With 2:55 remaining in the final regular-season home game of his prolific high school career, Crimson Bear star Carlos Boozer walked off the Juneau-Douglas High School gym floor to a rousing standing ovation by the appreciative capacity crowd.
One half expected to see the Sitka players join in.
After the numbers Boozer piled up this weekend in Juneau's sweep, the Wolves couldn't bid Boozer farewell soon enough.
On Friday, Boozer had 26 points and 13 rebounds in the Bears' 84-55 win. On Saturday, the 6-foot-9, 240 pound forward canned 29 points and had 15 rebounds in an 85-62 win - along with six assists, four steals and three blocked shots, including one that was propelled halfway up the bleachers.
The pair of wins increased Juneau's win streak to nine games and improved its record to 20-2, 8-0 in region play.
Boozer caused such a commotion on Saturday that he was unapproachable after the game due to the swarm of autograph seekers.
Four other seniors enjoyed their final regular-season game at home too - guard James Wilson, forward Christian Carpeneti, post Mike VanderJack and guard Rob Ridgeway.
Despite Boozer's sparkling finale - which included a dunk that may have registered on the Richter scale - Houston didn't feel his Bears played all that well. And he doesn't know why.
"If I had the answer I'd bottle it," Houston said. "We talked about all the reasons we had for winning: it was the last regular-season game for the seniors and the team; we had a chance at a 20-win regular-season; we could go undefeated in the league; and we go strong into the playoffs. We talked about all those things," Houston said, shrugging his shoulders.
That wasn't just coach-speak, either.
Though the two scores were similar in their lopsidedness, they were much different games. On Friday, Juneau jumped out to a 17-2 lead and never looked back. On Saturday Sitka played a much better game. The Wolves trailed by just seven points in the second quarter before Juneau ran off eight straight points to end the period - the last two on an acrobatic left-handed layin by Boozer.
Carpeneti (15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists) said it wasn't too emotional for him on Saturday, knowing that he and his teammates will get another chance to play on the JD gym floor in two weeks when Juneau hosts the Region V 3A/4A tournament.
"I think that showed tonight; I don't think we played anywhere near our best," said the 6-2 guard who's also enjoyed a stellar career. "I think we could have come out a lot stronger."
He said he didn't think that Juneau's manhandling of Sitka on Friday made the Bears any less focused on Saturday.
"I don't think so. I mean, just playing your last regular-season game at home should be incentive enough for you."
The flip side, Houston said, was that Sitka played much better on Saturday.
"They're young, too. They'll be a good team for years to come," Houston said. "They're playing a different (pressing) style this year. It takes time to build that, to learn the philosophy. They're pretty good now; they're going to get even better."
The only bad news over the weekend was that Wilson ended up with a busted nose playing his typical - what else? - hard-nosed defense. He got a little too close to a Sitka player on Friday, and the other guy's elbow won the battle.
He still played a few minutes on Saturday, and he'll be able to play in the region championships in two weeks, but he said he'll have to wear a plastic face shield to protect from further injury.
"This isn't how I wanted it (his regular-season) to end," Wilson said.
He knew right away it was broken.
"I felt it break, I heard it," he said.
Ouch.
While Sitka got the better of that battle, it definitely suffered more in the overall war.
