One of coach George Houston's stated goals for his men's basketball team is to go undefeated in Southeast play every year.
This weekend, the Crimson Bear men moved a step closer to that goal, with a weekend sweep at Ketchikan to move to 6-0 in region play and a first-round bye in the Southeast tournament March 11-13 in Juneau. Juneau won 72-44 Saturday night and 75-53 Friday.
On Friday, Boozer showed what he could do in the paint - he put eight dunks to bed to lead Juneau with 33 points and 17 rebounds. Boozer struggled from the floor however, and the next morning when Ketchikan television showed the game, announcers said his inside moves were impressive, but his outside game was lacking.
Saturday night, Boozer proved he does indeed possess an all-around game, hitting four 3-pointer, including three straight in the second quarter to blow open a close game en route to his game-high 35 points.
Not to forget the jam department, Boozer stuffed four, including a 360 degree slam off a steal in the third quarter and off an alley-oop pass from point guard James Wilson in the fourth.
"He may have taken that to heart," Houston said of the T.V. commentary.
The sweep gave Juneau (18-2) its seventh straight victory after a 10-point loss to East Anchorage Jan. 23.
The last time Juneau lost to a Southeast opponent was the regular-season finale against Sitka two years ago. That loss didn't stop the Crimson Bears from gaining their first of two consecutive state titles, but it did lead Houston to never take an opponent lightly.
"We can't," Houston said. "To go to state we have to play one of those teams again. It comes down to one basketball game."
Wilson added nine points for Juneau, followed by Robert Ridgeway (six) and Chris Carpeneti (five).
Kayhi's Ariel Manabat led the Kings with 16 points, while Jesse Richardson added nine and Jared Cockrum six.
In junior varsity and C-team action, Juneau's JV lost 52-50 Saturday after a 40-31 win Friday. The C-team won 39-35 Friday and fell 50-43 Saturday.
Juneau ends its Southeast schedule with home contests against Sitka next weekend.
Friday night's game
The JDHS men's basketball team showed some rust from their two-week layoff, managing just a 14-13 lead after the first quarter before pulling away to defeat Ketchikan.
Carlos Boozer led the Crimson Bears with 33 points and 17 rebounds, while Chris Carpeneti chipped in 14 points and eight boards as Juneau clinched the Southeast title.
Point guard James Wilson - who averages over 13 points a game - scored just
four points but dished out nine assists and had four rebounds.
Evan Tromble had 11 points for Juneau and Robert Ridgeway poured in eight.
Kayhi's Jesse Richardson scored 11 and Brandon Nicholas followed with nine.
