The Metlakatla Chiefs boys kicked off the opening day of their 2025 ASAA March Madness Alaska 1A/2A State Basketball Tournament on Thursday at Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center and played like it was championship Saturday.
Metlakatla went up 10-0 halfway through the first quarter as Brody Booth provided the first two buckets on drives. The team went up 17-3 as Carter Marsden hit four straight baskets, with two assists by Booth, and Gianni Scudero-Hayward buried a shot past the arc to complete the run.
“The whole plan was to get Brody (Booth) a win on his birthday,” the Chiefs’ Frank Guthrie said. “Taking away their three was key, making sure we didn’t give them space. And we did that. We had a couple buckets for them to be in the paint and then we changed it up and ran zone for a bit.”
The Chiefs led 23-7 after eight minutes and pushed that to 34-15 at the half as reserves Rocco Lindsey, Frank Lindsey and Troy Russell all provided stable work with Scudero-Hayward staying on the court throughout the first half. The Chiefs outrebounded the Comets 17-10 in the first half and forced 11 turnovers.
The Chiefs cruised to a 51-22 lead after three quarters and continued the run into the 61-31 final.
“Really stopping number 15 (Justin Atchak) he is a really good mid-range shooter,” Sebastian Martinez said. “If he got to the high post he usually pump faked, jabbed, or would just go up and usually he made it. The key was stopping him and then stopping 25 (Liam Pingayak Green) from driving because he is pretty shifty. And then just getting those fast breaks and hitting some threes really helped us. We had to get up at 5:30 today to prepare for this so it felt good to come out on top.”
Booth led Metlakatla with 20 points and six rebounds, Russell and Marsden added 10 points apiece, Scudero-Hayward six, Sebastian Martinez five, Rocclo Lindsey four, Porter Hudson, Cruz Lindsey, Frank Guthrie and Sitka Atkinson two each. Scudero-Hayward, Martinez, Booth and Atkinson had four rebounds each. Russell had four assists, Booth three, Scudero-Hayward and Guthrie two each and Marsden one.
The Chiefs hit 2-9 at the free throw line, the Comets 2-4. Metlakatla had 12 turnovers, Chevak 19.
Justin Atchak led Chevak with 10 points, Liam Pingayak Green nine, Ian Chayalkun five, Anthony Martins four, Aden Atcherian three and Anton Hill two. Martins led with eight rebounds.
Metlakatla advanced to a 7:45 p.m. Friday semifinal. Chevak played in a 9:30 a.m. consolation semifinal.
METLAKATLA MISCHIEFS 30, CHEVAK 34
The top seed Metlakatla MisChiefs ran into foul trouble late in their loss to eight seed Chevak, but battled down to the last possession before falling 34-30.
Leading 22-21 starting the fourth quarter the MisChiefs were outscored 13-8 in the stanza and lost star post Ma’Karii Martinez to five fouls with 5:36 left to play. Chevak opened the final stanza on a 6-0 run to take the lead 27-22 and Metlakatla’s Baileigh Nelson, Saahdia Buffalo and Lexi Cook each scored to take a 28-27 lead.
Chevak got a free throw and basket by Shanell Slats to regain the lead 30-28, but Metlakatla’s Cook, playing with four fouls, stayed aggressive and stole a ball, passing ahead to Buffalo for a layup to tie the game at 30-30.
Chevak’s Slats gave the Comets a 32-30 lead and Laney Green hit one of two free throws for a 33-30 lead with 1:43 left in the game.
Metlakatla would have five chances to score in the final minutes and were forced to foul. Chevak would only hit one of six free throws down the stretch, the lone made shot by Kali Hill with 17.8 seconds to play for the 34-30 score.
Metlakatla saw a shot past the arc miss and the rebound miss and the buzzer sounded.
Metlakatla had led 10-7 after the first quarter and 15-14 at the half.
Nelson led the MisChiefs with seven points, Martinez and Cook six apiece, Morgan Hayward and Buffalo four apiece, Gracie Booth two and Mia Winter one. Hayward had 10 rebounds ads, Martinez nine, Winter seven, Nelson six, Cook five, Booth three, Haylen Ladnier two and Buffalo one. Ladnier and Hayward led with two assists apiece.
Metlakatla hit 7-18 at the free throw line, Chevak 13-32. The MisChiefs had 22 turnovers, the Comets 23. Metlakatla outrebounded Chevak 45-27.
Slats led the Comets with 14 points, Ayaginaraq Matchian added seven, Hill six, Green five and Sarisha Ulroan two. Green had a game-high 11 rebounds and green a game-high five assists.
The MisChiefs fell into a 12:30 p.m. Friday consolation game, the Comets advanced to a 3:15 Friday semifinal.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.
Metlakatla’s Gianni Scudero-Hayward (1) powers through Chevak’s Liam Pingayak Green (25) and Anthony Martins (21) in the Chiefs 66-33 win over the Comets in the 2025 ASAA March Madness Alaska 1A/2A State Basketball Championships on Thursday at Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
Metlakatla’s Carter Marsden lays a shot off the glass over Chevak’s Anthony Martins (21) in the Chiefs 63-33 win over the Comets in the 2025 ASAA March Madness Alaska 1A/2A State Basketball Championships on Thursday at Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
Metlakatla’s Baileigh Nelson (13) scores against Chevak’s Laney Green (14) and Darcy Umugak during the MisChiefs 34-30 loss to the Comets in the 2025 ASAA March Madness Alaska 2A State Basketball Championships on Thursday at Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
Metlakatla’s Haylen Ladnier (10) blocks a Chevak shot during the MisChiefs 34-30 loss to the Comets in the 2025 ASAA March Madness Alaska 2A State Basketball Championships on Thursday at Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
