Kenai boys come up short of state berth

The Kenai Central boys basketball team nearly overcame a 20-point deficit, but fell 63-53 to Palmer in the game for third place at the Northern Lights Conference tournament at Homer on Saturday.

Palmer earns the NLC's third and final seed to the Class 4A state tournament, while Kenai Central's season ends.

"Overall, obviously, we are disappointed. Two years in a row we have been a game away from state and we haven't been able to get it done," Kenai Central coach Ken Felchle said. "But the boys didn't quit and I'm very happy with how much growth took place. From the basketball standpoint, we know we got better. And as young men, I know those boys became better young men."

The Kardinals dug themselves a big hole, falling behind 32-12 at halftime. The lead was 18 entering the fourth quarter, but Kenai Central closed to within six with about two minutes to play.

Felchle said the Kards had a 3-pointer bounce in and out inside the two-minute mark, a shot that would have cut the lead to three. The Moose put the game away at the free-throw line.

"We told them beforehand that we couldn't fall behind, but that's exactly what happened," Felchle said. "Twenty points is a lot to make up, but they almost did it."

Bo Reilly scored a team-high 12 points and AJ Hull added 11. Colton Hayes tallied 10. The Moose had four players score at least 12 points and converted 18 free throws to Kenai Central's five.

Kenai boys 71, Colony 48

The Kardinals stormed into the third-place game by ramping up their offense against the Knights on Saturday.

Kenai led 20-15 after the first quarter and 42-26 at halftime. A 17-7 third quarter finished off the Knights.

Hull had 18 points for the Kards, while Tyler Spalding had 15, Kai Risung had 15 and Reilly added 11. For the Knights, Jared Turner had 16 and Tanner Enloe had 12.

Palmer boys 55, Stars 41

Without offensive threat Evan Withrow, who was out due to injury, the Stars did not have the firepower to stay with the Moose. Palmer advanced to the third-place game while Soldotna's season is over.

Palmer led 20-18 at halftime, but increased the lead to 37-24 after three quarters. Sean Niekamp had 15 points for Palmer, while Zach Jackson paced SoHi with 18 points.

Kodiak boys 32, Palmer 30

Ralphy Matautia hit a shot with 13 seconds remaining Friday as the upset-minded Bears stormed into the championship game by downing the Moose.

Kodiak had been on an eight-game losing streak coming into the season as was the No. 4 seed out of the Northern Division. After opening the tournament by topping Kenai, the No. 1 seed from the Southern Division, the Bears took down Palmer, the No. 2 seed from the Northern Division.

Wasilla boys 60, Colony 49

Braydon Kuiper had 22 points and Connor Devine had 19 as the Warriors advanced to the championship game by defeating the Knights on Friday.

The Warriors led 29-27 at halftime, but outscored Colony by five points in the third quarter and four points in the fourth quarter. Hunter Eisenhower had 21 points for Colony, while Jared Turner pitched in 11.

Soldotna boys 48, Skyview 32

The Stars ended the season of the Panthers and advanced to the third-place semifinals with a victory on Friday.

The Stars had a 29-15 lead at the end of the first half. Zach Jackson paced SoHi with 14 points, while Evan Withrow had 10. For Skyview, Nick Symonds pumped in 10 points.

Kenai boys 52, Homer 41

The Kardinals ended the season for Homer and moved into the third-place semifinals with a victory on Friday.

Kenai took command in the first quarter, taking a 17-8 lead, and had that advantage to 26-13 by halftime. AJ Hull had 18 points for Kenai, while Tyler Spalding added 16. For Homer, Konstantin Reutov and Heath Johnson each had 10 points.

Wasilla boys 43, Kodiak 31 (Championship)

The top-seeded Warriors ended No. 4 Kodiak's surprise run to the title game with a 43-31 win on Saturday.

Wasilla earns the Northern Lights Conference No. 1 seed to state, while Kodiak gets the second spot. The Bears entered the tournament as the lowest seed among Northern Division squads, but pulled two upsets en route to the championship contest.

Friday boys

Stars 48, Panthers 32

Skyview 6 9 5 12 --32

Soldotna 11 18 6 13 --48

SKYVIEW (32) -- Reynolds 0 1-4 1, McNamara 1 0-0 2, Symonds 4 1-2 10, White 2 0-2 5, Jones 0 0-0 0, Madrid 2 0-0 5, Penrod 0 0-0 0, McDonald 0 0-0 0, Diaz 3 3-4 9. Totals -- 12 5-12 32.

SOLDOTNA (48) -- Schneider 0 0-0 0, Fowler 0 0-0 0, Jackson 5 3-6 14, Carver 0 1-3 1, Bates 1 0-0 2, Skjold 1 2-2 4, Smithwick 3 0-0 7, Withrow 4 0-0 10, Bosick 3 2-2 8, Barkman 0 0-0 0, Young 0 2-2 2. Totals -- 17 10-15 48.

