MVP Tompkins leads Juneau to Gold Medal title

The top of the basketball food chain was fed in the first contest of the day as Juneau-AML topped Mt. Edgecumbe 90-84 to win the A (Open) Bracket crown Saturday at the 76th Annual Juneau Lions Club Gold Medal Basketball Tournament in the George Houston Gymnasium.

Mt. Edgecumbe struck first as big man Zach Anderson notched a short jumper and RJ Didrickson another, but Juneau responded behind rebounding and outlet passes that saw Kendrick Payton, Kaleb Tompkins, Brady Carandang and Payton again score off fast breaks and transition shots for an 8-2 lead.

Mt. Edgecumbe’s Didrickson hit inside and Anderson hit from distance to close to 8-7. But Tompkins hit back-to-back shots, one from past the arc, for a 13-7 Juneau lead.

The teams would exchange baskets down to a 21-16 Juneau lead at the end of 10 minutes.

Teamwork showed on both sides as six Juneau players and five from Mt. Edgecumbe all found the scorebook in the second quarter.

Juneau tallied 22 points in the stanza off of baskets by Tompkins (9 pts), Chase Saviers (5 pts), and a basket each from Kolby Hoover, Cody Grussendorf, Mahina Toutaiolepo and Keontay Jackson.

Mt. Edgecumbe hit for 21 points off scores by Kaison Herrmann (10 pts), Zack Kline (4 pts), Didrickson one shot from distance and a basket apiece from Brian Friske and Jaylin Prince.

Key to battling inside against Mt. Edgecumbe’s Anderson was an athletic Juneau rotation.

“Just communication and defense,” Juneau’s Mahina Toutaiolepo said. “I think our defense played a big role in this game. They were good players, but we hung in there. You’ve just got to be tough in there. When you see bigger guys you have got to play bigger.”

Juneau held a 43-37 lead at the half.

Tompkins put on a highlight reel to start the second half with a shot past the arc, a blocked shot on the other end, a rebound of a missed shot and a steal.

“Just playing hard and playing as a team,” Tompkins said. “I think if we do what we’re supposed to do we had a pretty good chance of winning. So that was our plan.”

Mt. Edgecumbe’s Herrmann, Kline, Anderson and Herrmann again countered scores by Juneau’s Brady Carandang and Saviers to close to 51-49 with four minutes remaining in the third period. But Saviers drove inside, Kendrick Payton screened Hoover’s defender, and Saviers found Hoover for an open shot and a 53-49 lead.

“I just want to win,” Hoover said. “I’m really not worried about what I do individually. I would like our team to win and I think I made a lot of plays that helped the team win…on defense, passing the ball, rebounding the ball…I think we had a lot of guys with that same mindset and that’s why we were successful.”

Herrmann answered from past the arc for Mt. Edgecumbe to close to 53-52. But Juneau’s Tompkins, Grussendorf, Carandang and Grussendorf hit to offset another shot past the arc by Herrmann and Prince for a 61-57 lead with 42 seconds left in the stanza.

Juneau’s Saviers drove again and passed to Tompkins who drove and kicked the ball back to Saviers, who hit Carandang, who passed it back to Saviers and he scored for a 63-57 lead as the buzzer ended the stanza.

Juneau would push out to a 66-57 lead to open the fourth quarter. But Mt. Edgecumbe would work back to 66-59, and the teams exchanged brief runs with Juneau going up 72-62 and 75-65 with four minutes remaining to play.

Juneau’s Hoover scored on a rebound, Tompkins on a drive and Carandang off a Hoover assist for 81 on the scoreboard, but Mt. Edgecumbe got scores by Prince, Herrmann, Didrickson and Herrmann again to keep pace 81-75.

Hoover had a steal for Juneau and fed Tompkins on a break and he dunked the ball for an 83-75 momentum boost with 1:08 left to play.

Mt. Edgecumbe would have to foul for possession and Saviers would hit four straight free throws to offset free throws by Anderson, Young and Kline and keep an 87-81 lead with 23 seconds left.

Grussendorf hit a free throw and Hoover two more for a 90-81 lead and Mt. Edgecumbe’s Tyrell Cramer hit from the arc to end the night trailing 90-84.

“That was fun, it was my first one with them,” Grussendorf said. “Glad to play with these guys, glad they let me on the team. It as fun to play. It’s nice the A bracket is back.”

Box score

Juneau-AML 90 – Kaleb Tompkins 25 (1F), Brady Carandang 17, Chase Saviers 16 (1F), Cody Grussendorf 15 (5F), Kolby Hoover 7, Mahina Toutaiolepo 4 (4F), Kendrick Payton 4 (2F), Keontay Jackson 2. Juneau-AML hit 15-17 at the free throw line.

Mt. Edgecumbe – Kaison Herrmann 29 (3F), Zach Kline 20 (4F), Zach Anderson 9, RJ Didrickson 9, Claude Young 5 (1F), Jaylin Prince 5 (2F), Brian Friske 4 (2F), Tyrell Cromer 3 (1F), Andrew Friske (2F). Mt. Edgecumbe hit 5-8 from the line.

Open Bracket Awards:

Champions – Juneau-AML. Runner Up – Mt. Edgecumbe.

Sportsmanship Award – Zack Klein, Mt. Edgecumbe.

All-Tournament Team – Kaison Herrmann, Mt. Edgecumbe; Zack Anderson Mt. Edgecumbe; Chase Saviers, Juneau-AML; Alwen Carrillo, Filcom; Sam Lockhart, Southeast Boys.

Most Valuable Player – Kaleb Tompkins, Juneau-AML.

Chase Saviers was noted by local media as one who was always appreciative of sports coverage and of his teammates.

“Just playing team ball,” Saviers said when asked what was key for their success. “Just getting out and running. Obviously we’ve got a lot of length and we’ve got a lot of speed. Our eyes are always downcourt and we’re just looking to make the right pass at the right time.”

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