by Delta Discovery Staff
The Mount Edgecumbe Braves boys team defeated the Kotzebue Huskies and the Nome Nanooks beat the Delta Junction Huskies in opening action at the 3A State Basketball tournament on Thursday, March 25, 2021.
The games were played at Colony High School in Palmer, AK. The 3A girls and 4A boys and girls tournaments were also happening simultaneously at other venues – Palmer and Wasilla high schools.
The tournaments are usually held at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. And this year there was no jump ball. Instead one of the teams inbounds the ball from the sideline.
For the Edgecumbe/Kotzebue game, the Braves had the lead the entire game. End of 1st quarter the score was 17-9.
At the start of the 2nd quarter, Frederick Myer of the MEHS Braves made a steal and scored 2 points right off the bat. Captain Ronald Alstrom-Beans of the Braves followed suit with a 3 pointer. The Braves put on a nice full court press on the Huskies in the second quarter.
The Kotzebue Huskies’ Gage Swanson made a nice inbound pass to a teammate under the basket who made 2 points and was fouled followed by a free throw. End of 2nd quarter score: 37-16.
End of third quarter was 50-26. Coach Archie Young’s Braves all got courttime on the floor. The final score was 68-35.
Players of the Game were recognized after end of regulation. For Kotzebue it was #4 Aiden Ivanoff and for the Braves it was #21 Ronald Alstrom-Beans. Cheerleader of the game was Amber for the Kotzebue Huskies.
The Nome Nanooks took on the Delta Junction Huskies, defeating them 67-39. Both teams showed good passing on the court. Austin Durham of Delta made a steal in the first quarter. Nome’s Dawson Schaeffer blocked a Delta shot, then sunk a 3. Lukas Hilton made a steal for the Huskies with 3 minutes to go in the quarter. Schaeffer thwarted a Delta pass and the ball went out of bounds. End of 1 quarter score: 10 Nome, 4 Delta.
The second quarter had fans out of their seats. Delta’s Benjamin Bialik made a steal at the 3 minute mark. Nome answered back with a fast break for 2 points. Durham blocked a Nome shooter then there was a three way tussle for the ball on the floor. Delta got a call for goaltending with 1:25 left on the clock. Durham steals the ball at 1:10 and Nome gets called for two back to back fouls. Joelniel Gonzales of Delta deflects a Nome pass. Bialik gets a rebound on the offensive and puts it right back up for 2. The score end of 2nd quarter is 44 Nome, 25 Delta Junction.
In fourth quarter action Delta makes a nice save keeping the ball in play. Steven Fredrics of the Huskies loses a shoe but that doesn’t stop him, he brings the ball down the court with his sock before putting his shoe back on. Nome’s Richard Cross steals the ball then Delta’s Durham makes a three pointer. Two jump balls in a row are called after the 2 minute mark in the last quarter. The final score: Nome Nanooks 67, Delta Junction Huskies 39.
Players of the Game are: Benjamin Bialik of Delta and Dawson Schaeffer of Nome. Cheerleader of the Game for Nome is Carisse Evans.
The gym is sanitized after each game and fans are asked to excuse themselves while the gym is being cleaned. Everyone is asked to wear a mask, including players.
Edgecumbe Braves and Nome Nanook boys fall in semifinals
Braves take home Sportsmanship award
by Delta Discovery Staff
Braves fans and Nanook fans cheered their hardest for their Edgecumbe (MEHS) and Nome teams at the Friday night semifinals at the 3A State Basketball boys tournament at Wasilla High School, both teams lost.
Edgecumbe was defeated by the Anchorage Christian Lions 82-63.
Captain for the Braves, Ronald Alstrom-Beans was on fire scoring 28 for the Braves, 15 of those being from 3 point shots. Also scoring in double-figures was Mason Ivanoff who had 15, and Ranen Wassillie who scored 13.
Alstrom-Beans fouled out in the fourth quarter after playing much of the second half with four fouls.
Four Anchorage Christian players hit double digits for scoring. JD McGee scored 20, Joshua Davis had 19, Sean Malinis hit 15, and Matthew Sanders scored 14.
Edgecumbe hit 13 of their 17 free throws, ACS made 6 out of 13.
End of first quarter score was 29 ACS, 13 MEHS. ACS picked up 15 points in the second quarter, Edgecumbe had 10. End of second quarter score was 44 ACS, 23 MEHS. In the third quarter Edgecumbe scored point for point along with ACS, both teams tallied 19. End of third quarter score was 63-42.
The Braves outscored the Lions in the fourth quarter, 21 to 19, but it wasn’t enough to stem the Lion’s onslaught. The Braves picked up 10 fouls, the Lions 17 – including one T. Edgecumbe had 30 turnovers, the Lions 15.
The Lions Cheer team kept their fans on their feet. The Braves had their #1 fan Mr. Bernie Gurule the MEHS academic principal leading a cheer. Former Braves were in the crowd cheering for their team.
The Cheerleader of the Game award went to Kate Carol of the ACS Lions. The Players of the Game were #33 Mason Ivanoff and #10 Joshua Davis of ACS.
For the other semifinal game, the Monroe Catholic Rams defeated the Nome Nanooks by 17 points, 50-33. The Rams had three players finish in the double digits. Jase McCullough scored 15, Thomas Bast had 13, and Quinn McHenry scored 12.
The Nanooks’ Dawson Schaeffer had 12 and Stephan Anderson scored 11.
Both teams had 13 turnovers. Nome committed 20 fouls to the Ram’s 13. Monroe got 9 out of their 16 freethrows, Nome hit 5 of 11.
End of quarter scores were 1st quarter: Monroe 13, Nome 6. Second quarter Monroe 29, Nome 14. Third was 38 Monroe, 24 Nome.
The Nanooks had awesome passing in the third. They outscored the Rams 10-9 which included a buzzer beater by #22 Stephan Anderson.
Monroe’s Ashton Huntington was injured in the fourth quarter and sat out the rest of the game.
The Cheerleader of the Game award went to Savannah Tisateski of the Nome Nanooks.
ACS boys played the Monroe Catholic Rams of Fairbanks on Saturday for the championship. Monroe Rams won the 3A state title defeating Anchorage Christian 67-52.
The Mount Edgecumbe Braves were awarded the 3A Boys Sportsmanship Award.
2021 Boys 3A All Tournament Team
Ronald Alstrom-Beans, Mt. Edgecumbe
Jase McCullough, Monroe Catholic
Jaren Miller, Grace Christian
Thomas Bast, Monroe Catholic
Cormac Kessey, Hutchison
Josh Davis, Anchorage Christian
Dawson Schaefer, Nome
Sean Melanis, Anchorage Christian
Quinn McHenry, Monroe Catholic
JD McGee, Anchorage Christian
Sportmanship Award: Mt. Edgecumbe
