Grizzlies fall to Bulldogs

The Nikiski Bulldogs did a bit of bear baiting Friday night.

First, the Nikiski High School girls basketball team overcame an eight-point deficit to defeat the Grace Christian Grizzlies 55-51 in a District 3/3A game at Nikiski.

Then, the Nikiski boys put a week's worth of philosophizing into action, beating the Grizzlies 63-53.

"We've really been focusing on valuing the ball," explained Nikiski boys coach Reid Kornstad. "On offense, valuing what it can do for us, and respecting the ball on the defensive end and how it can hurt us.

"The transition style we like to play can get us a lot of possessions, but sometimes we don't value those possessions."

The Nikiski boys did their best to make the most of every possession, particularly in the second half of Friday's game. After Grace started fast in the first quarter, forcing Nikiski to play catch-up, the Bulldogs opened the third quarter with a six-point run to take a 32-24 lead.

Jeremiah Taylor closed out the third quarter by knocking down a 3-pointer, then hitting for two to give the Bulldogs a 45-39 lead heading into the final frame, and Nikiski scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter to solidify its lead.

Grace made a late run with a trapping defense, but it wasn't enough to catch the Bulldogs.

"Coach told us at the beginning of the week about valuing the ball," said Nikiski's Miles Jorgensen, who finished with 14 points. "We just attempted to keep the ball with us the whole time, get good shots off and keep them out of the paint on defense. We did a good job of that, and we came out with a win."

Taylor finished with a game-high 33 points while Kevin Epperheimer chipped in with eight. Chris Curren and Billy Anderson each scored four points for the Bulldogs.

Tim Ingalls led the Grizzlies with 23 points.

"Grace came ready to play and ready to take it to us," Kornstad said. "They really challenged us to match their intensity.

"We felt like if we could match their intensity (at the start of the second half), if we could just keep executing, things would start going our way."

The Grizzlies opened the game with a seven-point run, but Nikiski was able to battle back as Taylor completed a four-point play, sinking a 3-pointer while being fouled and nailing the ensuing foul shot, to pull the Bulldogs to within a point, 11-10. Taylor then gave the Bulldogs a 12-11 lead with a put-back for two points with just under three minutes left in the first quarter.

Grace quickly jumped back into the lead and stayed there for much of the second quarter until Epperheimer sank a 3-pointer with seconds left in the quarter, giving Nikiski a 26-24 halftime lead.

The Nikiski girls also had to play from behind Friday, coming back from a first-half deficit to beat the Grizzlies.

"I'm proud of our composure," said Nikiski coach Ward Romans. "In the second half, we did a great job taking care of the basketball and rebounding. Those are things we're focusing on they're really important come tournament time."

Nikiski trailed by two, 25-23, at the half. Lynzie Ellis pulled Nikiski even three minutes into the third quarter with a 3-pointer, tying the game at 28, and the Bulldogs were able to mix an effective press with a patient offense and some great second-chance points to take a 40-36 lead by the end of the quarter.

Grace was able to come up with a couple of steals in the closing minutes of the game, but the Grizzlies had trouble converting them into points and Nikiski held on for the win.

Romans said he was especially pleased with the play of Krystal Gladden, who did well battling in the paint both offensively and defensively, as well as Sasha Auldridge, who contributed 10 points, frequently driving the lane from her guard position.

Sarah Herrin led the team with 20 points, and Ellis knocked down 12 for the Bulldogs.

"We had a lot of players hit big shots. That diversity helped us," Romans said, adding that Grace was using a defense designed to slow down Herrin. "The kids did a great job of recognition and were patient while we got the quality shots we wanted."

Katelyn Perry led the Grizzlies with 18 points while Rachel Daly and Shayla Moll each scored 12.

Girls

BULLDOGS 55, GRIZZLIES 51

Grace 11 14 11 15 51

Nikiski 9 14 17 15 55

GRACE CHRISTIAN (51) Marchuk 1 0-0 2, Daly 4 2-2 12, Sailors 3 0-0 7, Perry 9 0-0 18, Moll 6 0-2 12, Mack 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 2-4 51.

