Phelan and Kate Smith each had two.
For Ninilchik, Rian Ofstad had seven, Rebecca Okonek had five, Zoya Fefelov had four, Taylor Rickard and Dakotah Buhr each had two, and Riley Tucker had one.
In the early boys game, the Ninilchik boys defeated Bethel 93-55. The Wolverines were well on pace to score over 100 through three quarters. Ninilchik led 29-20 after the first quarter, 57-31 at halftime and 83-43 after three quarters.
Lukah Kalugin poured in 25 for the Wolverines, while Jaylin Scott had 20, and Landon Colburn and Cole Moore had 14 apiece. Rowan Mahoney added seven for Ninilchik, while Blake Lemons had five, and Justin Trail and Wyatt McCloskey each had four.
For Bethel, Peter Crow had 20, Greg Turner had 15, Madden Cockroft had 12, Paul Dyment and Mason Fitka each had three, and Jordan Leinberger had two.
Homer girls 61, Kenai 40
The host Mariners hit seven 3-pointers in a Saturday Peninsula Conference victory. Homer moves to 2-2 in the league and 5-5 overall, while Kenai is 0-2 and 9-6.
Homer led 22-14 after a quarter, 31-24 at halftime and 45-32 after three quarters.
Sydney Shelby had three 3-pointers on the way to 19 points, while Kaylin Anderson also had three treys on the way to 11. Also for Homer, Delilah Harris had nine, Mel Morris had seven, Olivia Glassman, Hannah Stonorov and Sophie Ellison each had four, and Bethany Engebretsen had three.
For Kenai, Emma Beck had 11, Logan Satathite had 10, Erin Koziczkowski had six, Amber Nash had four, Denali Bernard had three, and Riley Sparks, Malerie Nunn and Emilee Wilson each had two.
Homer boys 61, Kenai 47
The host Mariners notched a Peninsula Conference victory Saturday behind 28 points from Carter Tennison. Homer is 2-2 in the league and 6-6 overall, while Kenai drops to 0-2 and 3-11.
Homer led 18-11 after the first period, 34-24 at halftime and 44-34 after three quarters.
Tim Hatfield added nine points for the Mariners, while Peyton Edens had eight, Noah Irons had five, Ryan Carroll had four, Braeden Huffman had three, and Lance Seneff and Theo McDonough each had two.
For Kenai, Jakob Kvasnikoff poured in 22, while Eli McCubbins had eight, Bridger Beck had seven, Ky Calvert had three, Wade James, Luke Armstrong and Caleb Litke had two, and Joe Hamilton had one.
Grace girls 57, Nikiski 28
The visiting Grizzlies topped the Bulldogs on Saturday in Peninsula Conference play as Nikiski dropped to 0-3 in the league and 0-12 overall.
The leading scorers for Grace were Sophie Lentfer with 18, Ella Boerger with 14 and Kai Waythomas with 12.
For the Bulldogs, Kinlee Jeffreys led the way with 10, while Maggie Grenier had five, Savanna Stock, Ember Nelson, Kandance Jeffreys, Kailey Stynsberg and Emma Weeks had two, and Brooke Abel had one.
Grace boys 61, Nikiski 33
The visiting Grizzlies cruised past the Bulldogs on Saturday in Peninsula Conference play as Nikiski dropped to 1-2 in the league and 6-10 overall.
Luke Lentfer had 21 points to lead the Grizzlies, while Caden Nanninga added 17.
For the Bulldogs, Isaiah Daniels led the way with 12, while Brady Bostic had six, Simon Grenier and Charlie Chamberlain had four, Braeden Porter, Dillon Hansen and Drew Handley had two, and Levi Anderson had one.
Grace girls 48, Homer 40
The visiting Grizzlies topped the Mariners in Peninsula Conference play Friday to drop Homer to 1-2 in the league and 4-5 overall.
Grace led 15-6 after the first quarter, 25-19 at halftime and 36-28 after three quarters as the Grizzlies battled some foul trouble.
