Kake boys fourth at state, Clark and Jackson tally double-doubles

The Kake Thunderbirds boys finished their 1A state tournament in fourth place with a 62-57 win over the Tri-Valley Warriors, while the Skagway Panthers boys tipped the Nunamiut Amaguqs 71-68 for the consolation final and seventh place Saturday at the ASAA March Madness Alaska 1A State Basketball Championships in Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center.

Kake would need overtime to claim their final win of the season.

“We knew we were going to be in a battle with Tri-Valley,” Kake coach Anthony Ross said. “They are well coached. Pretty similar to us in a lot of ways, big bodies. But to have the defeat of a couple days ago and still come back and compete, to have the energy and the emotion to finish the season off…our goal at this point was to end the season at 18-1 rather than 17-2. And the boys pulled through in a hard-fought overtime win.”

“It was a great season. A lot of close games up here, just a lot…I think it brought us together more as a team, it kind of showed our character and who we are and that we can play close games and we can win them. I’m really proud of the boys, really proud of our seniors and they gave great leadership throughout the season. It is just a great way to end the season.”

Kake trailed Tri-Valley 45-41 with five minutes left to play in the fourth quarter and went on a run with senior Talen Davis hitting a free throw, senior Keontay Jackson hitting two free throws, Jackson putting in a rebound and then another for a 48-45 lead.

The Thunderbirds answered a scoring drive by the Warriors’ Michael Renshaw who then missed a free throw with a rebound by senior Aiden Clark for possession.

Clark would miss a shot on the other end, but follow it for an offensive rebound and score to take a 50-47 lead with 1:20 left to play.

Renshaw would tie the game for Tri-Valley at 50-50 with a shot past the arc with 1:05 left.

Kake’s Jackson was called for an offensive foul and Tri-Valley called a timeout with 54.6 seconds left in regulation.

The Warriors set up a play, but missed a shot that the Thunderbirds’ Clark rebounded. Kake missed a shot after a timeout and Tri-Valley rebounded the shot and called their own timeout with 16 seconds left.

Kake defenders Clark and senior Devin Aceveda bottled up the inside, while senior T. Davis and sophomore Xzavier Munoz-Torres disrupted the perimeter, and Tri-Valley missed a shot as the buzzer sounded.

“Our coach was preaching and praising during halftime for us to get rebounds so I thought that would really help us out,” Aceveda said. “I think basketball is not about just scoring, it is about the other aspects too, like rebounds, assists and helping your teammates out.”

When the four-minute overtime started Kake’s Jackson tipped the jump ball to Munoz-Torres who passed to T. Davis for a score in the lane and a 52-50 lead.

A missed Tri-Valley shot was rebounded by Kake’s Clark and Jackson would score on the other end for a 54-50 lead.

Tri-Valley’s Reid Williams would be fouled twice in the next two possessions by the Warriors and hit the first of two free throws both times, but missed the second of each possession and Kake’s Clark grabbed those rebounds.

T. Davis would be fouled with 1:28 to play and hit both free throws for a 56-52 lead.

A missed Tri-Valley shot was grabbed by Kake’s Clark again, but the Thunderbirds could not capitalize.

Tri-Valley missed a shot and Kake’s Clark grabbed his 18th rebound of the game and was fouled, hitting one of the free throws for a 57-52 lead.

Tri-Valley’s Renshaw hit a shot past the arc to pull to 57-54 with 47 seconds remaining.

Kake’s Jackson was fouled and missed his free throws but Clark scored on a putback for his 19th rebound and a 59-54 lead with 30 seconds left in the overtime.

“Lining up at the free throw line I thought if he misses I need to get that rebound,” Clark said. “I ended up getting it and laying it back up, pretty much iced the game. This team has meant a lot to me. the whole season has been a roller coaster, especially up here at state. Obviously we didn’t think we would lose but things happen. I’m just glad we got to spend one more season together, it’s fun spending it with these guys.”

Tri-Valley would miss a shot, and Kake’s Aceveda rebounded and was fouled. He hit both free throws for a 61-54 lead.

Tri-Valley’s Williams hit a shot from just inside half-court to put to 61-57 with 22 seconds left.

Kake’s Jackson was fouled and hit his first of two free throws for his 28th point and a 62-57 lead. His second shot missed but Aceveda grabbed the rebound with nine seconds left in the game for the win.

Jackson would be honored with Player of the Game.

“It felt great as this team meant a lot to me and this was my last game to ever be in the Kake Thunderbird jersey and I’m going to miss this a lot,” Jackson said. “But I look forward to having a bright future for myself with what I learned with them.”

Jackson led Kake with 28 points and 11 rebounds, Clark added 11 points and 19 rebounds, T. Davis nine points and two steals, Aceveda six points and five rebounds, Munoz-Torres and Zackery Hanson four points and six rebounds apiece.

Kake hit 10-25 at the free throw line, Tri-Valley 8-16. The Thunderbirds had 47 total rebounds, 16 fouls and 16 turnovers. The Warriors had 26 rebounds, 21 fouls and eight turnovers.

Renshaw led Tri-Valley with 18 points, Williams and Isaiah Mayo 12 apiece, Kole Lucas eight, Owen Jusczak four, Kenneth Larsen two and Henry Miner one. Lucas led with nine rebounds and three steals.

SKAGWAY BOYS 71, NUNAMIUT 68

The Skagway Panthers built a 17-12 first-quarter lead, but the Nunamiut Amaguqs took a 38-32 lead into the half. The Panthers then outscored the Amaguqs 25-12 in the third quarter to lead 57-50 heading into the final eight minutes. Nunamiut outscored Skagway 18-12 in the final stanza, but the Panthers held on for the 71-68 win.

Royce Borst scored a game-high 34 points for the Panthers, Camden Lawson added 13, Kaleb Cochran 10, Malcolm Lawson seven, Ryder Calver five and Landon Rodig two. Calver had eight rebounds and Borst seven. Borst had seven assists and Cochran six. Borst had seven steals, Cochran and Rodig three apiece.

Skagway had 20 team rebounds, 15 steals, 16 fouls and 15 turnovers. Nunamiut had 40 team rebounds, six steals, 14 fouls and 22 turnovers.

KAlex Galloso led the Amaguqs with 21 points, Kevin Gordon and Tyler Hugo 18 apiece, Justus Mulch six, George Bifelt three and Cameron Gordon two. Hugo led with 14 rebounds, Galloso five assists, Galloso and Hugo two steals apiece.

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