News Archives

Monday January 09, 2012
JDHS boys get all medieval on Knights - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     Crimson Bears win battles in homecoming hoops war

From the opening tip to the sound of the final buzzer an army of swarming Juneau Douglas High School boys basketball players pressured visiting Colony into two non-conference losses on homecoming weekend, sweeping the Knights 75-69 on Friday and 67-54 on Saturday.

“Definitely everybody played hard,” JDHS head coach Robert Casperson said after Friday’s win. “It was the culmination of a big week at school for these kids with all the activities going on during the week. It was a great crowd with great fan support.”

That support showed with five minutes remaining in the third quarter as the Crimson Bears, trailing 38-35, went on a 21-5 run to end the period.

Senior guard Lance Ibesate started the onslaught with a break-a-way layup, then turned around to draw Colony’s Nathan Umbarger into his third foul and hit two free throws for a lead the Crimson Bears never relinquished.

Ibesate’s backcourt classmate Tony Yadao hit a free throw, Ibesate drew Umbarger’s fourth foul to hit two more free throws, and Alec Calloway scored on a put back and again on an Austin Shoemaker steal for a 46-40 lead at the 2:49 mark.

Shoemaker stole the next possession from Colony and hit a streaking Ibesate to make it 48-40 and the duo repeated the same scenario 15 seconds later for a 10-point advantage.

Ibesate created his own larceny on the next Colony possession and fed Calloway for two, Evan Gross notched two free throws and Ibesate finished the period with a breaking layup on an assist from Phillip Fenumiai for a 56-43 lead.

Ibesate scored 12 of his team high 20 points in the run.

“The crowd got excited,” Casperson said. “It seemed to fuel our guys. A lot of guys came in and did some nice things for us. That is a nice luxury to have as a coach.”

After Friday’s game, Casperson said the Crimson Bears would have to defend better if they wanted to repeat the win.

JDHS allowed Colony’s leading scorer, Hunter Eisenhower, to connect for a game high 22 points and the Knights’ guards Tim Smith and Jared Turner added 11 and 10 respectively.

Colony’s guards combined for five connections from beyond the arch to keep the Knights in a close first half game. JDHS trailed after the first quarter 16-13

The second period saw solid efforts off the Crimson Bears bench as six different players scored including reserves Ryan Kelly and Fenumiai from deep and Jeffrey Pusich inside. In addition the JDHS rotation allowed Austin Shoemaker to spell hard-working Darien Stanger and Taylor Swofford to grab two of the game’s most emphatic rebounds in his brief stint on the floor.

Ibesate scored on a lay in with two seconds remaining but Colony’s Eisenhower took the inbounds pass and threw a length of the court three-pointer to put the Knights on top at the break 30-29.

The Knights were forced to turnover their entire line up as well due to JDHS’ full court man pressure.

Yadao especially made life unbearable for the opposing backcourt as he chested dribblers for 84-feet. The result carried over to the second wave of defenders who could pick off errant passes or double team.

“I really enjoyed Tony’s defense,” Casperson said. “I thought he put a lot of effort on the defensive side of the ball and that is going to pay off for us. We have three or four guys who can put that kind of pressure on. We just have to commit to doing it and build the trust that our teammates are behind us if we get beat.”

Calloway netted 16 points for the Crimson Bears, Yadao and Fenumiai 10 points apiece, Gross had nine points, Stanger and Kelly three points, Pusich and Shoemaker two apiece. Calloway and Gross, who were selected to the 2010 State Tournament Good Sport Team, showed they had more meanness now as seniors, each totaling nine rebounds in the game.

JDHS hit just 17-35 from the charity stripe while Colony connected on 15-22.

Saturday’s first half was the calm before the storm for the Knights.

The Crimson Bears chose not to implement their full court man press, but instead rotated through the entire roster in a patient offense.

Each Crimson Bears jersey wearer had an opportunity to score.

Notched at 13-13 after one period of play, both teams ran patient sets for a 28-27 Colony first half lead.

As the third quarter began, so did the Crimson Bears press, the fan enthusiasm, the student body yell section, the pep band and half of downtown Juneau.

“We ratcheted up our defense,” Casperson said. “We started pressing and trapping like we normally like to do.”

Yadao and Ibesate prevented each ballhandler from getting farther than five feet during a dribble.

Help defense from Calloway, Fenumiai, Stanger and Shoemaker filled the gaps.

Strong boards from Gross, Jeffrey Pusich and Jesse Miller stopped any second shot attempts.

When the third period ended the Crimson Bears had a 52-39 advantage.

Calloway led the Crimson Bears with 12 points, Shoemaker added 10, Ibesate and Yadao nine each, Fenumiai eight, Pusich six, Stanger three, Jackson Lehnhart, Aquino Brinson, Gary Speck, Gross and Miller two each.

JDHS hit 11-18 from the charity stripe, Colony was 19-23.

Hunter Eisenhower led the Knights with 14 points, 10 of which came from the free throw line as he was unable to get clean, open looks at the basket under the JDHS pressure.

