The Juneau-Douglas High School boys basketball team shook off its worst loss of the season by defeating Ketchikan High School, 75-67, on Friday night at JDHS.
On Thursday, JDHS lost to Colony by nearly to 30 points, and only put 13 points on the board at halftime. Fast-forward to Friday night, the Crimson Bears were up 13 points midway through the third quarter, the result of a 14-0 run.
“That was a hard-fought battle, man,” JDHS senior Philip Gonzales said. “Like the other comment I had the other day, no one expected us to win, except us, except our team.”
Gonzales’ previous comment came after the Crimson Bears won the Capital City Classic in December, when he called out “naysayers” who didn’t believe in the team.
Sophomore Brock McCormick scored a season-high 23 points and led the Crimson Bears with three 3-pointers. Senior Krishant Samtani had 14 points and sophomore Cooper Kriegmont added 11.
“This was a big game and every game is for us because we’re trying to learn and get better,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “I told the guys that they didn’t play perfectly, but they tried to play with a perfect effort. And so they really got after it.”
Senior Marcus Lee and junior Chris Lee scored 22 points each, but no other King scored above eight points. Ketchikan coach Eric Stockhausen said his team didn’t play up to its potential. It was just the second loss on the season for Kayhi (5-2), who returned its entire starting lineup from last season — including their first-team all-state point guard in Marcus Lee.
The Crimson Bears made a quick succession of shots, including 3-pointers by McCormick and Samtani, to take a 46-33 lead midway through the third session. Meanwhile, the Kings were stalled as turnovers and missed shots mounted.
“They did have a lot of energy, got a lot of deflections, got some easy baskets out of it,” Stockhausen said. “We just did not play well together as a team on the offensive or defensive end and that’s my responsibility as a coach is to make that happen, and I didn’t do a good job tonight.”
Chris Lee brought the Kings within seven points with 1:40 left in the third. Before Ketchikan could cut into the lead any more though, junior Austin McCurley and Samtani drilled back-to-back 3-pointers. JDHS led 58-47 going into the fourth quarter.
Both teams went over the foul limit in the final quarter, resulting in a dizzying 30 foul shots. Overall, JDHS went 20-of-31 from the line, while Ketchikan went 17-of-31.
The two rivals returned to the JDHS hardwood on Saturday night. The Crimson Bears and Kings each have three more conference series to go — one more against each other and two against Thunder Mountain. Ketchikan hosts JDHS Feb. 1-2.
“We bounced back today — everybody just did a great job, the bench was great,” senior Philip Gonzales said after @CrimsonBball‘s 75-67 win over Kayhi on Friday. JDHS lost to Colony 66-40 the day before. pic.twitter.com/snFUV6B4ge
— Empire Sports (@akempiresports) January 12, 2019
JDHS girls stomp Eagle River
The Juneau-Douglas High School girls basketball team picked up its first road victory of the season at the Ice Jam Tournament in Fairbanks on Friday afternoon.
JDHS easily defeated Eagle River 53-22 to advance to the tournament’s fourth-place game against East Anchorage on Saturday. The Thunderbirds took down the Crimson Bears in a close Princess Cruises Capital City Classic game earlier this season.
Senior Alyxn Bohulano paced Juneau with 16 points and junior Sadie Tuckwood picked up 13 points.
Anchorage Christian School plays West Valley in the championship game. ACS won big over Valdez 67-25 and Lathrop 76-46 going into Saturday. West Valley trounced Eagle River 66-12 in the first round and beat Bartlett 62-51 in the second round.
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nainsworth@juneauempire.com. Follow Empire Sports on Twitter @akempiresports.
Juneau-Douglas’ Garrett Bryant rebounds against Ketchikan’s Jake Taylor, left, and Kristian Pihl at JDHS on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019. JDHS won 75-67. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Juneau-Douglas’ Coach Robert Casperson yells instructions to his team against Ketchikan at JDHS on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019. JDHS won 75-67. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
