Ketchikan senior Marcus Stockhausen needed 28 points to reach the Kings’ coveted 1,000-point scoring club.
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé boys basketball team were not about to let that happen in their home George Houston Gymnasium Saturday night, holding Stockhausen to 19, but classmate Gage Massin connected on seven of the Kings’ 11 shots from past the arc to help Ketchikan earn a 70-63 win.
“We weren’t quick enough in rotation,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “We talked about his ability to shoot a little bit. Coach Stockhausen sang his praises as a wrestler before the season started. If he is, he might want to reconsider his future in athletics and look at basketball a little more because he played really well. He did a good job against us tonight.”
These were the first back-to-back wins by Kayhi in Juneau since the 2013-14 season according to the Ketchikan Daily News. Kayhi also swept in the 2009-10 season according to Ketchikan coach Eric Stockhausen who also noted this was just the third time in the last 40 years.
“This is our first time going against Juneau, our first conference games, so it was a big part of the schedule,” Kayhi’s Massin said. “It is going to be close like this all season but getting these first two games in Juneau, this is our first time in, I think, 16 years that we have actually gone back-to-back both games in Juneau. That is a big part of our team, and we see our competition now and we know now that it is going to be close for the whole season…Having the team behind me is a great blessing because they know when I am hitting they are just going to keep feeding me the ball and they know I am going to get them open, too, so I am really appreciative of my teammates and the coaching, so a shoutout to them and my manager Cameron, they are a really big part of my family.”
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé juniors Elias Dybdahl (20) and Brandon Casperson (5) trap Ketchikan senior Gage Massin during the Crimson Bears’ 70-63 loss to the Kings on Saturday at the George Houston Gymnasium in Juneau. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
Kayhi senior Jonathan Scoblic put in the first two points of the game and was matched by JDHS junior Joren Gasga, who converted a steal by senior teammate Ahmir Parker into a layup.
Massin then sandwiched a pair of deep threes around one by Stockhausen as the Kings went on a 13-4 run.
JDHS would answer with a basket by Parker and scoring basket on a foul by junior Tyler Frisby, plus some hard inside work by senior Ben Sikes to climb back into the contest.
Sikes scored twice in the final two minutes and had two rebounds as JDHS trailed 19-18 after eight minutes.
Sikes hit inside to start the second quarter and Gasga hit from distance for a 23-19 Crimson Bears lead.
“Just wanted to come out better than yesterday,” Sikes said. “Coach told us we had to try harder and I think we really did that today. We played a lot better than we did yesterday, we made them try a lot harder than they did yesterday…It is really just thinking about how rebounding affects the team. Every rebound gives us another chance on offense and defense is always a team thing. So if I’m not out there someone else is going to get a chance. We have to always be talking. It is going to be different next time. We’re not going to lose again. We’re going to come back better than we were tonight.”
The teams would exchange the lead five times in the stanza with Kayhi sophomore Zyrus Manabat connecting on five free throws down the stretch to give the Kings a 35-32 halftime advantage.
Stockhausen was averaging just over 25 points a game and was held to 18 on Friday, one above his low of 17 and far from his high of 42, and while he tallied another 19 on Saturday, he was held to eight in the first half.
Stockhausen had to earn every point, though, as JDHS senior Ahmir Parker blanketed the Kayhi star outside and Sikes was key in managing who went inside the lane as he gathered 10 rebounds in the contest. The JDHS backcourt of Gasga, Saceda-Hurt, Frisby and junior Brandon Casperson also had a major role, as they trapped and swarmed Kayhi the length of the court.
JDHS opened the second half on a 13-3 run behind the rebounding of Sikes, and multiple baskets by Gasga and senior Pedrin Saceda-Hurt inside and out, for a 45-38 lead.
Massin hit from deep to close to 45-41, but JDHS’ Gasga hit from beyond the arc and sophomore Hunter Carte lined up a deep shot for a 51-41 lead.
After a Kayhi free throw, JDHS junior Damian Efergan gave the Crimson Bears a 53-42 lead as the third quarter ended.
“I thought my kids showed a lot of toughness,” Ketchikan coach Eric Stockhausen said. “Down 10, really rough third quarter. I thought Juneau really did things to disrupt us and credit to them. All of our games we play are going to be like this. We’re just going to have to make enough plays to survive, but that (JDHS) is a good team, great defensive principles and great spacing on offense. They are going to get better, hopefully we get a little better, but we were fortunate to come out on top.”
Kayhi would slowly climb back in the contest.
M. Stockhausen hit consecutive baskets to counter a score by JDHS’ Frisby and trailed 55-47.
Kayhi’s Edward Dela Cruz hit from distance to close to 55-50 and, after a JDHS timeout and a missed shot, Stockhausen hit from distance and Massin did the same to take a 56-55 lead with just under five minutes remaining.
JDHS’ Saceda-Hurt took the lead back on a deep three and then added a short jumper for a 60-56 lead.
Massin would draw Kayhi within 60-58, but JDHS’ Frisby hit a free throw for a three-point lead.
Stockhausen and Massin went back-to-back from distance with 2:01 remaining in the game to take a 64-61 lead which Kayhi never gave up.
JDHS junior Elias Dybdahl rebounded and scored to close the Crimson Bears to within 64-63 with 1:24 left in the game, but Kayhi worked for a back door by Massin and after a miss by JDHS held the ball to force four trips to the free throw line by E. Dela Cruz, who went 4-4 and the 70-63 win.
“We hope it is our basketball IQ and our fundamentals,” coach Stockhausen said of the fourth quarter. “At times, our spacing got a little bad and put us in bad situations, but I have seniors that are demonstrating leadership…I thought the Dela Cruzes, it was their birthday today, so for Edward to hit those free throws at the end I thought was great. And Gage was a monster. He missed the first three games of the year because he was in the state wrestling championships and the more he plays the better he gets. That is one tough kid. He did a great job and I thought our guys passed the ball well late in the game, much more than we did early.”
Saceda-Hurt led JDHS with 15 points, Gasga added 14, Parker nine, Sikes eight, Frisby six, Dybdahl five, Carte three, Efergan two and sophomore Logan Carriker one.
The Crimson Bears hit 5-10 at the charity stripe, the Kings 15-21.
Massin led Kayhi with 26 points, Stockhausen had 19, Scoblic 10, E. Dela Cruz nine and Manabat six.
“It was a heck of a battle tonight,” coach Casperson said. “We implemented a lot of things that we had talked about in our team meeting today, in our shootaround, and in the game things were working. Ketchikan has a lot of fight in them and they are not going to back down and that is what we saw tonight. We had a 10- or 12-point lead and it didn’t seem to bother them at all in that situation. We just have to make sure we keep playing hard through those times and finish games. We have things to learn from this game, things to tighten up and we will, we’ll keep working. It is very early for conference games. We’re not going to sound the alarm bells yet.”
JDHS is 3-6 overall and 0-2 in the Southeast Conference, Ketchikan is 6-2 overall and 2-0 in the conference. The Crimson Bears lost to the Kings on Friday, 52-48.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.
