The Kenai Peninsula is guaranteed to have a team qualify for state after the first day of the Southcentral Conference Tournament at Kenai Central and Nikiski high schools.
The boys tourney is at Kenai, while the girls are at Nikiski.
The Homer and Kenai Central girls both won their first-round games to set up a semifinal clash. Each team in the championship game earns an automatic berth to state.
The Mariners defeated Houston 59-26, while the Kardinals knocked off Grace Christian 51-47. The two will square off in the semis today at 4 p.m. Homer has won all four meetings between the teams this season.
The other girls semifinal will be Redington, which topped Seward 38-27, and Anchorage Christian Schools, which defeated Nikiski 86-24. The Huskies and Lions play at 6 p.m. today.
In the fourth-place bracket, Houston and Grace play at noon today, and Seward and Nikiski play at 2 p.m. today.
The semifinal winners play in the title game at 5 p.m. Saturday, while the semifinal losers play for third at 3 p.m. Saturday. The third-place winner is eligible for an at-large berth to state.
The fourth-place game will be noon Saturday, while the seventh-place game is 10 a.m. Saturday.
On the boys side, Homer was the only peninsula team to stay alive for an automatic state berth. The Mariners topped Redington 71-47 and play ACS, 55-44 winners over Kenai, in a 6 p.m. semifinal today. The other semi at 4 p.m. will feature Grace, 75-27 winners over Nikiski, and Houston, 58-55 winners over Seward.
Also today, Nikiski and Seward play in the fourth-place bracket at noon and Redington and Kenai play at 2 p.m.
Saturday, the championship game is at 5 p.m., the third-place game is at 3 p.m., the fourth-place game is at noon and the seventh-place game is at 10 a.m. The third-place winners can still get an at-large berth to state.
Spectators are limited to preapproved guest lists. All games will be streamed on the Kenai Central athletics and Nikiski Middle-High School Facebook pages.
Kenai girls 51, Grace 47
The Kardinals, the No. 3 seed from the south, used 25 points from Emma Beck to knock off the Grizzlies, the No. 2 seed from the north. The Kardinals improved to 6-11 overall.
The game was tight throughout. Grace led 8-7 after a quarter, but Kenai led 20-19 at halftime. The Kards then carried a 32-30 lead into the final quarter.
The Kards used balanced scoring to roll up 19 points in the fourth quarter to secure the victory. Beck had six, while Erin Koziczkowski, Emilee Wilson and Denali Bernard had four, and Michal Keyes had one. Koziczkowski had eight in the game.
For Grace, Tessa Binder had 25 points and Kennedy Wood had 18 points. The duo scored all but four of Grace’s points.
Homer girls 59, Houston 26
The Mariners, the top seed out of the south, rolled past the Hawks, the fourth seed out of the north. Homer is now 10-7 overall.
Homer quickly put distance between itself and Houston, leading 10-2 after the first quarter, 24-9 at the half and 42-15 after three quarters.
Laura Inama paced the Mariners with 14 points, while Sailey Rhodes and Sydney Shelby had 10 points apiece. Abbie Allen paced the Hawks with nine points.
Homer boys 71, Redington 47
The Mariners, the top seed from the south, pulled away from the Huskies, No. 4 from the north. Homer moves to 14-3.
The game was tied at 16 after the first quarter, but Homer outscored Redington by six in the second quarter, six in the third quarter and 12 in the final frame.
Carter Tennison poured in 18 points for the Mariners, while Josiah Raymond had 15, Ty Etzwiler had 10 and Clayton Beachy and Ryan Carroll had eight apiece.
For Redington, Cort Sandefur and Logan Seymore had 12 each, while Bryce Murdock had nine and Trevor Bowman added eight.
Houston boys 58, Seward 55
Cole Taylor’s 3-pointer at the buzzer pushed the Hawks, the No. 3 seed from the north, past the Seahawks, No. 2 from the south. Seward falls to 10-7 overall.
After Houston missed the front end of a bonus, Seward’s Trey Ingalls nailed a 3-pointer from the corner with 10.6 seconds left to tie the game at 55.
Seward led 16-11 after a quarter, 30-26 at halftime and 41-38 after three quarters.
Taylor and Braden Cork each had four 3-pointers to finish with 17 points, while Hayden Howard hit four 3-pointers to finish with 16 points.
For Seward, Max Pfeiffenberger poured in 28 points, while Ingalls had four 3-pointers to finish with 12 points.
ACS boys 55, Kenai 44
The Lions, the No. 2 seed from the north and defending conference champion, got away from the Kardinals, the No. 3 seed from the south, in the fourth quarter.
Behind an 8-0 run to start the game, Kenai led 12-8 after the first quarter and 17-13 at halftime.
Deslaone Cook hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the third period and put the Lions up 27-25. That also gave the spark ACS needed.
ACS forced a few quick turnovers and had the lead to 35-28 with 6:34 left in the game. Kenai leading scorer Jordan Kvasnikoff also went out early in the fourth with an injury.
Kvasnikoff came back with 4:42 left and hit 3 3-pointers down the stretch, while Jakob Kvasnikoff also had a 3, but costly turnovers kept the Kardinals from closing the gap more.
ACS got the pace it wanted in the fourth, outscoring the Kards 28-19.
Matt Sanders paced the Lions with 16 points, while JD McGee had 14 and Sean Malinis added eight.
For the Kards, the Kvasnikoffs each had 18, with Jakob nailing four 3-pointers and Jordan hitting three trifectas.
ACS girls 86, Nikiski 24
The Lions, the No. 1 seed from the north and defending conference champion, cruised past the Bulldogs, the No. 4 seed from the south. Nikiski fell to 5-11 overall.
