JDHS boys battle in Las Vegas, girls at Wasilla
- Klas Stolpe
- 13 hours ago
- 3 min read
Crimson Bears hoopsters get first game jitters
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears boys and girls varsity basketball teams opened their seasons Thursday with some positive affirmations in a pair of losses on their respective road trips.
The JDHS boys fell to C.I. Gibson Senior High School, of the Bahamas, 60-36 at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the JDHS girls fell to last season’s 4A state runner-up Wasilla Lady Warriors 74-34 at the host’s home Doc Larson Roundball Classic in Wasilla.
The CIG Rattlers travel the United States playing tournaments and are prominent in placing players in the DI college ranks. They are known for high-intensity defense and full-court presses and they did not stray from that evaluation.
JDHS coach Robert Casperson said of the Crimson Bears boys opponents, “They were long and athletic. Lots of turnovers led to easy baskets.”
JDHS trailed 33-16 at the half. Despite the final score Casperson noted some positives.
“We got our first game jitters out of the way,” he said. “Everyone played in the first half, and everyone contributed. Micah (Nelson), Zach (Polaskay), Christian (Rielly), and Erik (Thompson) scored their first varsity points… More guys are working to get in place for charges. We took a couple of charges and tried to take several more. That's way better than last year.”
Senior Joren Gasga led JDHS with eight points, senior Elias Dybdahl seven, senior Brandon Casperson and sophomore Nelson five apiece, juniors Logan Carriker, Hunter Carte and Thompson 3 each, senior Reilly and sophomore Polasky two apiece.
Mario Rolle led CIG with 19 points, Joevardo Wright 15, Darrius Hanna 14, Sidney Higgs six, Keshawn Dean four and Khamani Oars two.
The JDHS girls had the first lead of the game off the opening tip as sophomore Athena Warr batted the ball to senior Gwen Nizich who scored on a layup. Warr next rebounded a missed shot and passed out to Nizich who hit a jump hook shot off the backboard for a 4-0 advantage.
A Wasilla three-point shot was answered by a pair of free throws by JDHS senior Cambry Lockhart for a 6-3 Crimson Bears lead.
Wasilla would then go on 19-5 run behind a strong showing from Lady Warriors seniors Savannah Kroon and Katie Jackson for a 22-11 first quarter lead.
Wasilla opened the second quarter on a 19-2 run behind full-court pressure and coasted into a 48-18 lead at the half. Wasilla would lead 65-27 after three quarters.
JDHS was led by 13 points from Nizich (and two steals), junior Layla Tokuoka six (3 steals), senior Cambry Lockhart five, sophomore Sadie Lockhart and Athena Warr (6 rebounds) four apiece, and sophomore Freyja Shelton-Walker two.
Wasilla’s Kroon led all scorers with 21 points, Jackson 13, seniors Kinley Lynch and Mielle Merchant eight apiece, senior Kyleigh Boling six, sophomore Presley Merchant five, seniors Kinley Bruno and Claire Bredberg four apiece, sophomore Leia Merchant three and senior Mia Christianson two.
“Well first game,” JDHS coach Tanya Nizich said. “We know we have a lot of work to do and we know we can get better moving forward and fix many things.”
The JD girls play North Pole on Friday. The JD boys play Wasatch, Utah and St. George’s, British Columbia on Friday. Saturday opponents are undetermined.
When they return home the Crimson Bears will host the George Houston Capital City Classic, Dec. 27-30 at JDHS. The CCC boys tourney lineup features the Kake Thunderbirds, Monroe Catholic Rams and Petersburg Vikings. The CCC girls tourney lineup includes the two-time defending 1A state champion Fort Yukon Lady Eagles, last season’s 3A state third-place finisher Monroe Catholic Lady Rams (Fairbanks) and the 2A Petersburg Lady Vikings.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
