Klukwan hit the century mark Saturday night to clinch the C Bracket title over Metlakatla 100-90 during the 70th annual Gold Medal Basketball Tournament held at Juneau-Douglas High School.
Klukwan’s balanced scoring attack saw five players score in the double digits, compared to only three for Metlakatla. But Metlakatla’s shooters scored in bunches.
Klukwan’s Stuart Dewitt started the night with a hot hand, nailing four three pointers in the opening quarter on his way to a team-high 33 points on the night, including a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final quarter.
Andrew Friske added 17 points for Klukwan, and Jason Shull and Jesse McGraw had 13 each, and David Buss added 11 in the win.
Metlakatla’s Richard Hayward led all scorers with 34 points, followed by Willie Hayward with 25 and Archie Dundas added 19.
Klukwan maintained control of the scoreboard for four quarters, taking a 58-44 lead into halftime. The third quarter was more balanced, with Klukwan building its lead by just one point and outscoring Metlakatla 19-18 in the period.
In the fourth, Metlakatla gave up only four baskets, two of them from deep, but Klukwan nailed 13-of-19 free throws to keep its lead. Klukwan’s Richard Hayward scored 12 of his points in the final quarter to cut the lead but the game was already well out of hand.
