The Anchorage Christian Schools girls basketball team kept their undefeated season alive with a 67-52 victory over Nikiski on Saturday in the championship game of the Southcentral Conference tournament in Seward.
The Lions and Bulldogs both earn berths to the Class 3A state tournament. The boys state berths went to Grace Christian and Anchorage Christian Schools, with the Lions winning the conference title 62-46 to give the school a sweep.
“We’ll see about seedings at state, and I’m not looking past anyone, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see them again,” Nikiski coach Rustin Hitchcock said of the ACS girls.
The Bulldogs had also lost to the Lions 86-56 on Feb. 22.
In that February game, Hitchcock said Nikiski did a good job against the ACS press. Early in the championship game, the Lions’ press was effective in taking a 17-3 lead and a 21-8 advantage after one quarter. Hitchcock said his team did not have a great warmup, with a player sustaining a minor injury, and the Lions took advantage.
“ACS did a great job immediately establishing pressure,” Hitchcock said. “They got up by 14 points early and we lost by 15 because we were fouling at the end. If you take away that first run it’s a completely different game.”
The Bulldogs slowly worked their way back into the game and trailed just 51-48 after three quarters.
With the noisy gym, Hitchcock said his squad wasn’t running any specific sets on offense. They were just playing fundamental basketball and seeing how they matched up with the Lions.
“With a pressing team, that typically means they want you to operate on fear almost,” Hitchcock said. “We did the biggest preaching we could do, ‘They can’t get you.’”
A quick spurt at the beginning of the fourth quarter would decide the game, with ACS leading 61-50 with 4:15 left in the contest. Hitchcock said ACS is not used to close games, but the Lions nailed a couple of shots early in the fourth and gained confidence.
“We got a little winded and went pretty cold,” Hitchcock said.
ACS won the fourth quarter 16-4. Destiny Reimers finished with 24 points for the Lions, while Jordan Todd had 14 points. For the balanced Nikiski attack, Bethany Carstens led with 10 points.
Hitchcock gave special credit to Nikiski’s Kaycee Bostic for holding Todd, who is 6-foot-3, to the 14 points.
Kenai girls 24, Grace 19
The Kardinals secured third place and relegated Grace to fifth place in this defensive slugfest. Now the Kardinals wait until the March Madness Alaska Selection Show at 7 p.m. today to see if they have earned an at-large berth to the Class 3A state tournament.
The score was 2-0 Kenai after a quarter, 8-8 at halftime and 13-10 Kenai after three quarters.
Brooke Satathite had six points to lead Kenai, while Julia Tanner had seven points for Grace.
Kenai boys 61, Seward 51
The Kardinals pulled away in the third quarter and survived foul trouble in the fourth quarter to take third place and push the Seahawks to fifth place Saturday. Kenai now waits until the March Madness Alaska Selection Show at 7 p.m. today to see whether they have earned at at-large berth to the state tournament.
Kenai led 14-12 after the first quarter, but Seward grabbed a 29-28 lead at halftime. The Kards then jumped out to a 43-36 lead after three and held on as Logan Baker, Tyrone McEnerney and Braedon Pitsch fouled out. Seward couldn’t take advantage, going 21 of 40 from the foul line.
For the Kardinals, Adam Trujillo had 19 points, while Andrew Bezdecny added 11. Max Pfeiffenberger had 17 points to lead the Seahawks, while Sam Koster added 11.
Homer girls 33, Redington 22
The Mariners clamped down on defense to grab fourth place and send the Huskies to sixth place.
Homer led 4-3 after the first quarter, then the game was tied at 13 at the half. The Mariners then won the second half 20-9.
Marina Carroll had nine points for the Mariners, while Lexi Seymore had 10 for Redington.
Homer boys 54, Nikiski 38
The Mariners dominated the fourth quarter Saturday to win fourth place and relegate the Bulldogs to sixth place.
Homer led 16-9 after the first quarter, but Nikiski cut it to 29-25 at the half. Homer led 41-34 after three, then won the fourth 13-4.
Daniel Reutov had 18 points for Homer, while Clayton Beachy added 13. For Nikiski, Cody Handley had 13 points.
Southcentral awards
GIRLS
MVP — Destiny Reimers, ACS.
Coach of the Year — Tim Maki, Redington.
First team — Kelsey Clark, Nikiski; Abbie Fuller, Redington; Mykaila Pickard, ACS; Emma Wik, Nikiski; Brooke Satathite, Kenai; Tessa Binder, Grace; Jaycie Calvert, Kenai; Mary Kate Parks, ACS; Jordan Todd, ACS; Bethany Carstens, Nikiski; Ashley Jackson, Seward.
Second team — Shemah Yisrael, ACS; Lillian Carstens, Nikiski; Mary Graham, Houston; Lexi Seymore, Redington; Hayley Maw, Kenai; Jessie Davis, ACS; Grace Salima, Grace; Rylee Doughty, Homer; Marian Aparezuk, Redington; Rylyn Todd, Homer; Marina Carroll, Homer; Denali Whitted, Houston; Kaitlyn Johnson, Nikiski; Riley Von Borstel, Seward.
Good sport team — Shemah Yisrael, ACS; Jaycie Calvert, Kenai; Lexi Seymore, Redington; Jenna Markel, Grace; Anavey Ambrosiani, Seward; Lexi Dawson, Homer; Katie Richie, Houston; Kaycee Bostic, Nikiski.
