The Soldotna boys took care of business in picking up their first win of the season Friday at the Powerade/Al Howard Tip-Off tournament at Soldotna High.
The Stars held command throughout a 53-32 win over Homer, cleansing the memories of Thursday’s season-opening overtime loss to ACS. SoHi head coach Nolan Rose said the Stars had trouble with handling Anchorage Christian’s high-pressure defense on Thursday, so Friday’s contest brought a little relief in the opening weekend of the season.
“Our goal tonight was just to come out and play 32 minutes,” Rose said. “I thought we did that. We got off to a little bit of a slow start as far as defensive rebounding goes, but once we cleaned that up, I think we played pretty solid basketball tonight.”
In Friday’s other boys game, the ACS boys demolished Eagle River 81-51.
With a few talented guards returning to the lineup this year, namely 2018-19 all-conference player Jersey Truesdell, the Stars never had the explosive spurt that they are capable of, but steadily padded their lead as the Mariners struggled to keep up. Truesdell had 14 points Friday while teammate Ray Chumley tallied a game-high 16.
“It’s nice because you want to control the tempo and the flow of the game, which is how we need to play to be successful,” Rose said. “It felt like we were on the cusp (of a run) and couldn’t quite string it together, but it’s nice to win a game just slowly chipping away at it.”
Homer was led by Jonathan Raymond’s 10 points, while also getting six points each from Eyoab Knapp and Clayton Beachy.
Class 3A Homer showed it was capable of playing with 4A opponent Soldotna last year and Rose said the Mariners are a speedy team that should not be underestimated.
“Homer always gives us trouble,” he said. “The play really hard, they hit the boards hard, and we’re not the biggest team so that sometimes gives us issues. We definitely aren’t overlooking Homer.”
A slow start resulted in SoHi clinging to a 7-6 lead in the first quarter, which then ballooned to 20-12 by halftime.
With a pair of buckets from Chumley and Truesdell in the third quarter combined with a 3-pointer by Ethan Sewell, SoHi was able to hang on to a 10-point advantage, but it was the first minute of the fourth quarter where the Stars finally made a statement.
Tyler Morrison and Chumley both grabbed steals of the ball for coast-to-coast layups in the opening minute of the quarter that pushed SoHi’s lead to 39-24, allowing the Stars some breathing room the rest of the way.
In girls action Friday, Soldotna beat Service 57-34 in a nontournament, nonconference matchup.
Senior forward Ituau Tuisaula led the charge with 21 points for SoHi, going 9 for 15 from the free throw line. Nine other Stars found the scoring column as well, led by Morgan Bouschor’s eight points.
“We’re young, really athletic and aggressive and fast,” said Soldotna head coach Kyle McFall. “But we’ve got to learn to control it sometimes.”
Tuisaula is a returning starter for SoHi, as is junior Drysta Crosby-Schneider, and both players commanded the SoHi system Friday. Crosby-Schneider finished with five points and numerous assists.
One thing McFall didn’t like was how often the Stars were putting the Cougars on the line. SoHi racked up 13 fouls in the first half, leading to nine of Service’s 16 points, and McFall said he hopes that will change.
“It’s something we talked about working on,” he said. “This is a really aggressive group, we just need to make sure we take that aggressiveness and use it in a composed way.”
SoHi grabbed an early 11-5 lead and stretched it to 28-16 at halftime. The Stars eventually pulled away in the fourth quarter by outscoring Service 18-8.
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Craig Jung Kenai River Challenge
Houston boys 59, Nikiski 37
The Hawks bolted from the gates to beat the Bulldogs Friday at Kenai.
Cole Taylor led the charge with 14 points, while Nikiski’s Gavin White paced the Bulldogs with 11. Nikiski also got eight points from Drew Handley and seven from Kyle Malston.
Houston streaked out to a 20-4 lead in the first quarter and led 39-19 at the half.
Nikiski girls 42, Houston 22
The Bulldogs picked up a win Friday at KCHS, with Lillian Carstens leading the charge with 22 points.
Carstens hit 9 of 12 free throws to help Nikiski pull away in the second half with a 27-10 effort.
Kenai boys 55, Galena 32
Evan Stockton fueled the Kardinals to a win Friday with 27 points, while teammate Andrew Bezdecny added 11.
Galena got 11 from Jerome Moore.
Kenai got out to a 19-8 lead in the first quarter and pushed it to 30-17 at halftime. The Kards iced the win by outscoring the Hawks 25-15 in the second half.
Galena girls 52, Kenai 15
The Galena girls pummeled the Kardinals Friday at KCHS.
Galena led 11-5 after one quarter and 17-9 at halftime, but got most of the damage done in the third quarter with defense. The Hawks outscored the Kards 20-2 in the third to seal the win.
