It's a story line right out of Tales from the Crypt.
On Jan. 23, 1998, the Crimson Bear men's varsity basketball team lost in overtime by two points to archrival East Anchorage.
In the 25 games since then, the Bears have not lost.
They play the T-Birds again this Saturday in the final round of the 1999 T-Bird Classic.
The date? Jan. 23.
Feel a tingle go up your spine?
Of course, if the Bears (9-0 overall, 2-0 region) get all caught up in the irony, they could find themselves going into Saturday's tourney finale on a three-game losing skid.
That would definitely take some luster off the storyline.
Juneau faces a tough Chugiak team tonight at 8 p.m. in a single, pre-tournament warmup, then it clashes with West Anchorage, Fairbanks' North Pole and East Anchorage in tourney play Thursday through Saturday.
Chugiak poses an interesting matchup. Juneau played the Mustangs in the opening round of the state playoffs last year and won, 71-45, but the Mustangs actually played Juneau quite tough. The Bears were up 13 going into the final quarter.
The Mustangs (4-3, 0-1 Region IV) have a pair of talented 6-foot-8 forwards in Steve Dawson and Jens Jensen, and a sharp 6-4 guard in Levi Rollman - voted third-team all-state last year.
"We're playing East, one of the top teams in the state," noted Juneau senior center Mike VanderJack. But he quickly added, "Chugiak played East real close."
True, the Mustangs lost to East by only six points two weeks ago, but then they fell hard against Dimond last weekend. Juneau swept a home series from Dimond rather handily two weeks ago, though the Lynx played Juneau better than anybody else this year in a 64-53 loss.
Which means if Juneau beat Dimond and Dimond beat Chugiak ... Juneau coach George Houston said trying to compare teams in that manner is a worthless endeavor.
"You can't do that," Houston said. "Who knows? Maybe they (the Mustangs) were looking past Dimond to us. We can only take care of ourselves. We've talked all season long about taking it one game at a time. It sounds like a cliche, but if you don't do that things can get dicey on you."
Juneau matches up with West (3-4) and North Pole before its big rematch with East - after losing to the T-Birds twice last year in the regular season, Juneau beat them in a classic state championship game, 50-48, when Carlos Boozer banked in a jump shot with three seconds left in the game.
East (7-3, 3-0 in Alaska) returns its typical array of outstanding talent. Lightning-quick guards Howard Bellamy (second-team all-state), Garland Perry (transfer from Bartlett) and Brandon Edwards all can score and spearhead the intense T-Bird press; forward Rahim Abdul-Bassit (6-2, plays like 6-8) is a rebounding machine.
The hectic four-games-in-four-days schedule will be a good test for Juneau, Houston said - a test that the Bears have failed the past two years.
In the 1996-97 season the Bears lost to Colony to kick off the Alaska Classic tournament, then stumbled to a 6-5 record among Alaska competition to finish the season. Last year, the Bears lost four of six games when it went up for the Alaska Prep Shootout.
"It's a situation where we haven't played well," Houston said. "We should have a lot of incentive. It's a good challenge for us."
Of course, it warrants mentioning that JD went on to win state championships in both of the past two seasons - certainly, the memories of hoisting a championship trophy are more lasting than the mid-season losses.
Nonetheless, Juneau senior guard Rob Ridgeway said this is an important trip for Juneau.
"Yeah it is, real important," he said after Juneau finished practice Tuesday at the high school gym. "We've gotta show the Anchorage schools that we're one of the teams to beat in the state. We've lost some tough ones up there."
Ridgeway said returning with four wins will give Juneau a mental edge when the postseason rolls around - if East, Chugiak and West fail to beat Juneau in their own backyard, can they do it on the neutral court in Fairbanks?
Sure they can, but Juneau would love that bit of doubt to be rooted in their opponents' psyches.
Plus, on a more self-serving note, there's talk that the Bears could be ranked nationally should they come back from Anchorage undefeated. That's not unfathomable - Juneau is playing excellent basketball.
The Bears demoralized Sitka in Sitka last weekend, winning the two-game set by a total of 38 points.
"I was pleased with the Sitka games, how we went after them," Houston said.
In fact, none of Juneau's games have really even been close this year, including their Capital City Classic win over defending Washington state champion Garfield, 81-71.
"We're playing real well," VanderJack said. "We've improved every weekend. It seems like every weekend we play a better game the second night."
Agreed Ridgeway, "Everything seems comfortable. We're moving the ball, talking to each other ... we're working as a team and that's what it takes to win."
To be sure, though senior standout Carlos Boozer continues to display an unbelievable level of talent - averaging about 29 points and 12 rebounds - possibly his greatest asset is his versatility and ability to get other teammates involved in the game.
The Crimson Bears' intensity has not wavered, regardless of their opponent. Houston has said that will be a key to the team's success this year.
"To go to Anchorage and play the top two or two of maybe the top four teams, it's a big opportunity," Houston said. "They're road games, so we get a chance to evaluate ourselves in less than hospitable circumstances."
