The Crimson Bear men's basketball team beat the Lathrop Malemutes on Saturday, 61-50, to sweep their three-game Fairbanks road-trip and extend their win streak to five games.
It was the second time in three days that the No. 2 Bears (16-2 overall, 4-0 Region V) defeated the No. 3 Malemutes - an impressive feat, even by the stringent standards of Juneau coach George Houston.
"Oh yeah," Houston agreed in a telephone interview late Saturday night. "They're good and talented, I was impressed. Athletically, they're very tough. (sophomore Norman) Edwards is 6-7, he's gonna be a good player. (Ryan) Broker a just a junior and (Kyle) Bailey a junior; they're good for a couple years ahead."
On Friday, the Bears had little trouble in disposing of West Valley (2-9), winning by a 56-38 count.
It's been so cold in Fairbanks - between 30 and 40 below zero - that the city's rental car companies wouldn't rent out their cars. Juneau was forced to use the city bus system to get around town, but Houston said that worked out as well as it possibly could have.
"The bus service has been really good, they got us everywhere right on time," he said. "Then they took us to places after the game to get food. We didn't have the luxury or freedom we normally do, but it worked out good."
On Saturday, Juneau's Carlos Boozer led all scorers with 28 points; teammates Christian Carpeneti (11) and Rob Ridgeway (10) also scored in double figures.
Saturday's game was close through three quarters. The Bears opened up an 18-11 lead after one quarter, thanks in large part to a pair of late three-point baskets by Boozer and senior guard Rob Ridgeway, but the Malemutes closed the gap to two points, 24-22, at the half.
In Thursday's 77-67 win, Boozer had 42 points - just three off the school record of 45 set by Jason Bavard. But the Malemutes double- and triple-teamed the Crimson Bear standout on Saturday and he finished the half with just seven points.
"That game on Thursday was the best officiated I've seen in a long time," Houston said, noting college-level officials called the contest. "They really kept it under control. Tonight (Saturday) was a lot more physical. We had to really dig deep after three games in three nights."
Boozer busted out for 21 points in Saturday's second half, though. The game went back and forth in the opening moments of the third quarter but - just as they did on Thursday - the Bears began to pull away from that point on.
Juneau upped its lead to six points after three quarters, 42-36, and then went on an 11-4 run to start the fourth quarter that proved to be too much for the Malemutes to overcome.
Boozer canned a trey and a short jumper to give the Bears a 51-40 lead. Carpeneti followed with a steal which he turned into a layup seconds later, giving the Bears an insurmountable 13-point lead halfway into the final stanza.
Evan Tromble added 8 points to the Bear attack; Lathrop's Ryan Broker canned a team-high 21 points, but was the only Malemute to score in double figures.
The only down side to the weekend was that senior post Mike VanderJack hurt his back and will likely have to get some physical therapy. The good news is that the Bears have next weekend off - as do the women, for the second week in a row - so the players have some time to lick their wounds.
"This was a good situation, to play three games in three days," Houston said. "It's like the state tournament; to come in and win two games against a really good opponent will, hopefully help us prepare for later in March."
