Tompkins, Bean lead Crimson Bears over host Falcons

The Thunder Mountain High School boys basketball team nearly matched Juneau-Douglas High School through three quarters of action on Friday, but it wasn’t able to overcome a sizeable first quarter deficit or a height disadvantage in the paint.

The Crimson Bears (5-2) bested the Falcons (3-1) on their home court 66-47 by limiting opportunities inside during a fast-paced contest that included lots of scoring, fouling and free throws by both teams.

“These region games are so hotly contested,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “… I wasn’t comfortable with that game until the last three minutes because I know they have guys who can get going fairly quickly.”

JDHS forward Kaleb Tompkins and guard Guy Bean led all scorers with 17 each. Starting point guard Treyson Ramos contributed six. The Crimson Bears depth was one of its greatest advantages, with Ulix Bohulano scoring nine coming off the bench, Kolby Hoover adding seven and Erik Kelly contributing five.

“I felt like it was going pretty good,” Tompkins said of his team’s performance. “My teammates really stepped it up today and we got a victory. (TMHS) did a pretty good job (on defense), so I just tried to contribute. Guy Bean did most of the scoring, so I just tried to do what I can.”

JDHS’s 6-foot-7 center Bryce Swofford limited what the Falcons could do down low, blocking four shots in the first three quarters. The Crimson Bears also controlled the boards and limited the Falcons to a single shot.

“Would you go in there with 6-5 and 6-7?” TMHS coach John Blasco said. “They take away the paint with the big bodies, they’re shot blockers.”

TMHS forward Luke Clark lead his team with 13 points, followed by Chase Saviers with 11, Josh McAndrews with five, and Shane Mielke and Noah Rieshus-O’Brien added four each.

Both teams combined for 47 fouls leading to 57 shots from the free throw line on the night.

TMHS came out ready to compete, matching baskets with JDHS through the first four minutes of play to trail 11-8. Then JDHS broke off an 11-1 run late in the quarter to end the first period up 22-9.

JDHS’s Tompkins scored 11 of his team’s first 13 points. TMHS’s Saviers scored seven of his team’s nine points in the first quarter. By the end of the first quarter, however, the fouls had racked up and both teams were in the bonus.

“That’s high school kids playing hard, they’re giving it everything they’ve got,” Casperson said. “Sometimes they lose control and bang into each other.”

The Crimson Bears started the second quarter with a 12-6 run when Thunder Mountain pushed back with an 8-2 run of its own behind 3-pointers from Reishus-O’Brien and Clark, and a layup by Finn Collins to end the half at 36-23.

“A perimeter team is going to live and die by the three,” Blasco said. “We got good looks … but they didn’t fall. Once you get down by double digits, your mindset changes. We changed a few things defensively (after the first quarter), but a lot of it was the energy, nervousness in the first quarter. It’s our first home game in front of a large crowd and the kids were all excited. They’re a very tough matchup for us.”

In the third quarter, it was the Crimson Bears’ Bean who led the charge, scoring 10 in the quarter by slashing through the lane and scooping in layups. The Falcons kept pace, with Saviers knocking down four free throws, Josh McAndrews sank a 3-pointer and Clark knocked down two long-range jumpers to end the quarter 51-36. By the end of the third, both teams were in the bonus again and three Crimson Bears players were in foul trouble.

JDHS started the fourth with an 11-1 run to put the game out of reach midway through the fourth quarter for its largest lead of the game. The Falcons scored only three field goals in the quarter while shooting 5-of-8 from the free throw line. JDHS also had three field goals but shot 9-of-11 from the free throw line after struggling from the charity stripe earlier in the game.

“We had a few more layups go in, … so that made a difference for us later in the game,” Casperson said. “And they had to start shooting more jumpers that weren’t going in. If they hit a few of those shots along the way, the tone of that fourth quarter completely changes.”

JDHS made 21 field goals on the night, two from 3-point distance, and shot 18-of-35 from the free throw line. The Falcons made nine field goals, four from long range, and hit 17 of 24 free throws. Two of the Crimson Bears’ starters, Hunter Hickock and Ramos, fouled out in the fourth, as did reserve player Molo Maka.

“I like the depth of my bench, if we can stay in the game,” Blasco said. “We got a few players of theirs in foul trouble, but then their others players stepped up. Ulix (Bohulano) had a nice game, Kolby (Hoover) had a nice game, so their bench stepped up to cover them when they were in foul trouble.

The Crimson Bears and Falcons play again at 8 p.m. Saturday. Due to press deadlines that game won’t appear in the Sunday edition, but fans can read it online at juneauempire.com.