BOYS
MVP — Orlando Lozano, ACS.
Coach of the Year — Al Plan, Seward.
First team — Cody Handley, Nikiski; Connor Felchle, Kenai; Japheth McGhee, Homer; Demarcus Hall-Scriven, ACS; Turner Goforth, Grace; Frederick Onochie, ACS; Adam Trujillo, Kenai; Nathan Ivanoff, Grace; Danilo Guzman, ACS; Jace Kornstad, Nikiski; Connor Spanos, Seward; Orlando Lozano, ACS.
Second team — Nathan Harriman, Grace; Max Pfeiffenberger, Seward; Noah Litke, Nikiski; Wayde Bowman, Redington; Andrew Beck, Grace; Daniel Reutov, Homer; Andrew Bezdecny, Kenai; Sam Koster, Seward; Seth Adkins, Homer; Gavin Mulhaney, Houston.
Good sport team — Josh Jarvis, Seward; Maxim Custodio, Kenai; Blake Butler, Grace; Shane Weathers, Nikiski; Cort Sandefur, Redington; Ethan Anderson, Homer; Matthew Welsh, Houston; Jayden Thomas, ACS.
CHEERLEADING
Coach of the Year — Haley Notch, Seward.
Good sport — Nia Calvert, Kenai; Madison Martin, ACS; Jessica Batubara, Seward; Kenzie Ormond, Homer.
All-region team — Kira Keller, ACS; Keelin McGraw, Kenai; Rileigh Pace, Kenai; Gaia Casagranda, Seward; Emily Milam, Homer; Ashleigh Martin, ACS; Arielle Hammer, Kenai; Carissa Houck, ACS; Jessica Bartubara, Seward; Kyrsten Johnson-Gray, Seward.
Saturday boys
Kardinals 61, Seahawks 51
Kenai 14 14 15 18 — 61
Seward 12 17 7 15 — 51
KENAI CENTRAL (61) — Felchle 6, Baker 3, Bezdecny 11, McEnerney 5, Stockton 3, Trujillo 19, Stafford 4, Pitsch 8. Totals — 24 10-20 61.
SEWARD (51) — Basalo 1, Spanos 6, Koster 11, Moriarity 2, Cronin 0, Ingalls 7, Pfeiffenberger 17, Jarvis 3, Nilsson 4. Totals — 14 21-40 51.
3-point goals — Kenai 3 (Baker, Bezdecny, McEnerney); Seward 2 (Koster, Ingalls). Team fouls — Kenai 27, Seward 18. Fouled out — Baker, McEnerney, Pitsch.
Mariners 54, Bulldogs 38
Homer 16 13 12 13 — 54
Nikiski 9 16 9 4 — 38
HOMER (54) — Beachy 13, Adkins 4, Reutov 18, Raymond 0, Anderson 8, Knapp 4, J. McGhee 7. Totals — 24 7-12 54.
NIKISKI (38) — Mysing 6, Weathers 2, Kornstad 7, Handley 13, Litke 4, DeSiena 3, Eiter 3. Totals — 13 4-7 38.
3-point goals — Homer 1 (Beachy); Nikiski 6 (Mysing 2, Handley 2, DeSiena, Eiter). Team fouls — Homer 14, Nikiski 12. Fouled out — none.
Saturday girls
Lions 67, Bulldogs 52
Nikiski 8 18 22 4 — 52
ACS 21 12 18 16 — 67
NIKISKI (52) — Jeffreys 8, Wik 5, L. Carstens 5, Bostic 5, Johnson 2, B. Carstens 10, B. Epperheimer 0, Clark 9, Druesedow 8. Totals — 20 10-16 52.
ANCHORAGE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS (67) — Parks 7, Smallwood 3, Davis 2, Reimers 24, Tiulana 0, Powell 0, Pickard 9, Yirael 7, Todd 14. Totals — 21 22-36 67.
3-point goals — Nikiski 4 (Jeffreys, Wik, B. Carstens, Clark); ACS 2 (Pickard 2). Team fouls — Nikiski 25, ACS 16. Fouled out — Reimers.
Kardinals 24, Grizzlies 19
Grace 0 8 2 9 — 19
Kenai 2 6 5 11 — 24
GRACE CHRISTIAN (19) — Coronado 0, Binder 6, Markel 0, Wood 0, Tanner 7, Salima 4, Snow 0, Annett 2, Turner 0. Totals — 6 5-10 19.
KENAI CENTRAL (24) — Calvert 3, Pierce 0, Hamilton 4, Maw 0, Hanson 4, Streiff 3, Severson 4, B. Satathite 6. Totals — 6 10-23 24.
3-point goals — none. Team fouls — Grace 17, Kenai 16. Fouled out — Wood, Tanner, Maw.
Mariners 33, Huskies 22
Homer 4 9 11 9 — 33
Redington 3 10 5 4 — 22
HOMER (33) — Rhodes 0, Inama 0, Bishop 8, Johnson 2, Doughty 8, Todd 6, Parish 0, Anderson 0, Carroll 9. Totals — 12 8-12 33.
REDINGTON (22) — Simmons 2, Williams 0, Stoker 0, Lytle 2, Aparezuk 0, Seymore 10, Fuller 8, Reavis 0. Totals — 7 8-15 22.
3-point goals — Homer 1 (Doughty). Team fouls — Homer 13, Redington 10. Fouled out — Fuller.
