The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé boys basketball team won the “battle of the bears” over the weekend, sweeping host Kodiak 67-43 on Friday and 71-62 Saturday.
“Winning on the road is tough,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “Winning both nights is tougher. We were up to the task this weekend against Kodiak.”
The JDHS guards were especially proficient Friday as junior Joren Gasga tallied a game-high 20 points and senior Gavin Gerrin 15. Junior Brandon Casperson had eight assists.
“Brandon was steady in keying the attack,” coach Casperson said. “Joren was his usual self, but this time a number of his scoring opportunities came from his defense and Gavin had his best game of the season on both sides of the ball.”
JDHS took a 15-7 lead after eight minutes, but gave up 14 points to Kodiak in the second quarter and held a 24-21 advantage at half time.
JDHS junior Elias Dybdahl provided strong inside support in the third quarter and hit three buckets in the stanza as the Crimson Bears regained control of the game. Gasga connected for 11 points in the quarter and senior Pedrin Saceda-Hurt and Casperson four apiece, while junior Kurt Kuppert hit one from past the arc.
JDHS would tally 30 points in the stanza and hold a 54-33 lead with eight minutes left to play.
“Elias provided a lift through extended minutes when Ben Sikes got in four trouble early,” coach Casperson said. “We had a great third quarter with much better anticipation on defense. We rotated quickly to help the helper and that led to steals that resulted in layups for us.”
JDHS would outscore Kodiak 13-10 in the fourth quarter.
Casperson would score seven points in the game, Saceda-Hurt and Dybdahl six apiece, Kuppert five, Parker and Sikes four apiece.
JDHS hit 13-20, Kodiak 9-16.
Kelly Ticman led Kodiak with 15 points, Liam Danelski had nine, Christian Enrique eight, Mac Abellera four, Buba Basuel, Tyler Ursin and Hezekiah Nidoy two each and Cowan Mangampo one.
On Saturday, a balanced scoring attack in the first quarter gave JDHS a 20-15 lead. Gasga hit from distance and inside the arc for five points, Saceda-Hurt and Sikes scored four apiece in the stanza, Parker three, and Gerrin and B. Casperson two apiece.
JDHS continued to add to the lead in the second quarter with Parker finding a shot past the arc, Kuppert and sophomore Logan Carriker scoring four apiece and Gasga connecting on two free throws for a 33-23 lead at the half.
Kodiak’s Ticman connected for nine of his game-high 26 points in the third period as the Bears outscored the Crimson Bears 22-16 in the stanza to trail by just four points 49-45.
“We played through some adversity in the second half after Kodiak came out hot in the third quarter and quickly erased our 10 point lead,” coach Casperson said. “I was proud of the way our guys responded. They didn’t buckle. They didn’t bend. they dug down and picked up the intensity on defense. We were able to find our rhythm and got some crucial defensive rebounds that led to open transition baskets for us. We put Kodiak in a situation where they had to foul us late in the game, and we stepped up to the free throw line and knocked down the shots to maintain our lead.”
Ticman would connect for another three shots past the arc in the fourth quarter and one basket closer in, but JDHS would outscore Kodiak 22-17 in the period to claim the game.
Gasga led the Crimson Bears with 21 points, Saceda-Hurt added 16, Dybdahl eight, Parker seven, Casperson five, Sikes, Kuppert and Carriker four each and Gerrin two.
JDHS hit 11-15 at the charity stripe, Kodiak 9-11.
Ticman led Kodiak with 26, Enriquez added 18, Danelski eight, Basuel and Mangampo four apiece, and Abellera two.
“Joren and Pedrin played well and led us in scoring and Elias continued to be solid with his rebounding and he shot a high percentage from the floor,” coach Casperson added.
JDHS improves to 7-12 overall. They are 0-2 in the Southeast Conference and will travel to conference foe Ketchikan (12-6 overall, 2-0 SEC) next weekend. The Kings defeated the Crimson Bears 52-48 and 70-63 at George Houston Gymnasium the first week of January.
In weekend JDHS junior varsity action the JV hosted the Haines varsity, falling 55-29 Friday and 51-24 Saturday.
JDHS junior Christian Rielly led with seven points on Friday, freshman Keaton Belcourt six, junior Damian Efergan and sophomore Wrenz Del Rosario five apiece, senior Shayder Zamora four and sophomore Rylan Henderson two.
Haines was led by senior Phoenix Swaner with 18 points, juniors Colton Combs and James Stickler 12 apiece, sophomore Brody Ferrin five, senior Alex Weerasinghe and sophomore Kyran Sweet four apiece.
On Saturday JDHS was led by Efergan’s eight points, Zamora, junior Ryland Carlson and junior Marcus Mendoza three each, freshman Zach Polasky, sophomore Erik Thompson and Belcourt two each, and Del Rosario one.
Haines was led by Comb’s 14 points, Swaner added 11, Stickler eight, junior JC Davis five, Weerasinghe and Sweet four apiece, Ferrin three and freshman Isaac Jones two.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.
