The Brinson brothers came back to their home court and acted like they never left, playing the backcourt side-by-side and pushing Angoon to a second straight B Bracket championship 79-66 over Haines on Saturday at the 76th Annual Juneau Lions Club Gold Medal Basketball Tournament in the George Houston Gymnasium.
“It means a lot to represent for our family of Angoon,” said Aquino Brinson, a 2013 Juneau-Douglas High School graduate. “With our great-grandma passing away a couple years ago, just means a lot, a lot honestly.”
Added 2008 JDHS graduate Dominic Brinson, “I love the tournament. I love playing with my brother and it’s great to come out with the family in the stands. Me and ‘Quino’ played on this court growing up so it’s always great to be back home.”
Angoon’s A. Brinson and Clayton Edwin hit for an early 4-0 lead, but Haines went on a 15-3 run behind Tyler Swinton, Kirby Faverty, Kyle Fossman and Tyler Healy to lead 15-7.
Haines’ Kirby Faverty scores under pressure from Angoon’s Aquino Brinson (1), Clayton Edwin (8), Duncan O’Brien (34) and Gregory Bennum (25) during the B Bracket Championship on Saturday at the 76th Annual Juneau Lions Club Gold Medal Basketball Tournament in Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé’s George Houston Gymnasium. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
Angoon’s Edwin would hit twice to close to 15-12 and Haines’ Swinton closed the quarter with a muscle move inside for 17-12.
Haines exploded out of the second quarter on an 8-0 run by Swinton, Fossman and Kyle Rush, forcing an Angoon timeout.
D. Brinson came out of the rest with a score and Edwin was fouled on a scoring drive and hit the free throw for a spark.
Rush and Fossman put Haines up 29-17. Angoon’s A. Brinson hit a reverse layup, D. Brinson from past the arc and Edwin two free throws to close to 29-24 at the half.
Rush opened the third quarter with a basket for a Haines 31-24 lead. But D. Brinson blew by his defenders to score and Kendrick Payton battled inside for a bucket against Haines’ Swinton to trail 31-28.
“It was a big battle,” Payton said. “Tyler he’s a big player, really exhausting but we were able to get it together in the second half, we got warmed up, got some easy buckets and the guys got it going…This game meant a lot. We’re all family. We all come together for this from all over the place, just to come back and see everyone…It’s a real blessing to see everyone here, it’s just a real big part of this.”
Haines’ Swinton made it 33-28, but Angoon answered with scores by A. Brinson, Isiah Nelson and two free throws by D. Brinson for a 34-33 lead that forced a Haines timeout.
The two sides exchanged baskets through the stanza, but Angoon would keep a 43-40 lead with the fourth quarter remaining.
D. Brinson scored to open the final stanza and Angoon pushed out to a 58-48 lead with four minutes left to play.
Angoon’s Aquino Brinson (1) shoots a free throw against Haines during the B Bracket Championship on Saturday at the 76th Annual Juneau Lions Club Gold Medal Basketball Tournament in Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé’s George Houston Gymnasium. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
After two free throws by D. Brinson and two shots past the arc by Edwin Angoon had a 68-53 lead and control of the game. Haines could not close to under 10 points the rest of the fourth quarter and fell 79-66.
“Man, this means a lot,” Edwin said of the win. “Just glad the guys came strong even though we were losing guys to injuries…they just kept a posititve attitude and humility. Man, it is awesome because we haven’t gotten back-to-back in like a decade or something and it is just good to know we still have a lot of kids coming up and still hooping at a high level.”
Edwin noted how important teammates are.
“Man, without support it is hard,” Edwin said. “It’s a cold world. We need that support and love from one another. So it means everything to me.”
Box score
Angoon 79 – Edwin 31 (2F), D. Brinson 17 (1F), Nelson 8 (1F), A. Brinson 7 (2F), Payton 6 (4F), Duncan O’Brien 4 (1F), Levi Johnson Jr 2, Christian Nelson 2, Anthony Johnson (1F). Angoon hit 12-14 at the free throw line.
Haines 66 – Swinton 23 (3F), Rush 18 (4F), Faverty 13, Fossman 12 (5F), Chevy Fowler (1F), James Hart (4F). Haines hit 9-14 at the line.
B Bracket champions Angoon pose for a photo Saturday after winning the 76th Annual Gold Medal Basketball Tournament (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
B Bracket Awards
Championship – Angoon. Runner Up – Haines.
Sportsmanship Award – Kirby Faverty, Haines.
All-Tournament Team – Tyler Swinton, Haines; Dominic Brinson, Angoon; Kyle Fossman, Haines; Orion Dybdahl, Hoonah; Sean Oliver, Hoonah; Ethan Kadake, Kake; Vinny Edenshaw, Hydaburg; Clayton Olmstad, Ketchikan; Nate Yockey, Klawock; Arthur Adams, Yakutat.
Most Valuable Player – Clayton Edwin, Angoon.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.
B Bracket runner-up Haines pose for a photo Saturday at the 76th Annual Gold Medal Basketball Tournament (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
The 76th Annual Gold Medal Basketball Tournament B Bracket All-Tournament Team, left to right, Clayton Edwin (Angoon), Kyle Fossman (Haines), Sean Oliver (Hoonah), Clayton Olmstead (Ketchikan), Ethan Kadake (Kake), Orion Dybdahl (Hoonah), Kirby Faverty (Haines) Dominic Brinson (Angoon), Tyler Swinton (Haines). Not pictured Vinny Edenshaw (Hydaburg), Nate Yockey (Klawock), Arthur Adams (Yakutat). (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