Pearle Green led the way with 22 points for the Hawks, while Logan Satathite was Kenai’s top scorer with five points.
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Joe Floyd Tournament
Homer girls 46, Dimond JV 18
The Mariner girls crushed the Dimond JV team Friday in Kodiak.
Laura Inama led the Homer offense with 17 points, starting hot with nine in the first quarter. Homer outscored the Lynx 22-2 in the first eight minutes and led 29-12 at halftime.
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Grace Grizzly Classic
Mt. Edgecumbe girls 50, Seward 37
The Seahawks lost Friday to the Braves at Grace Christian.
Sequoia Sieverts paced Seward with eight points and teammates Lena Jagielski and Anevay Ambrosiani had six each. Lisa Strom led Mt. Edgecumbe with 14 points.
Edgecumbe took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and extended it to 19-6 by halftime. Although Seward won the third 17-14, the gap proved too deep to rally from.
Seward boys 68, Cicero Prep 43
The Seahawks came away Friday with a victory over an out-of-state team at the Grace Grizzly Classic.
Seward’s Max Pfieffenberger paved the way with 20 points and Connor Spanos added 16 for Seward, which raced out to a 22-6 lead in the first quarter and led 35-23 at the half.
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CIA Classic
Ninilchik girls 41, Nikiski C 32
The Wolverines beat the Nikiski C-team Friday at Cook Inlet Academy.
Rachael Okonet led Ninilchik with 16 points while teammate Jade Robuck had 13. Shylea Freeman and Alyssa Nunley each had eight for the Bulldogs.
Nikolaevsk girls 50, SoHi JV 48, OT
The Warriors staved off the SoHi JV team in overtime Friday with help from Markiana Yakunin’s big day. Yakunin poured in 21 points to lead Nikolaevsk, including 10 in the fourth quarter.
Yakunin’s teammate Elizabeth Fefelov chipped in 11 points, while SoHi JV was led by Rhys Cannava with 13.
SoHi JV led 35-30 heading to the fourth quarter, but Nikolaevsk came back to tie it up at 46 apiece at the end of regulation.
Soldotna JV boys 55, CIA 36
The SoHi JV team took down Cook Inlet Academy Friday in tournament play.
Nate Johnson led the Stars with 18 points, while Cook Inlet’s James Boyd paced the Eagles with 14.
CIA girls 54, Ninilchik 18
Anna Henderson led the Eagles to a commanding victory Friday over the Wolverines in tournament play.
Henderson poured in 23 points for CIA, while Tatum Rozak chipped in 15. Ninilchik was paced by Jade Robuck with 10.
Ninilchik actually led 9-7 at the end of the first quarter, but CIA exploded for 26 points in the second quarter to grab a 33-11 halftime lead.
Ninilchik boys 67, Nikolaevsk 50
The Wolverines walked away with a win over the Warriors on Friday at Cook Inlet Academy.
Jake Clark posted 26 points to lead the Ninilchik scoring, while Ben Botero had 19. Nikolaevsk was paced by Justin Trail with 16 points and Isaac Fefelov with 14.
Nikolaevsk led 30-22 at halftime but Ninilchik had it tied up at 40 apiece by the end of the third quarter. In the fourth, Ninilchik pulled away by winning the frame 27-10.
FRIDAY GIRLS
Stars 57, Cougars 34
Service 5 11 10 8 —34
Soldotna 11 17 11 18 —57
SERVICE (34) — Stoddard 6, Hopson 7, Quitugua-Banks 8, Moss 2, Robancho 0, Domingono 5, Mahe 4, Campbell 0, Noethlich 0, Pawcio 2, Felli 0.
SOLDOTNA (57) — Sheridan 6, Burns 2, Leaf 1, Bouschor 8, Tuisaula 21, Leadens 5, Fischer 2, Holland 4, Spence 3, Crosby-Schneider 5.
3-point FG — Service 4 (Stoddard 2, Hopson 1, Domingono 1); Soldotna 1 (Spence).
Team fouls — Service 34; Soldotna 20.
Hawks 52, Kardinals 15
Galena 11 6 20 15 —52
Kenai 5 4 2 4 —15
GALENA (52) — Green 22, Tinker 3, Heckman 5, Leopold 0, Kaganak 12, Morgan 4, Williams 6.
KENAI (15) — Koziczkowski 0, Pierce 0, Hamilton 3, Keyes 0, Hanson 0, Streiff 3, Satathite 5, Severson 2, Nash 0, Lauritsen 2.
3-point FG — Galena 4 (Green 2, Heckman 1, Morgan 1); Kenai 1 (Satathite).