“Everybody contributed in the time they got,” Casperson said. “I told our guys they are not on the team because they look good in travel gear, they are on the varsity because they can play. I was very pleased with our effort this weakend.”

Casperson stated that Calloway had an outstanding defensive weekend.

“As talented as some of our defenders are, like Tony and Lance, he is right in there every night having to guard one of the toughest scorers on the other team,” Casperson said. “He is stepping up to that challenge and it is pretty fun to watch. All of our guys are beginning to take it upon themselves to demand more of each other.”

Casperson also acknowledged the crowd.

“I know I have been preaching to the choir, but, man the crowd great,” Casperson said. “And I think they got to see some great basketball this weekend. I am really proud of our guys. To see the progress we are making from the first four weeks, I think we are heading in the right direction. I appreciate the fans that came out to see that because our guys are fun to watch, and I think the fans are finding that out.”

Friday January 06, 2012
JDHS to court Knights in homecoming series - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     KINY to broadcast JDHS boys Friday and TMHS boys Saturday.

The Juneau-Douglas High School boys and girls basketball teams are hosting the Colony Knights tonight and Saturday in the Crimson Bears’ annual homecoming series.

“They are a good team,” JDHS head coach Robert Casperson said. “And they play in a very good conference. They are always in the hunt. I expect them to be a very tough opponent.”

The traditionally tough Knights (2-3) play in the Northern Lights Conference, which includes powers Wasilla, Palmer, Soldotna, Kodiak, Kenai, Homer and Skyview.

The Colony boys have made the state tourney four of the past five years, losing the title game in 2007, and finishing third in 2008. They boast two returning all-conference senior players in 6-foot-2 Blake Hightower and 5-foot-10 guard Antonio Bush, and rally around 6-foot-4 junior guard Hunter Eisenhower.

The Crimson Bears lost a scrimmage against a group of hot shooting perimeter alumni during one Christmas break practice and are working on improving defense to the three-point line. Lance Ibesate, Tony Yadoa and Alec Calloway are currently the top three go-to scorers on JDHS.

“My main concern is if we are going to be able to defend them,” Casperson said of the Knights. “Keep them out of the lane and challenge any shots. Our focus will be on defense, we need to be better than we have been if we want to be successful against Colony.”

The Colony girls have been to the state championships the past three years and lost in the championship game in 2009.

The Knights are led by all state selection Mary Klapperich, a 6-foot junior guard and 5-foot-10 seniors Saige Stefanski and Leroya Simmons.

“The team has worked extremely hard over the last couple of weeks focusing on some items that we need to improve on,” JDHS girls head coach Dee Boster said. “Things that were obvious from the Wasilla trip. Some of that is believing that we can win and having confidence as a team; not just improving on the fundamentals of basketball.”

Boster stated the team is definitely on the road of improvement.

“If we keep attacking the items needed to improve on as we have the last couple of weeks, throughout the season and not only learn from our mistakes but make adjustments where needed, then I believe we will gradually become more confident in our play and therefore successful,” Boster said. “We are looking forward to this weekend with the goal of taking what we have worked on and applying it in a game situation.

“I think the girls have realized that winning is going to take a lot of hard work and won’t be handed to us; this weekend will be a good test on that concept. There’s a lot of basketball left in the season; so we need to take one game at a time and work from there.”

Students at JDHS have decked the halls, the commons, the gymnasium and just about every nook and cranny of the school in spirit decorations.

That alone should be worth the price of a basketball ticket. There will also be homecoming court and king and queen crowning during Saturday’s dance in the high school commons after the boys game.

“It’s homecoming,” Casperson said. “The atmosphere should be great, especially if we can get the fans out in full force. A lot of fanfare goes into this weekend and it is a lot of fun.”

Local radio station KINY 800 AM will broadcast the JDHS boys’ game Friday at 8 p.m.

Friday December 23, 2011
JDHS JV Repeats as Champion!
     The boys JV team did it again. They conquered all at the Thunder Mountain Southeast Holiday Hoops Tournament. This is the second year of the tournament and the second time that the Juneau-Douglas JV team has emerged victorious.

After at tight 38-33 win against Hydaburg in pool play, JD JV faced the Thunder Mountain JV team in the semi final of bracketed play. The Bears beat their crosstown foes handily 40-20, and moved into the championship game. There the Crimson Bears faced the Glacier Bears from Haines and won going away, 40-26, to claim the tournament championship.

Sunday December 18, 2011
Juneau-Douglas boys run over Thunder Mountain - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     Crimson Bears win 63-40 on Friday and 56-45 Saturday

A rebound laden Juneau-Douglas High School boys’ basketball team proved to be too big of an obstacle for the cross-town rival Thunder Mountain High School to overcome this weekend.

The Crimson Bears had a bevy of second shots in the first period of Friday’s 63-40 win over the Falcons.

“We have to find a way to run our defense effectively and box out so they don’t get second shots,” TMHS head coach John Blasco said after Friday’s loss. “They are pretty big inside.”

The wear and tear of battling inside took an early toll on the Falcons as Juneau’s 6-foot-7 Evan Gross, although not making every put back, was active on the glass and opened up the key for his teammates.