Ella Boerger poured in 20 points for the Grizzlies, while Sophie Lentfer had 14, Kai Waythomas had 10 and Reagan Lash had four.
For Homer, Sydney Shelby had 14, Delilah Harris had 10, Mel Morris had eight, Sophie Ellison had six and Hannah Stonorov had two.
Grace boys 55, Homer 37
The visiting Grizzlies won in the Peninsula Conference on Friday as Homer fell to 1-2 and 5-6.
Grace led 20-12 after a quarter, 35-22 at halftime and 42-28 after three quarters.
The leading scorers for Grace were Sloan Lentfer with 13 points and Luke Lentfer with 11.
For Homer, Carter Tennison had 16, while Peyton Edens had 14, Braden Huffman had four, Ryan Carroll had two and Noah Irons had one.
Lady Lynx Tournament
The Soldotna girls took seventh place at the Lady Lynx Tournament in Anchorage on Saturday with a 54-22 victory over Service. Soldotna moved to 5-10 overall with the victory.
Kaitlyn McAnelly had 14 to lead the Stars, while Ellie Burns had nine, Adarra Hagelund and Katelyn Morrison had eight, Jolie Widaman had five, Montana Fischer had four, Moegan Lemm had three and Tanner Inman had two.
Eden Hopson paced the Cougars with 13 points.
Friday, the Stars lost to West Valley 36-24.
West Valley led 10-2 after the first quarter, 21-7 at halftime and 32-11 after three quarters.
Alysha Peter had 13 to pace West Valley, while Lisa Strom had 11, Kadence Brinkman had nine, Kameryn Bartlett had two and Kaila Druck had one.
For the Stars, Katelyn Morrison had seven, Kaitlyn McAnelly had six, Ellie Burns had five, Jolie Widaman had four and Montana Fischer had two.
Nenana Invitational Tournament
The Cook Inlet Academy girls and boys both finished up play in the Nenana Invitational Tournament on Saturday by falling in the fifth-place games.
The CIA girls fell 29-19 to Tri-Valley to drop to 4-8 overall.
CIA trailed 9-6 after the first quarter, but led 12-11 at halftime. Tri-Valley then had a 19-14 lead after three quarters.
Ayla Walker paced Tri-Valley with 16 points. For the Eagles, Tatum Rozak had seven, Hope Hillyer had seven and Kaitlyn Liles had five.
Also Saturday, the Eagles boys lost to Susitna Valley 48-40 to fall to 4-6 overall. CIA trailed 18-2 after the first quarter and 33-8 at halftime.
The top scorers for the Rams were Bryson Jolly with 19 points and Triston Shelby with 14 points.
For CIA, Abraham Henderson had 16, Ian McGarry had 13, James Boyd had five, Austin Sorhus had four and Jeremy Dillingham had two.
Friday, the CIA girls defeated Northway 55-36.
The Eagles jumped to an 18-7 lead after a quarter and led 32-18 at halftime.
Tatum Rozak poured in 37 points for the Eagles, while Hope Hillyer had 13, Kaitlyn Liles had three and Rebekah Dillingham had two.
Talise Frank led Northway with nine.
Also Friday, the Eagles boys toppled Northway 57-33. The game was tied at 11 after the first quarter, but CIA led 32-20 at halftime and 44-24 after three quarters.
James Boyd had 25 for the Eagles, while Ethan Boyd had 17. Abraham Henderson had six, while Ian McGarry had five and Jeremy Dillingham had four.
Seth Sam’s 10 points led Northway.
Thursday, the Eagles boys had lost to Hooper Bay 50-47. Hooper Bay led 17-11 after a quarter, 32-22 at halftime and 41-30 after three quarters.
Jesse Nanuk paced Hooper Bay with 16, while Latrell Lake had 15.
For CIA, Ethan Boyd had 18, James Boyd had 14, Jeremiah Dillingham had seven, Abraham Henderson had six and Ian McGarry had two.
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