Team fouls — Galena 14; Kenai 13.
Warriors 50, Stars 48, OT
Nikolaevsk 10 9 11 16 4 —50
Soldotna JV 11 8 16 11 2 —48
NIKOLAEVSK (50) — Klaich 5, H. Gerasimof 4, E. Gerasimof 5, Lasiter 0, Yakunin 21, Kalugin 0, Z. Fefelov 4, E. Fefelov 11.
SOLDOTNA JV (48) — Widaman 8, Brantley 4, Fischer 0, Burns 4, Cannava 13, Spies 2, McElroy 5, Morrison 11.
3-point FG — Nikolaevsk 4 (Yakunin 3, Klaich 1); SoHi JV 0.
Team fouls — Nikolaevsk 19; SoHi JV 20.
Bulldogs 42, Hawks 22
Nikiski 9 6 14 13 —42
Houston 2 10 8 2 —22
NIKISKI (42) — Reichert 2, Carstens 22, Bostic 8, Johnson 4, Zimmerman 2, Nunly 3, Freeman 0, Nelson 0, Mullin 1.
HOUSTON (22) — Webber 0, Whitted 6, Rusher 0, Richey 4, Elson 2, Graham 1, Garcia 0, Smith 0, Bitler 4, Whitted 5, Haddeland 0.
3-point FG — Nikiski 3 (Carstens 1, Bostic 1, Nunly 1); Houston 1 (Whitted).
Team fouls — Nikiski 14; Houston 22.
Mariners 46, Lynx 18
Homer 22 7 10 7 —46
Dimond JV 2 10 0 6 —18
HOMER (46) — Rhodes 0, Bishop 4, Anderson 3, Doughty 3, Harris 0, Inama 17, Carroll 4, Hatfield 8, Morris 0, Smude 7.
DIMOND JV (18) — Delomey 12, Doucet 2, Crow 0, Tiresman 0, Katchatag 0, Noutney 2, Hardin 2.
3-point FG — Homer 3 (Anderson 1, Doughty 1, Inama 1); Dimond JV 4 (Delomey 4).
Team fouls — Homer 6; Dimond JV 8.
Wolverines 41, Bulldogs 32
Nikiski C 3 10 8 11 —32
Ninilchik 6 7 15 13 —41
NIKISKI C (32) — Freeman 8, Walters 4, Osborne 2, Nelson 5, Nunley 8, Edgar 0, Mullin 4.
NINILCHIK (41) — Jasper 2, Calabrese 6, Robuck 13, Denboer 3, Ofstad 3, Okonet 16.
3-point FG — Nikiski C 1 (Freeman); Ninilchik 1 (Robuck).
Team fouls — Nikiski C 16; Ninilchik 18.
Braves 50, Seahawks 37
Seward 0 6 17 14 —37
Edgecumbe 10 9 14 17 —50
SEWARD (37) — Dow 0, Schilling 4, Jagielski 6, Siemanski 4, Lemme 5, Sieverts 8, Casagrande 4, Jack 0, Ambrosiani 6.
MT. EDGECUMBE (50) — Aaberg 2, Warnke-Green 7, Allen 11, Strom 14, Olsen 3, Ramath 2, Brown 10, Kashevarof 1.
3-point FG — Seward 0; Mt. Edgecumbe 3 (Allen 1, Strom 1, Olsen 1).
Team fouls — Seward 20; Mt. Edgecumbe 21.
Eagles 54, Wolverines 18
CIA 7 26 13 8 —54
Ninilchik 9 2 2 5 —18
CIA (54) — Henderson 23, Hyatt 6, Dohse 6, Lalas 0, Castenholz 4, Rozak 15, Smith 0.
NINILCHIK (18) — Jasper 0, Calabrese 0, Robuck 10, Denboer 0, Ofstad 2, Okonet 6.
3-point FG — CIA 5 (Rozak 3, Hyatt 2); Ninilchik 1 (Okonet).
Team fouls — CIA 11; Ninilchik 10.
FRIDAY BOYS
Stars 53, Mariners 32
Homer 6 6 12 8 —32
Soldotna 7 13 14 19 —53
HOMER (32) — Beachy 6, Etzwiler 0, Lowney 0, Raymond 10, Anderson 3, Knapp 6, Mann 3, Raymond 4.
SOLDOTNA (53) — Rich 2, Sewell 5, Morrison 8, Hanson 8, Reutov 0, Chumley 16, Truesdell 14, Johnson 0, Rosin 0.
3-point FG — Homer 4 (Beachy 2, Raymond 1, Mann 1); Soldotna 3 (Truesdell 2, Sewell 1).
Team fouls — Homer 15; Soldotna 15.