NIKISKI (55) Salonen 1 1-2 3, Ellis 4 2-2 12, Gladden 1 0-0 4, Griffel 0 0-0 0, Auldridge 4 2-4 10, Thompson 1 2-2 6, Herrin 8 3-4 20, Hitchcock 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 10-14 55.

3-point goals Grace 3 (Daly 2, Sailors), Nikiski 3 (Ellis 2, Herrin). Total fouls Grace 10, Nikiski 8. Fouled out none.

BULLDOGS 63, GRIZZLIES 53

Grace 18 6 15 14 53

Nikiski 14 12 19 18 63

GRACE CHRISTIAN (53) Ingalls 10 2-6 23, Edmunds 1 0-2 3, Gugel 2 0-0 4, Tegerdine 2 1-2 6, Lewis 2 0-0 5, Perry 5 0-0 10, Hale 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 3-10 53.

NIKISKI (63) Jorgensen 6 2-5 14, Curren 2 0-0 4, Taylor 12 6-7 33, Epperheimer 3 0-1 8, Anderson 2 0-0 4, McGahan 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 8-11 63.

3-point goals Grace 4 (Ingalls, Edmunds, Tegerdine, Lewis), Nikiski 5 (Taylor 3, Epperheimer 2). Total fouls Grace 14, Nikiski 6. Fouled out none.

Nikiski girls 38, Heritage 26

Sarah Herrin pumped in 13 points Saturday as the Bulldogs picked up a District 3/3A victory in Nikiski.

BULLDOGS 38, EAGLES 26

Heritage 10 0 5 11 26

Nikiski 12 6 7 13 38

HERITAGE (26) Stuart 1 0-0 2, Bertolini 0 1-2 1, A. Millar 0 0-2 2, Sutherland 2 0-0 4, S. Millar 2 2-4 6, Berlin 2 2-2 6, Hanks 2 0-0 5. Totals 10 5-10 26.

NIKISKI (38) Salonen 0 0-0 0, Ellis 2 0-0 4, Gladden 3 1-2 7, Griffel 1 0-0 3, Auldridge 3 2-4 9, Thompson 1 0-0 2, Herrin 6 1-1 13, Hitchcock 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 4-7 38.

3-point goals Heritage 1 (Hanks 1); Nikiski 2 (Griffel 1, Auldridge 1). Team fouls Heritage 6, Nikiski 9. Fouled out none.

Heritage boys 63, Nikiski 51

Jared Reando poured in 25 points Saturday to lead the Eagles to a District 3/3A victory in Nikiski.

The Eagles, who are the top team in the district and the No. 4 Class 3A team in the state, took control early, posting a 40-22 lead at halftime.

Jeremiah Taylor paced Nikiski with 18 points, while Keven Epperheimer had 12 points and Miles Jorgensen added 11.

EAGLES 63, BULLDOGS 51

Heritage 24 16 13 10 63

Nikiski 11 11 7 22 51

HERITAGE (63) Whitener 1 0-2 2, Baldwin 1 0-0 2, T. Millar 2 1-2 5, Miessner 3 2-2 9, T. Millar 0 2-2 2, Gutierrez 0 4-4 4, Kauffman 1 1-2 3, Ridgeway 3 5-6 11, Reando 12 1-1 25. Totals 23 16-21 63.

NIKISKI (51) Jorgensen 3 3-10 11, Curren 2 0-0 4, Taylor 8 0-0 18, Epperheimer 4 0-0 12, Anderson 1 1-2 3, McGahan 1 1-2 3. Totals 19 4-14 51.

3-point goals Heritage 1 (Miessner 1); Nikiski 8 (Epperheimer 4, Jorgensen 2, Taylor 2). Team fouls Heritage 15, Nikiski 13. Fouled out none.