For a third year in a row, the Nikiski girls won the Rus Hitchcock Nikiski Tip Off tournament title on their home court, but for Rustin Hitchcock, the victory was his first as head coach.

The tournament, now in its 30th year, honors the late Rus Hitchcock, who died in October 2017 following a heart attack in July 2017 at the age of 54. Hitchcock was a longtime presence in the Nikiski basketball programs, serving as an assistant coach and C-Team head coach for many years, and also worked countless hours with the Kenai Girls & Boys Club.

Hitchcock’s son Rustin, a 2003 graduate of Nikiski High, is now in his first year as head coach of the girls varsity and guided the Bulldogs to a dominant 54-40 win over South Anchorage in Saturday’s de facto championship game at the round-robin tournament. Nikiski finished 3-0 over the weekend while South lost its first game to end up 2-1.

Hitchcock said with his late father’s name adorning the tournament banner, he felt the love from his players and fellow coaches.

“Whether they were fighting for the concept and fighting for me, they showed me a lot of respect this weekend,” he said. “Can’t say enough about their character.”

Nikiski senior Bethany Carstens scored a game-high 15 points to lead the Bulldogs Saturday to the tournament title and was named MVP. Younger sister Lillian Carstens netted 10 for Nikiski and senior Kelsey Clark chipped in eight.

Clark was named to the girls all-tournament team, and like most current and former Nikiski basketball names to come through the program, Clark received valuable coaching and advice from Rus Hitchcock, and said Saturday’s win was special to see the team win for his son.

“He was really passionate,” Clark said about the elder Hitchcock. “He was so passionate about the players and the game, and helping us become better.”

Nikiski boys coach Reid Kornstad knew Hitchcock for years and coached alongside with him, and said the connection he made with players created a better basketball program at Nikiski.

“They loved him,” Kornstad said. “He had a real sense of what teamwork means.”

The Glennallen Panthers took the boys tournament championship with a 74-44 win Saturday over Houston, which took second with a 1-2 record. Houston won a three-way tiebreaker over third-place Nikiski and South JV, as all three teams finished 1-2 this weekend. Glennallen’s Aidan Fields was named boys tournament MVP.

After defeating Houston and Glennallen the first two days, the Nikiski girls had to face a Class 4A team for the title on Saturday. South made life tough on Nikiski in the opening quarter by staking out a 16-8 lead, which Hitchcock admitted may have been in part to his experimenting with a different defensive scheme. Hitchcock said he hopes that experience would help the team later in the season.

“I know they would put themselves in a championship mindset to experience that with that mindset,” he said. “They’ll be able to mentally recall that.”

The Wolverines found their early success from beyond the perimeter, sinking a pair of 3-pointers that put them ahead 12-8, then getting two late buckets from Jo Kashevarof at the rim to extend the gap to eight points.

Once the Bulldogs returned to their regular scheme, things began clicking. Clark buried a trey early in the second quarter and was later followed by Bethany Carstens’ triple from the same spot that cut the gap to 18-17.

Another 3-pointer by Clark with 3:26 left until the half tied the game at 20 apiece, then Carstens grabbed a steal and a breakaway layup to put Nikiski ahead for good at 22-20.

Hitchcock said defensive plays helped ignite the offense as Nikiski forced South into more and more mistakes and turnovers.

Two layups by America Jeffreys in the final 1:20 of the first half led to a 30-22 halftime lead for Nikiski.

The advantage grew in the third quarter thanks to a trio of treys from Lillian Carstens, Emma Wik and Kaycee Bostic, and the rout was on as Nikiski led 47-33 at the end of three quarters.

Nikiski boys 56, South JV 23

The Nikiski boys avenged a pair of close losses earlier in the tournament with a dominant victory Saturday in Nikiski.

Jace Kornstad pumped in a game-high 18 points for Nikiski and Michael Mysing chipped in 13. Kornstad had 16 by halftime and Mysing had 11.

Overall, the Bulldogs had 10 different players reach the scoring column, a stat that made coach Reid Kornstad pleased.

“Getting everyone involved, looking for that higher level of engagement on the defensive end,” said Kornstad when asked what the team did well. “Mike (Mysing) is one of our most consistent players and gives an effort on offense and defense, and that showed tonight.”

The Nikiski boys lost 45-43 to Houston on Thursday, then lost 58-48 to Glennallen on Friday. Overall, the Bulldogs came out of the weekend with a plus 21-point differential but only a 1-2 record to show for it.

Jace Kornstad fueled the Bulldogs offensive spurt in the first quarter, scoring 12 points to easily outscore the South JV himself. Nikiski led 18-4 in the first quarter and used a 15-0 run to grab a 26-4 lead by the 4:58 mark of the second quarter.

A 3-pointer by senior Jacob Smith at the halftime buzzer put Nikiski ahead 36-11, and an 8-0 run to open the second half allowed coach Kornstad to substitute in his bench players.