Kardinals 55, Hawks 32
Galena 8 9 10 5 —32
Kenai 19 11 16 9 —55
GALENA (32) — Moses 5, Sam 0, Moore 11, Riddle 3, Kopp 0, Pitka 0, Carlo 5, Riddle 8.
KENAI (55) — Dunham 5, Sparks 0, Baisden 0, Kvasnikoff 7, Bezdecny 11, Beck 0, Stockton 27, Kvasnikoff 3, Pitsch 2, Daniels 0, Hanson 0.
3-point FG — Galena 2 (Moses 1, Moore 1); Kenai 8 (Stockton 4, Dunham 1, Kvasnikoff 1, Bezdecny 1, Kvasnikoff 1).
Team fouls — Galena 15; Kenai 13.
Hawks 59, Bulldogs 37
Houston 20 19 7 13 —59
Nikiski 4 15 8 10 —37
HOUSTON (59) — Cork 3, Taylor 7, Howard 8, Wyrick 7, Taylor 14, Falaniko 2, Jefferson 8, McLaughlin 10.
NIKISKI (37) — Mysing 0, Payne 4, White 11, Malston 7, Stafford 5, Bostic 0, Anderson 2, Porter 0, Handley 8.
3-point FG — Houston 5 (Taylor 4, Cork 1); Nikiski 2 (Malston 1, White 1).
Team fouls — Houston 16; Nikiski 16.
Seward 68, Cicero Prep 43
Seward 22 13 20 13 —68
Cicero Prep 6 17 12 8 —43
SEWARD (68) — Mullaly 0, Koster 0, Moriarty 4, Cronin 7, McMurray 0, Ingalls 6, Pfeiffenberger 20, Spanos 16, Deboard 0, Hollingsworth 7, Nilssen 8.
CICERO PREP (43) — Lott 2, Famber 3, Dixon 0, Churi 11, Zidel 3, Brooks 6, Alway 0, Muller 0, Voorhees 16, Siegel 1, Core 0.
3-point FG — Seward 7 (Pfieffenberger 4, Ingalls 2, Cronin 1); Cicero Prep 7 (Churi 3, Brooks 2, Famber 1, Voorhees 1).
Team fouls — Seward 9; Cicero Prep 7.
Stars 55, Eagles 36
SoHi JV 16 14 16 9 —55
CIA 11 6 11 8 —36
SOLDOTNA JV (55) — Gray 0, Wilson 2, Johnson 8, Pieh 8, Mellon 0, Derleth 7, Denbrock 10, Johnson 18, Ducker 0, Schwartz 0.
CIA (36) — Matheson 0, Schilling 0, Henderson 0, Cragg 0, Board 3, Moore 7, Walsh 0, Boyd 7, Erickson 0, Boyd 14, Zeigler 0, Boyd 5.
3-point FG — SoHi JV 3 (Johnson 2, Denbrock 1); CIA Boyd 3 (Boyd 2, Boyd 1).
Team fouls — SoHi JV 19; CIA 17.
Wolverines 67, Warriors 50
Ninilchik 17 5 18 27 —67
Nikolaevsk 16 14 10 10 —50
NINILCHIK (67) — Botero 19, Hadro 3, Scott 10, Nelson 7, Clark 26, Mumey 2.
NIKOLAEVSK (50) — I. Fefelov 14, J. Trail 16, Kalugin 13, D. Fefelov 0, Z. Trail 8, Sellers 0.
3-point FT — Ninilchik 2 (Botero 1, Hadro 1); Nikolaevsk 6 (I. Fefelov 3, Z. Trail 2, J. Trail 1).
Team fouls — Ninilchik 12; Nikolaevsk 7.
Soldotna’s Drysta Crosby-Schneider retains possesson of the ball after falling Friday, Dec. 20, 2019, against Service at the Powerade/Al Howard Tip-Off tournament at Soldotna High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Homer’s Eyoab Knapp (bottom) drives the lane for a layup under Soldotna’s Jersey Truesdell, Friday, Dec. 20, 2019, at the Powerade/Al Howard Tip-Off tournament at Soldotna High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna’s Mikayla Leadens races around Service defender Neolani Quitugua-Banks, Friday, Dec. 20, 2019, at the Powerade/Al Howard Tip-Off tournament at Soldotna High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna’s Levi Rosin puts up a shot against Homer’s Clayton Beachy, Friday, Dec. 20, 2019, at the Powerade/Al Howard Tip-Off tournament at Soldotna High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna’s Ituau Tuisaula powers through the Service defense for a layup Friday, Dec. 20, 2019, at the Powerade/Al Howard Tip-Off tournament at Soldotna High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
