Crimson Bears boys fall to unruly Knights
- Klas Stolpe
- 2 minutes ago
- 3 min read
JDHS battles in loss to Colony at T-Bird Classic Tournament
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé boys’ basketball team opened the East Anchorage T-Bird Classic in a full-court skirmish against the Colony Knights, falling 80-60 despite hot shooting from the arc by senior Kurt Kuppert and junior Logan Carriker.
"We have an incredibly talented team on paper," assistant coach John Sleppy said. "We now have to put that talent to work for 32 minutes."
Colony opened the game on a 10-2 run behind the inside strength of 6’7” sophomore Charlie Gardner. Then JDHS began to cut into the first quarter with a shot past the arc by Kuppert and a rebound basket by senior Elias Dybdahl to pull to 12-7.
Colony sophomore Jackson Ainsworth and junior Myles Mongeau answered two free throws from JDHS senior Brandon Casperson for a 16-9 lead after eight minutes.
Colony’s Mongeau scored to open the second quarter and JDHS’ Dybdahl answered with a basket and a foul shot to pull to 18-12. Senior Joren Gasga hit on a drive to pull to 18-14.
Mongeau spun inside for a layup and was fouled for an old-fashioned, three-point play and a 21-14 lead with six minutes left in the first half.
After a shot from the arc by JDHS’ Carriker and another closer in by Gasga, Colony went on a 10-2 run behind Gardner and senior Leyton Lockard to lead 31-21.
Carriker would answer back-to-back three-point plays by Colony’s Mongeau and senior Nile Deland to trail 36-26 at the half.
JDHS’ Dybdahl and Colony’s Gardner both had three fouls in the first half, a blow to their teams inside, but neither big man backed down as Gardner hit the Knights’ first basket of the second half and Dybdahl the first Crimson Bears’ bucket.
Colony would hold a 10-point advantage, 44-34, with five minutes left in the stanza behind a dunk by Mongeau, a fast-break layup by Deland and a drive by Mongeau.
JDHS’ Carriker and Gasga hit back-to-back shots from the arc to stay within striking distance but Colony closed the quarter with a 54-41 lead.
With both starting lineups on the floor to begin the fourth quarter, JDHS’ Kuppert hit from the arc to pull to 54-44. Mongeau answered with a free throw that gave JDHS’ Dybdahl his fifth foul and exit from the game. Mongeau then grabbed a rebound and led a fast break that Gardner cashed in on for a 57-44 lead.
JDHS’ Kuppert hit to pull to 57-47, but Colony went on a 15-3 run to take a 72-50 lead with three minutes remaining in the game.
Colony’s Gardner would score eight points in the final three minutes while JDHS senior Christian Rielly, senior Tyler Frisby and Gasga put the final shots in for the Crimson Bears.
Carriker led JDHS with 16 points, Kuppert added 14, Gasga 12, Casperson and Dybdahl seven apiece and senior Tyler Frisby three and senior Noah Ault one.
The Crimson Bears hit 12-14 from the charity stripe, the Knights 8-13.
Colony was led by Mongeau with 27 points. Gardner and Ainsworth added 20 points apiece, L. Lockard nine, junior Trenton Lockard and junior Thomas Coombs two apiece.
JDHS will next face the East Anchorage Thunderbirds at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
"Our defense didn’t play well tonight and we thought we could outscore our opponents," coach Sleppy said. "Brandon Casperson and Joren Gasga showed the leadership when we got down by trying to rally the team. We look forward to playing East Anchorage tomorrow."
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
