Warriors top Stars in OT: SoHi misses return to finals

Wasilla defeated Soldotna 49-46 in overtime in a Class 4A boys semifinal state basketball game on Tuesday at Sullivan Arena in a rematch of last year's state semifinals. Wasilla faces off against West tonight at 9:15 p.m. with the state title on the line. SoHi takes on Northern Lights Conference foe Colony at 1 p.m. in the third-place game.

The Stars went into double overtime Monday night in their win over Dimond, as well as going to extra time in last year's state title game against the Lynx.

"We've got nine lives and we might have spent them all," said Stars head coach Matt Johnson. "We kind of ran out of juice at the end."

Down by three, Blossom nailed a buzzer-beater trifecta to send the game into overtime.

With the game knotted at 46-all late in the extra period, Wasilla's Connor Devine made a layup and was fouled. He converted the 3-point play with just 25 ticks on the clock. SoHi again looked for Blossom to tie the game, however, Cody Pfeifer got a piece of the ball as he went up for the shot and it came up short and time expired.

Blossom paced the Stars with 26 points. He hit five 3s in the game. Pfeifer led all Wasilla scorers with 16 points. Devine followed with 12.

"We gave it a fight," Johnson said. "The kids left everything on the floor."

Pfeifer stripped Dylon Story and got the layup to give Wasilla a 36-35 lead late in the fourth quarter. Corey Mock gave the Warriors a three-point lead with just over two minutes to go. Blossom came right back with a trey to tie the game.

Wasilla gained a 42-38 lead with under a minute left in regulation. Blossom missed a 3-pointer but DJ Stilchen grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled. He made 1-of-2 free throws. After his second free-throw attempt landed off the mark, the ball went off a Wasilla player and possession went back to the Stars with under 18 seconds on the clock.

Blossom came up short on a 3-point attempt and Devine got the board. Blossom fouled Devine --his fourth of the game -- putting him in a bonus free-throw situation with 11.3 seconds left. Devine missed the free throw and SoHi rushed up the floor. They worked the ball to Blossom and he nailed a trey at the buzzer to send the game to overtime tied at 42.

"We kept it close and made big plays when we had to," Johnson said.

After trailing by as many as 10 points, Soldotna scored 14 unanswered points in the final three minutes of the second quarter, giving the Stars a 26-22 lead at the half. Blossom led the charge with 12 points in the first half for SoHi. He hit two 3s in the final minute of the second quarter.

Four different players tallied points during SoHi's run. Pfeifer, the Warriors top player, watched SoHi's string of points from the bench as he had two fouls in the first half. Blossom capped off the run by draining a 3-pointer at the halftime horn.

SoHi held Wasilla to just seven second-quarter points, while scoring 18 in the period. The Stars trailed the Warriors by seven after the first quarter.

Wasilla scored seven third-quarter points to SoHi's five to cut the Stars lead to two after 24 minutes.

Despite losing five seniors from last year's second-place team, SoHi's love to compete and sense of team has given it success this season, Johnson said.

Warriors 49, Stars 46, OT

Wasilla 15 7 7 13 7 --49

Soldotna 8 18 5 11 4 --46

WASILLA (49) -- Schierman 0 0-0 0, Quenga 0 0-0 0, Mock 2 0-0 4, Kuiper 4 0-1 8, Stahle 1 0-0 3, Bydlon 0 0-0 0, Pfeifer 6 4-5 16, Breshears 0 0-0 0, Devine 5 2-4 12, Pine 0 0-0 0, Ford 3 0-1 6, Green 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 21 6-12 49.

SOLDOTNA (46) -- Hahn 0 0-0 0, Story 2 2-3 6, Blossom 8 5-8 26, Jackson 0 0-0 0, Carver 0 1-2 1, Stilchen 3 2-4 8, Skjold 0 0-0 0, Smithwick 0 0-0 0, Withrow 0 0-0 0, Barnes 0 0-0 0, Blades 0 0-0 0, Bosick 1 3-4 5. Totals -- 14 13-21 46.

3-point goals -- Wasilla 1 (Stahle 1), Soldotna 5 (Blossom 5). Team fouls -- Wasilla 17, Soldotna 18. Fouled out -- Mock.