One minute, Klukwan guard Andrew Friske was Angoon’s hero.
The next, he was their biggest enemy.
With his team up 72-70 with 18.9 seconds remaining, Friske missed two free throws to give Angoon a chance to beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer and win the C Bracket championship.
Angoon’s Curtis Lane can’t get this 3-pointer to go in the final seconds of the #GoldMedal2018 C Bracket championship. It was a huge sigh of relief for Klukwan — they were leading 72-70 at that point. Klukwan is your 2018 champion!
FINAL: Klukwan 74, Angoon 70. pic.twitter.com/7hdQp7zdgX
— Empire Sports (@akempiresports) March 25, 2018
But Friske got back on defense and intercepted a pass sent by Curtis Lane intended for a cutting Levi Johnson Sr. under the basket.
Angoon was forced to foul Friske, and last year’s C Bracket MVP knocked down his next two free throws to seal the win.
“I just needed to make one to make sure it would at least go into overtime,” Friske said. “Angoon’s been just deadly from the 3-point line … Curtis (Lane) had an open shot, but I was just watching his body language and I knew there was someone behind me and he tried passing it there and I just intercepted it.”
Jason Shull scored 18 points and Michael Ganey scored 16 points for the winners.
Angoon’s Dustin Endicott scored a game-high 20 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter.
The game got off to a blistering pace. Klukwan guards sprinted up court at the sight of every defensive rebound, trying to catch Angoon sleeping.
Klukwan kept firing from 3-point range throughout the first half despite only a few shots going in. They were hungry for offensive rebounds though, which saved some of their fruitless possessions.
Klukwan led 37-33 at half and 57-51 after three quarters.
Despite trailing by six points, Angoon went into the fourth quarter riding a wave of exhilaration. As Stephen Johnson methodically dribbled the ball up the court, the crowd began counting down the seconds on the third quarter, prompting Johnson to flip a halfcourt shot that barely glanced off the rim as it went in.
Endicott added another 3-pointer within 20 seconds of the beginning of the fourth quarter and Angoon was back in it.
Angoon trailed 71-70 with 49 seconds remaining when Klukwan player Jesse McGraw was tripped. Angoon was over the foul limit, so McGraw went to the foul line for two shots. He missed the first but made up for it with the second free throw.
Guy Hunter couldn’t hit his free throws nor could Lane get a 3-pointer to go on the other end.
Then the Friske frenzy ensued, with the guard missing two free throws with 18 seconds left before making his next two with 10 seconds left.
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nainsworth@juneauempire.com.