Anchorage Christian Schools opened up a 36-12 lead after the opening quarter and never looked back.
Mykaila Pickard had 21 points to lead the Lions, while Sayvia Sellers had 20, Sarah Sorrells had nine, and Sunny Pedebone and Mikayla Johnson had eight apiece.
For the Bulldogs, Kinlee Jeffreys led the way with seven.
Redington girls 38, Seward 27
The Huskies, the No. 3 seed from the North, defeated the Seahawks, No. 2 from the south. Seward is now 6-11.
Redington gradually inched away all game, leading 12-7 after a quarter, 20-13 at the half and 33-22 after three quarters.
Lexi Seymore had 14 for the Huskies, while Hailey Stoker pitched in 10. For the Seahawks, Shelby Sieminski and Lena Jagielski had seven points apiece.
Grace boys 75, Nikiski 27
The Grizzlies, the top seed from the north, surged past the Bulldogs, the No. 4 seed from the south. Nikiski falls to 1-17.
Grace led 22-7 after a quarter and 40-16 at halftime.
Jaren Miller had 18 for Grace, while Caden Nanninga had 11 and Caden Jones and Sloan Lentfer had 10 apiece. For the Bulldogs, Austin Stafford and Caileb Payne had nine apiece.
Thursday girls
Mariners 59, Hawks 26
Houston 2 7 6 11 —26
Homer 10 14 18 17 —59
HOUSTON (26) — Gillespie 2, Reintsma 0, Allen 9, Winter 4, Elson 1, Graham 4, Rusher 0, Whitted 4, Haddeland 0, Bredberg 2.
HOMER (59) — Rhodes 10, Alexson-Walls 2, Harris 6, Reutov 0, Shelby 10, Owens 0, Inama 14, Morris 4, Ellison 2, Hatfield 6, Smude 5.
Redington girls 38, Seahawks 27
Huskies 38, Seahawks 27
Redington 12 8 13 5 —38
Seward 7 6 9 5 —27
REDINGTON (38) — Simmons 2, Dicang 1, Jenkins 0, Stoker 10, Pitcher 2, Reavis 3, Seymore 14, Robson 0, Anderstrom 6.
SEWARD (27) — Ingalls 0, Schilling 5, Jagielski 7, Sieminski 7, Lemme 4, Brockman 0, Dougherty 0, Nilsson 0, Cronin 2, Ambrosiani 2.
Kardinals 51, Grizzlies 47
Grace 8 11 11 17 —47
Kenai 7 13 12 19 —51
GRACE CHRISTIAN (47) — Lash 0, Binder 25, Crotts 0, Wood 18, Annett 2, Baker 0, Trevithick 2, Turner 0.
KENAI CENTRAL (51) — Nunn 2, Keyes 2, Koziczkowski 8, Wilson 4, Satathite 3, Nash 2, McCanna 0, Bernard 5, Beck 25.
Lions 86, Bulldogs 24
ACS 36 19 14 17 —86
Nikiski 12 4 6 2 —24
ANCHORAGE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS (86) — Sellers 20, Pedebone 8, Alex 6, Speakman 2, Tiulana 6, Wood 2, Mathot 2, Alex-Mayer 2, Pickard 21, Sorrells 9, Johnson 8.
NIKISKI (24) — Jeffreys 7, Stock 6, Ellis 0, White 3, Nelson 2, Epperheimer 2, Sutton 2, Grenier 0, Burman 0, McCaughey 2.
Thursday boys
Grizzlies 75, Bulldogs 27
Grace 22 18 21 13 —74
Nikiski 7 9 9 2 —27
GRACE CHRISTIAN (74) — Trevithick 2, Ivanoff 0, Binder 9, Miller 18, Jones 10, Banker 0, Jedlicka 5, Jackson 2, L. Lentfer 7, S. Lentfer 10, Nanninga 11.
NIKISKI (27) — Bostic 5, Porter 0, S. Payne 0, Grenier 0, Malston 0, Stafford 9, C. Payne 9, Sutton 2, Handley 2.
Mariners 71, Huskies 47
Redington 16 12 11 8 —47
Homer 16 18 17 20 —71
REDINGTON (47) — Bowman 8, Ja. Williams 1, Jh. Williams 2, Bond 3, Wold 0, Sandefur 12, Seymore 12, Murdock 9, Pocznek 0, Gosh 0.
HOMER (71) — Smith 0, Beachy 8, Etzwiler 10, Edens 0, Lowney 2, Carroll 8, Huffman 0, Knapp 6, Irons 2, Mann 2, Tennison 18, Raymond 15.
Hawks 58, Seahawks 55
Houston 11 15 12 20 —58
Seward 16 14 11 14 —55
HOUSTON (58) — Cork 17, Graydon 0, Howard 16, Wyrick 6, Taylor 17, Bunn 0, Hina 0, Jefferson 2.
SEWARD (55) — Mullaly 2, Koster 4, Cronin 3, Ingalls 12, Pfeiffenberger 28, Deboard 6.
Lions 55, Kardinals 44
ACS 8 5 14 28 —55
Kenai 12 5 8 19 —44
ANCHORAGE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS (55) — Cook 7, Malinis 8, Davis 7, Warren 2, Sanders 16, Szepanski 0, McGee 14, English 0, Indreland 1.
KENAI CENTRAL (44) — Dunham 2, Medina 0, Baisden 2, Jo. Kvasnikoff 18, Beck 4, Ja. Kvasnikoff 18, Tunseth 0.
Anchorage Christian Schools’ Deslaone Cook and Kenai Central’s Maison Dunham battle for the ball Thursday, March 11, 2021, at the Southcentral Conference tournament at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
