Warriors grab 3rd at Lime Solar tournament

by Tommy Wells

Jayvin Williams and Clevon Constantine helped the Bethel Regional High School Warriors make a solid showing at the Anchorage Christian Schools’ annual Lime Solar/Pepsi Invitational basketball tournament over the weekend. The Warriors turned in a 2-1 mark in the three-day event and finished third in the final standings.

Bethel kicked off the tournament with a bang on Thursday. The Warriors rode a quick start to a 69-58 victory over the Sitka Wolves.

Williams, who was selected to the all-tournament team, provided the bulk of the offensive fireworks for the Warriors in the opener by throwing in a game-high 31 points.

With their victory over Sitka, Bethel moved into the tournament semifinals to face off with defending Class 3A state champion – and Western Conference rival – Barrow.

Barrow managed to survive a huge scare from the Warriors in the semifinals, escaping with a narrow 38-35 decision.

Carl Charlie and Constantine led the BRHS attack against the Whalers by netting 10 and nine points, respectively. Junior point guard Travis Adams led Barrow with 19.

Bethel bounced back from the loss to Barrow in grand fashion on Saturday by riding the hot hand of Constantine to a 45-23 victory over Kotzebue.

Constantine scored nine of his team-high 11 points in the first half and helped Bethel race to a 28-13 advantage at the half.

The BRHS Lady Warriors also turned in a solid performance at the tournament, going 2-1 and taking fourth overall.

The Lady Warriors dropped their opener to Sitka, falling 46-29 despite 10 points from Courtney Williams.

Williams, Marissa Crow helped Bethel power its way back on Friday in the consolation bracket. Both finished in double figures for BRHS, netting 23 and 12, respectively in the Lady Warriors’ 68-22 rout of Lumen Christi.

In the fourth-place game, Ashley Mute left her mark on the outcome. The BRHS standout broke a 43-43 deadlock in the closing seconds by dropping in a shot that gave the Lady Warriors a thrilling 44-43 victory over Kotzebue.

Bethel didn’t look as if it would need a late shot to win early on. The Lady Warriors outscored Kotzebue by a 35-28 clip in the initial three quarters of play.

Kotzebue fought its way back into the contest with a 15-9 run in the final 8 minutes.