The scrubs got the call Saturday night against Ketchikan, and they made the most of their precious minutes on the court.
Missing from the Juneau-Douglas men's basketball team were starters Rob Ridgeway, Chris Carpeneti and James Wilson because of disciplinary reasons, and backup players Evan Tromble, Rick Carte and Grady Treston started in their place.
The results were much the same as Juneau's last meeting with the Kings, however, when Juneau (13-2, 4-0 in region) swept a pair in Ketchikan by large margins last season. This time around, the Crimson Bears defeated Ketchikan 73-42 Saturday after an 83-49 drubbing the night before.
Juneau coach George Houston would not elaborate on why Carpeneti, Wilson and Ridgeway had to sit the game, but said the suspension would last but one game and all three will make a trip to Fairbanks next weekend.
"It was a team disciplinary thing," Houston said. "We made the decision just prior to gametime."
The loss of the three talented starters forced some line changes, but Houston said his team adjusted well.
"We had to play some people in various spots they weren't used to," he said, "and in most respects they played well. Whoever it was pretty much did okay as long as number four (Boozer) was out there."
Prep standout Carlos Boozer continued his torrid shooting streak, hitting 11-of-18 shots, including two 3-pointers, for a game-high 30 points to go along with 10 rebounds and a blocked shot. He added a thunderous alley-oop jam in the second quarter off a feed by Treston.
For the season, Boozer is shooting 71 percent and averaging 10.9 rebounds per game.
With key producers like Wilson (14.8 points per game, 25 points versus Kayhi Friday) and Carpeneti (11.8 ppg) out, the scoring load was picked up by Tromble (11 points, seven rebounds), Treston (eight points) and a host of other Crimson Bears brought up from the junior varsity.
Kayhi was led by Hyrum Neilson's 13 points, followed by Ethan Barto with 10.
Juneau next travels to Fairbanks for games against Lathrop Thursday and Saturday with a contest against West Valley on Friday.
Friday's game, Juneau 83, Ketchikan 49
Juneau guard James Wilson reached the 20-point plateau for the third straight game, hitting 6-of-6 3-point attempts for 25 points in the Crimson Bears' lopsided victory over region-rival Ketchikan.
Wilson led Juneau with 27 points in a 87-77 loss to East last weekend, the only game this season center Carlos Boozer hasn't shouldered the scoring lead.
Boozer led Juneau with 27 points on 12-of-16 shooting against the Kings, and garnered 11 rebounds.
Alexis Pang led Kayhi with 11 points.