3-point goals -- Skyview 3 (Symonds 1, White 1, Madrid 1); Soldotna 4 (Withrow 2, Jackson 1, Smithwick 1). Team fouls -- Skyview 15, Soldotna 13. Fouled out -- none.

Kardinals 52, Mariners 41

Kenai 17 9 11 15 --52

Homer 8 5 12 16 --41

KENAI CENTRAL (52) -- Risung 3 0-0 8, Ziehmer 1 0-0 2, Landry 0 0-0 0, Hull 8 2-9 18, Spalding 5 6-7 16, Fitt 0 0-0 0, Sandahl 0 0-0 0, Reilly 2 0-0 5, Wensley 0 0-0 0, Hayes 1 1-2 3, Nason 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 20 9-18 52.

HOMER (41) -- Reutov 3 4-6 10, Johnson 3 3-6 10, Cotney 1 0-0 2, Reinert 4 0-0 8, Jester 2 0-0 5, Daugharty 0 0-0 0, Glosser 1 0-2 2, Wood 0 0-0 0, Kennelty 2 0-0 4, Moyer 0 0-0 0, Kalke 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 16 7-14 41.

3-point goals -- Kenai 3 (Risung 2, Reilly 1); Homer 2 (Johnson 1, Jester 1). Team fouls -- Kenai 17, Homer 16. Fouled out -- Risung, Kennelty.

Saturday boys

Kardinals 71, Knights 48

Colony 15 11 7 13 --48

Kenai 20 22 17 12 --71

COLONY (48) -- Niver 1 0-0 2, Smith 1 0-0 3, Turner 7 1-1 16, McCann 3 0-0 6, Enloe 5 0-0 12, Eisenhower 1 3-4 5, Fulp 0 0-0 0, Michaelson 0 0-0 0, DePriest 0 0-0 0, Limbarger 2 0-0 4. Totals -- 20 4-5 48.

KENAI CENTRAL (71) -- Risung 5 3-4 15, Hull 6 5-12 18, Spalding 6 3-4 15, Sandahl 1 2-4 5, Reilly 4 1-2 11, Wensley 0 2-3 2, Hayes 2 0-0 4. Totals -- 24 17-31 71.

3-point goals -- Colony 4 (Enloe 2, Turner 1, Smith 1); Kenai 6 (Risung 2, Reilly 2, Hull 1, Sandahl 1). Team fouls -- Colony 22, Kenai 11. Fouled out -- Niver.

Moose 55, Stars 41

Soldotna 6 12 6 17 --41

Palmer 9 11 17 18 --55

SOLDOTNA (41) -- Schneider 0 0-0 0, Fowler 2 0-0 6, Jackson 8 2-3 18, Carver 3 2-2 9, Bates 1 0-0 2, Skjold 0 0-0 0, Smithwick 2 0-0 6, Bosick 0 0-0 0, Young 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 16 4-5 41.

PALMER (55) -- Odom 4 1-2 9, Looney 2 0-0 4, Nisbett 1 4-4 6, Dean 0 0-0 0, Straight 1 0-0 3, Buresh 2 3-4 7, Montgomery 3 3-4 9, Niekamp 4 7-10 15, Fullmer 0 2-4 2. Totals -- 17 20-28 55.

3-point goals -- Soldotna 5 (Fowler 2, Smithwick 2, Carver 1); Palmer 1 (Straight 1). Team fouls -- Soldotna 21, Palmer 9. Fouled out -- Bosick.

Moose 63, Kardinals 53

Kenai 8 4 19 22 --53

Palmer 15 17 17 14 --63

KENAI CENTRAL (53) -- Risung 4 0-0 8, Ziehmer 0 0-0 0, Landry 0 0-0 0, Hull 3 1-6 7, Spalding 5 1-1 11, Sandahl 0 0-0 0, Reilly 4 2-2 12, Wensley 2 0-0 5, Hayes 3 1-2 10. Totals -- 21 5-11 53.

PALMER (63) -- Odom 5 2-2 12, Looney 2 0-1 4, Nisbett 3 7-9 13, Hunt 0 0-0 0, Straight 3 3-5 12, Hillis 0 0-0 0, Bursh 1 0-0 2, Montgomery 2 0-0 4, Niekamp 5 4-7 14, Fullmer 0 2-2 2. Totals -- 21 18-26 63.

3-point goals -- Kenai 6 (Hayes 3, Reilly 2, Wensley 1); Palmer 3 (Straight 3). Team fouls -- Kenai 19, Palmer 13. Fouled out -- none.