The Juneau Empire’s expanded coverage of the Juneau Lions Club 74th Gold Medal Basketball Tournament is made possible by Sealaska Corp. Thanks to this sponsorship, this article —and all of this year’s Gold Medal coverage — is available online without a subscription to the Empire.
Filcom had their hands full trying to stop Hoonah’s Travis Dybdahl and Hoonah grew weary keeping pace with Filcom’s Larry Cooper and Alex Heumann during Tuesday night C Bracket action in the Juneau Lions Club 74th Annual Gold Medal Basketball Tournament at the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé gymnasium.
Hoonah led after the first quarter largely due to Dybdahl’s aggressive attacks on the hoop as he collected 11 of the team’s 19 points in the stanza while Filcom’s Cooper put in eight of their 18 points.
Braxton Booze scored 11 of Hoonah’s 17 second quarter points but Filcom had four players (Cooper, Heumann, Adam Brown and Tom Gisler) who hit for four or more to take a 39-36 lead at the break.
Filcom’s Tom Gisler dribbles under pressure from Hoonah’s Anthony Lindoff during C Bracket action in the Gold Medal Basketball Tournament, Monday, March 20, at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé. (Klas Stolpe/For the Juneau Empire)
The second half saw Cooper bury five shots past the arch and Heumann four trips to the charity stripe when not collecting baskets.
“We have a group of guys that really play their butts off and know their role,” Filcom’s Alex Heumann said.
“Larry Cooper got scorching hot and that carried us into the second half. I think we tried to force him to take his own shots more than he tries to get them. We see somebody like Larry or Tom get hot and we want to feed those flames. But ultimately it came down to getting a few key stops. Travis Dybdahl is a hell of a force in Gold Medal and any time you step on the court across from him so that was the focus of ours throughout. We have much respect for the community of Hoonah, much love for those guys so we are thankful and humble for the win.”
Filcom’s Larry Cooper points to the crowd in celebration after sinking a 3-pointer. Cooper poured in 36 points in his team’s 87-66 win against Hoonah, including six 3-pointers. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
Filcom had a 64-59 lead after three quarters. Heumann hit a pair of free throws to open the fourth quarter and Cooper scored on a short jumper and followed that with three straight shots past the arch as Filcom went on a 17-7 run for an 81-66 lead. Heumann hit two free throws and a pair of baskets to end the Filcom scoring
“That was hard,” Hoonah’s Lucas Johnson said. “You have to come prepared, put in the work and train. I play with Alex (Heumann) in city league over here so I know what it takes to try and stay in front of him. Some times you do all you can and they are still going to get their shots you know. I think we need to move the ball a little bit more. We are still running things through Travis (Dybdahl), kind of isolation ball, but that is not going to work. Travis is understandably a Hall of Famer but we need to get more guys involved, more guys willing to take that shot.”
Hoonah’s Travis Dybdahl scores between Filcom’s Tom Gisler (13) and Charlie Herrington (32) during C Bracket action in the Gold Medal Basketball Tournament, Monday, March 20, at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé. (Klas Stolpe / For the Juneau Empire)
Cooper led Filcom with 36 points, Heumann added 25, Brown 12, Gisler 10, Charlie Herrington three and Jason Haskell one.
Filcom hit 20-29 at the free throw line, Hoonah 12-16.
Dybdahl led Hoonah with 26 points, Booze added 19, Jeremy Martin and Johnson six apiece, Lindoff five, and Devin North and DJ Lindstrom two apiece.
Hoonah’s Braxton Booze (23) looks to drive to the hoop while defended by Filcom’s Alex Huemann(24) during the second half of a Filcom win. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
Filcom advances to the C Bracket semifinal at 6 p.m. Thursday. Hoonah plays an elimination game at 2 p.m. Tuesday against Yakutat.
