Braves win shootout over Whalers for third place

A Saturday morning wake-up call turned into a game of H-O-R-S-E for the Mt. Edgecumbe Braves and Barrow Whalers as they torched the nets for 79 first-half points, with the Braves taking a 47-32 lead at the half and keeping control for an 81-73 third-place finish at the 3A basketball state championships in Anchorage.

“A great way to finish the season,” Mt. Edgecumbe coach Andrew Friske said. “First off with a win, but also a great showing of how far we’ve come playing as a team, staying composed and never letting off the pedal.”

Mt. Edgecumbe hit nine of their 20 shots past the arc in the first 16 minutes of action and Barrow notched seven of eight.

The Braves’ Kaden Herrmann hit two in a row to start the game, Richard Didrickson Jr. followed with one and added another late in the stanza as did Royce Alstrom and Xavier Gundersen, and in between big man Donovan Stephan-Standifer added a basket inside and another old-fashioned three-point play.

Mt. Edgecumbe led 27-19 after eight minutes.

Barrow firepower from outside came from Dwight Unutoa who hit 3-3 from past the arc, Ethan Goodwin, Hunter Wilhelm, Donald Adams and Alex Fruean all were perfect from deep as well.

Nothing slowed down in the second quarter as Didrickson Jr. started the stanza from a step past the arc, Elden Andrew did the same and Stephan-Standifier added his second old-fashioned three-point play, and then watched as Gundersen added his second shot past the arch and Mt. Edgecumbe led 39-24 and continue its a 47-32 halftime advantage.

Barrow’s Goodwin hit two baskets to start the second half and Mt. Edgecumbe’s Didrickson Jr. notched a pair of free throws. Herrmann rebounded a missed shot and dribbled the length of the court to score for a 51-36 lead.

Barrow would go on a 13-2 run to close to four points, 53-49 with 3:03 left in the stanza, before Stephan-Standifer stopped the bleeding with a power foul inside and hit two free throws.

Herrmann added a basket to start a 12-3 run to close the quarter with a 67-52 advantage.

Didrickson Jr. countered two shots by Barrow’s John Adams and Donald Adams to start the fourth quarter and Herrmann gave Mt. Edgecumbe a 73-57 lead.

Player Of The Game selection Stephan-Standifer had a highlight series when he battled inside for a rebound and outback score to answer a bucket by Barrows Jaziah Tivao, and then Stephan-Standifer ran the court and blocked a shot into the bleachers.

Mt. Edgecumbe’s Didrickson Jr. would notch a basket between a Barrow free throw blitz that cut the Braves lead to 77-67 with 2:16 left to play. Then teammates Herrmann and Stephan-Standifer hit back-to-back scores, the last assisted by Didrickson Jr., for an 81-67 lead and the Braves stayed strong for the 81-73 win.

Said MEHS coach Friske, “I feel really happy for our seniors in that they finished on a high and can tell their kids they were one of the best teams in the state when they played back in the day.”

Herrmann led Mt. Edgecumbe with 23 points, Gundersen added 21, Stephan-Standifer 20, Didrickson Jr. 14 and Royce Alstrom three.

The Braves hit 32-39 from the field (9-25 from the arc), 8-8 from the free throw line, had 10 assists, 25 rebounds, 16 fouls and 12 turnovers. Stephan-Standifer led with eight rebounds and three blocked shots, Didrickson Jr. with three assists, and Gundersen with two steals.

The Whalers hit 28-61 from the field (10-21 from the arc), 7-9 from the line, had 12 assists, 22 rebounds, 13 fouls and 10 turnovers.

Goodwin and Fruean led Barrow with 18 points apiece, Unutoa 13, Tivao 12, D. Adams six, Hunter Wilhelm three, J. Adams two and Eric Librado one.

The 3A tournament awards were presented following the championship game between Sitka and Nome.

Nome earned the boys championship trophy and Sitka the runner-up. The Grace Christian Grizzlies girls defeated the Barrow Whalers for the girls 3A championship 62-41.

The 3A Boys Sportsmanship Award went to the Valdez Buccaneers. The 3A Girls Sportsmanship Award went to the Mt Edgecumbe Braves.

The 3A Boys Academic Award went to the Kenai Central Kardinals with a GPA of 3.67. The 3A Girls Academic Award went to the Grace Christian Grizzlies with a GPA of 4.0.

The Hilcorp ‘Alaskan Assist’ Award was presented to the team that has the most assists through their first two state tournament games. The 3A boys winner went to the Nome-Beltz Nanooks with 23 and the 3A girls winner went to the Barrow Whalers with 27.

The 3A Boys State All-Tournament team were Sitka senior Trey Demmert and junior Trey Johnson; Mt. Edgecumbe senior Richard Didrickson Jr. and sophomore Kaden Herrmann; Nome-Beltz seniors Finn Gregg and Orson Hoogendorn; Barrow junior Jaziah Tivao and sophomore Alex Fruean; Kenai Central sophomore Miles Metteer; and Valdez senior Tino Tucker.

The 3A Girls State All-Tournament team were Mt. Edgecumbe senior Lauren Cedars and junior Tahira Akaran; Grace Christian senior Sophia Lentfer and juniors MJ Van her Horst and Poppy Wiggers-Pidduck; Barrow junior Aiga Unutoa and sophomore Kyle Burrell; Monroe Catholic senior Shannel Kovalsky and sophomore Leila Church; and Valdez junior Destiny Day.

• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.