FRIDAY

The Nikiski girls put themselves one win away from taking the Rus Hitchcock Nikiski Tip Off Tournament title with a win Friday over Glennallen 61-34.

The Bulldogs survived an early scare after Glennallen took an early 13-9 lead, but the home team rebounded in a big way, outscoring Glennallen 48-8 in the second and third quarters combined.

Bethany Carstens led the Nikiski charge with 22 points in three quarters, and Kelsey Clark netted nine of her 11 points in the third quarter. Sophie Tynne paced Glennallen with 17.

Glennallen boys 58, Nikiski 48

The Bulldogs lost to the Panthers Friday at Nikiski to fall to 0-2 on the weekend.

Jace Kornstad poured in 21 points on five 3-pointers before fouling out while Noah Litke added 13. For Glennallen, Aiden Fields dropped 27 on the Bulldogs.

Glennallen led 12-9 after one quarter and 27-20 at the half, then extended its lead to 33-27 before winning the fourth quarter 25-21. Fields went 8 for 9 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.

In other Friday games, the South girls beat Houston 46-33 and the Houston boys toppled the South JV boys 69-47.

Boys Tournament MVP — Aidan Fields, Glennallen.

Girls Tournament MVP — Bethany Carstens, Nikiski.

All-Tournament teams

Boys — Jace Kornstad, Nikiski; Kyle McLaughlin, Houston; Luke Weimer, Glennallen; Chris Fuller, South; Trevor Alexander, Glennallen.

Girls — Anna Lorence, Glennallen; Denali Whited, Houston; Lily Weimann, South; Kaitlyn Johnson, Nikiski; Kelsey Clark, Nikiski.

Saturday girls

Bulldogs 54, Wolverines 40

South 16 6 11 7 —40

Nikiski 8 22 17 7 —54

SOUTH (40) — Currier 2, Agbayana 0, Kashevarof 10, Hazelbaker 5, Soland 14, Noble 2, Azzam 0, Weimann 7, Steadman 0.

NIKISKI (54) — Jeffreys 4, Wik 7, L. Carstens 10, Bostic 5, Johnson 0, B. Carstens 15, Epperheimer 2, Clark 8, Druesedow 3, Hooper 0, Reichert 0, Zimmerman 0, Rizzo 0.

3-point FG — Nikiski 7 (Clark 2, Wik 1, L. Carstens 1, Bostic 1, B. Carstens 1, Druesedow 1); South 3 (Weimann 2, Hazelbaker 1).

Team fouls — Nikiski 15; South 16. Fouled out — Hazelbaker, Noble.

Saturday boys

Bulldogs 56, Wolverines 23

South 4 7 5 7 —23

Nikiski 18 18 13 7 —56

SOUTH JV (23) — Fuller 0, Lee 0, Ferreira 0, Lincoln 3, Jobarteh 2, Lynch 0, Bjorgen 2, Sugita 3, Wardhaugh 0, Whited 2, Heath 9, Isolokwu 2.

NIKISKI (56) — Mysing 13, Weathers 0, Smith 3, Kornstad 18, Berry 2, Handley 4, Litke 5, Payne 2, DeSiena 3, Gray 0, Souza 0, Eiter 2, White 4, Malston 0.

3-point FG — Nikiski 6 (Mysing 2, Smith 1, Kornstad 1, Litke 1, White 1); South JV 3 (Lincoln 1, Sugita 1, Heath 1).

Team fouls — Nikiski 7; South JV 14. Fouled out — none.

Friday girls

Bulldogs 61, Panthers 34

Glennallen 13 2 6 13 —34

Nikiski 9 25 23 4 —61

GLENNALLEN (34) — Nollner 2, Cook 2, Lorence 11, Tynne 17, Tudela 0, Roeske 0, Wasankari 2.

NIKISKI (61) — Jeffreys 8, Wik 3, L. Carstens 3, Bostic 1, Johnson 6, B. Carstens 22, Epperheimer 2, Clark 11, Druesedow 5, Hooper 0, Reichert 0, Zimmerman 0, Epperheimer 0.

3-point FG — Glennallen 6 (Lorence 3, Tynne 3); Nikiski 8 (B. Carstens 4, Wik 1, Johnson 1, Clark 1, Druesedow 1).

Team fouls — Glennallen 13; Nikiski 15. Fouled out — none.

Friday boys

Panthers 58, Bulldogs 48

Glennallen 12 15 6 25 —58

Nikiski 9 11 7 21 —48

GLENNALLEN (58) — Jones 7, Welmer 2, Fields 27, Cyr 0, Fields 4, Spears 8, Alexander 10.

NIKISKI (48) — Mysing 5, Weathers 2, Smith 2, Kornstad 21, Handley 0, Litke 13, DeSiena 0, Gray 0, Eiter 5.

3-point FG — Glennallen 3 (Fields 3); Nikiski 10 (Kornstad 5, LItke 3, Mysing 1, Eiter 1).

Team fouls — Glennallen 7; Nikiski 15. Fouled out — Kornstad.