FAIRBANKS - Earlier this week, Wasilla coach Chuck Martin lamented that teams with the likes of Juneau's Carlos Boozer typically end up as the state champions.
He might have added that players like Boozer who have teammates like Christian Carpeneti stand an even better chance at success.
Boozer (21 points, 10 rebounds) was his normal outstanding self in Thursday's 57-50 win over the Warriors in the opening round of the men's 4A state basketball championships at the Carlson Center. But it was Carpeneti (17 points, three steals) who hit a big three-point shot late, then added four straight free throws to help the Bears fend off an upset-minded Wasilla squad.
"That was huge," agreed Boozer of Carpeneti's trey.
"He knocked it down," said Juneau coach George Houston.
The victory was the 12th straight for No. 2 Juneau (23-2). More importantly, it sets up what everybody has anticipated - a 4 p.m. showdown in today's semifinals pitting No. 1 East Anchorage, an easy winner over Palmer Thursday, against two-time defending state champion and second-ranked Juneau.
East won the only regular-season meeting 87-77 in late January at the T-bird Classic. In fact, the T-birds have won the last three regular-season games between these two, but Juneau has won the last two more important postseason games.
The Bears almost never got a second chance to see the T-birds this year. Juneau's win over Region III runnerup Wasilla (17-9) was far from easy for the two-time defending state champions.
Juneau struggled in the first half, trailing by as many as seven points before going on an 11-0 run to take a 25-22 lead into the intermission.
"I thought we played really well," said Wasilla coach Chuck Martin. "I told the kids at the half you can't afford a lot of mistakes against Juneau. We just had a couple of opportunities we missed."
But the Warriors made good on plenty, too.
"I think Wasilla outplayed us overall," Juneau coach George Houston said. "I know they had better coaching on their bench."
Juneau extended its lead to 40-34 after three quarters and looked poised to pull away on a pair of Boozer hoops early in the fourth quarter, giving the Bears a 44-36 lead. But the Warriors wouldn't roll over. They consistently blocked up the middle and made life in the paint miserable for Boozer, who was doubled and sagged upon all afternoon.
"It was physical," Boozer said. "But you've gotta be ready for state."
Juneau began getting the ball to Boozer up high above the free-throw line, where he had some pretty assists.
"It's hard to say you're not going to let Boozer get the ball," Martin said. "He was really tough down the stretch."
So was Wasilla's Justin Buzby (14 points). The 6-foot-2 Warrior junior canned a hoop and then a three-point play to cut Juneau's lead to three points, 44-41, with four minutes remaining. Wasilla's Ben Luer drilled a trey with two minutes left, cutting Juneau's lead to 48-46.
Suddenly, Wasilla had the momentum. The sizable, loud Juneau contingent was sitting on its hands, wondering if this - Wasilla? Opening round? - was how the Boozer era would come to an end.
But before Juneau could panic, Carpeneti took a pass in the far left corner on the Bears' next possession and unleashed a trey that got all net. Juneau, which shot poorly from the free-throw line earlier in the game, then canned its last six attempts from the line - four by Carpeneti and two by Rob Ridgeway - to secure the win.
"Carpeneti's was big," agreed Martin. "They miss there and we have a chance to win. But we said, hey, we got beat by two all-staters."
Houston said Juneau wasn't caught back on its heels, or looking ahead to the East matchup tonight.
"Credit Wasilla. They did the things they needed to do," Houston said. "I think we choked a little bit. Maybe I didn't get us loose enough."
Most of the Bears agreed that the Warriors, a team which hadn't made the playoffs since 1991, looked like a seasoned playoff contender. That's a credit to Martin who's in his first year at the Wasilla helm, after spending six successful years at Colony and spending last year at Division I Liberty.
Said Boozer: "I think they were a little bit better than we took them for. We had to step up in the second half; that's what we did."
The Bears said they'll have to turn in a much better performance this afternoon if they are to keep their hopes of a third straight title alive.
"We're gonna have to attack them (the T-birds) early and attack their pressure," Boozer said. "In every tournament you have one game where you don't play up to snuff," Houston said. "I certainly hope this was it."
