On the final possession of the third quarter in Friday night’s nonconference boys basketball game against Mt. Edgecumbe, Thunder Mountain High School sophomore Kamron Falls missed a 15-foot jumper near the baseline.
Falls, who had nearly just scored his first career varsity points, wore a wide grin as he retreated to the bench, where he was greeted with even wider smiles.
After surging to a 25-point halftime lead — it was 52-39 when it was all said and done — the Falcons (11-9, 4-2 SEC) could afford to have some fun in the second half. Reserves took over the fourth quarter and pratically everyone in a Falcons uniform scored at least two points (including Falls) when the final buzzer sounded.
Senior Josh McAndrews led TMHS with 11 points while senior Bobby Cox and sophomore Bryson Echiverri scored eight. Senior Luke Clark had six points, junior Puna Toutaiolepo four and seniors Roy Tupou and Owen Mendoza three.
Mt. Edgecumbe senior Isaiah Rexford scored 15 points for the Braves in the loss.
McAndrews and Echiverri thrived running the fastbreak in the first half, making the Braves pay for every turnover with a layup on the other end.
After leading 19-10 at the end of the first quarter, the Falcons shutout the Braves 14-0 in the second quarter.
McAndrews made the first two baskets of the quarter before Echiverri stole the ball and led a 2-on-1 fastbreak with Tupou, who converted a three-point play at the rim. Tupou’s free throw made it 26-10 with 5:35 remaining in the second.
“It feels great to be loose and just go have fun with the team and just bond, just gel,” Echiverri said.
Mt. Edgecumbe’s turnovers continued to mount throughout the rest of the quarter as Steven Rosales, Brady Carandang and Cox all helped grow the TMHS lead.
The Falcons led 35-10 at halftime and 48-20 at the end of the third quarter.
“Defensively, I thought they do a really good job of anticipating the next pass and offensively they have a lot of weapons,” MEHS head coach Archie Young said. “It’s nice to see Luke out there playing this year after being out for a while.”
The home team shot 6 of 13 from 3-point range. Echiverri and Clark each hit two and Carandang and McAndrews made the others. Mt. Edgecumbe went 3 of 13 from long range.
Mendoza said the team’s strong defense resulted from a strong week of practice.
“We had a good week of practice, it was very intense,” Mendoza said.
The two teams square off again on Saturday night.
JDHS triumphs over Lady Kings
The Juneau-Douglas High School girls basketball team (6-16, 3-2 SEC) handed Ketchikan its first conference loss of the season Friday night at JDHS.
Senior Cassie Dzinich scored a game-high 14 points, junior Alyxn Bohulano scored nine points and sophomore Sadie Tuckwood added eight points.
Junior Peyton Simmons led Kayhi with 11 points.
The Crimson Bears held the Lady Kings (12-8, 4-1 SEC) to just 11 points in the first half, but only led 17-11 at halftime.
Bohulano scored five points in the third quarter, when JDHS outscored Ketchikan 15-9.
The tables turned in the fourth quarter as Ketchikan put up 15 points to JDHS’ nine. Even so, it wasn’t enough to catch the Crimson Bears. JDHS and Kayhi play one another for the last time in the regular season tonight.
JDHS boys unable to contain Lee brothers in loss
Ketchikan’s one-two punch of Marcus and Chris Lee scored 25 of their team’s 28 fourth-quarter points in a 69-64 win over JDHS Friday in Ketchikan.
Seniors Kolby Hoover and Erik Kelly scored 20 points and 17 points, respectively, for Juneau-Douglas (8-11, 1-4 SEC), who led 49-41 at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
JDHS went 8 of 12 at the free-throw line while Ketchikan shot 24 of 27.
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nolin.ainsworth@juneauempire.com.
Juneau-Douglas’ Alyxn Bohulano, left, shoots against Ketchikan’s Ashley Huffine at JDHS on Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Thunder Mountain’s Steven Rosales is pressured by Mt. Edgecumbe’s Emmett Dunaway, left, and Bear Brown at TMHS on Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