Alec Calloway prospered most from attacking the glass, leading the Crimson Bears with 18 points in the game.

The Falcons started in a man-to-man defense in the first quarter, switching to zone midway as rebounding became a factor.

“It was just a different look,” Blasco said. “Something we were trying in the game plan. It had its effectiveness but it can still be improved.”

The Falcons battled inside to stay close 12-10 after one period of play and went into halftime trailing just 23-14.

“The jitters generally play a part in terms of adrenaline,” Blasco said. “It is the first time putting on the uniforms, first time playing in front of the home crowd, it is JDHS. There are a lot of things to put into it but those things all went away after halftime. It is just a matter of getting into a comfortable offense and getting the right looks to score.”

An 18-10 third quarter scoring advantage gave the Crimson Bears the 41-24 cushion that allowed them to coast into the final period of play.

“When they started pulling away in the second quarter we got on our heels,” Blasco said. “Their defense pushed us further from the perimeter than we wanted to be, and we played on our heels at times and had a hard time getting into the flow of the offense. We probably shot a pretty low percentage.”

Tony Yadao added 16 points for the Crimson Bears, Austin Shoemaker 10, Gross seven, Taylor Swofford four, Lance Ibesate and Darien Stranger three apiece and Jesse Miller two.

Sam Jahn 10, Matt Seymour eight, Ben Jahn seven, Avery Stewart six, Travis Johnson four, Allen Shaw and Ty Grussendorf two apiece, and Coltin Lanz one.

JDHS hit 19-25 from the charity stripe and TMHS was 10-17.

“Thunder Mountain is a tough matchup for us,” JDHS head coach Robert Casperson said. “They play extremely hard. I expect more games like this weekend when we play them down the road.”

On Saturday night it was the Crimson Bears turn to defend their home court and the Falcons were worthy adversaries once again, taking a 19-17 halftime lead.

Gross’ third foul at the start of the third quarter should have meant an advantage to the Falcons but JDHS’ Yadao and Ibesate began to spread the floor on offense and distribute the ball for open jumpers or slashing layins.

“We have a lot of guys that are waiting for the opportunity to step up and support their teammates,” Casperson said. “And that is exactly what happened this weekend.”

Gross drew his fourth foul before the period ended and Gary Speck provided quality relief inside.

After a put back inside by TMHS’ Sam Jahn, the Crimson Bears duo of Ibesate and Yadao scored and assisted on three straight possessions and JDHS led going into the final period 35-32.

Calloway and Yadao pushed the lead to 39-32 at quarter’s start and the tempo on defense was increased to full court.

The Falcons would draw to within four at the 6:08 mark on a Ben Jahn three pointer but a key shot by Calloway on the next possession and a Stanger trey kept the momentum with the Crimson Bears for the win.

“It’s a work in progress for us,” JDHS head coach Robert Casperson said. “I wasn’t surprised by tonight at all, in regards to how hard they played and how tight it was all the way. In all honesty I was more surprised with the margin of victory Friday.”

Ibesate led JDHS with 15 points, Yadao had 10, Speck seven, Stanger six, Gross five, Calloway four, Shoemaker three, Ryan Kelly, Jesse Miller and Aquino Brinson two each.

The Falcons’ Ben Jahn led with 15 points, Seymour and Travis Johnson eight apiece, S. Jahn had four, Vili Tupou and Stewart three each, Lanz and Grussendorf two apiece.

Thunder Mountain hit 9-18 at the charity stripe while Juneau-Douglas was 14-21.

The Falcons missed guards Josh Tupou and Keith Ainsworth, both out with injuries and awaiting clearance to play.

“Our game plan is effective,” Blasco said. “We just have to make some adjustments to it and utilize the guys we have in the game and continue to be aggressive. The good news is there is room for us to improve and we can get better.”

The JDHS Junior varsity won on Saturday 53-47 behind 23 points from Brinson. Trent Uddipa scored 13 for the TMHS JV.

Thursday December 15, 2011
Crimson Bears tradition, Falcons exuberance - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     The Thunder Mountain High School basketball programs went 0-8 last season against their cross-town rivals from Juneau-Douglas, but their opponent’s graduations and their own maturity seem to play into evening out the competition level this season.

The Juneau-Douglas High School teams are not overlooking their up and coming neighbors, but are buying into two new coaches with old philosophies of basketball wisdom.

The Falcons will host both the girls and boys teams on Friday and the Crimson Bears will return the favor on Saturday.

“Fans will see a brand new squad in a way,” Falcons head coach Tanya Nizich said. “The same faces but, overall, everybody has really come together over the last few years and fans will see some really hard workers out there and a competitive game.”

The TMHS girls graduated Janie White and lost Mellissa Fisher to Mt. Edgecumbe, but return an entire roster of competitors.

Shale Kibby, Kinsey Marshall, Makayla Pierce, Ashley Young, Jonelle Staveland and Ashley Young have the height needed to compete with a traditionally physical JDHS roster. Staveland can also move to the wing, where she led the team in three-pointers last season.

“We have been working hard and running a lot so hopefully we won’t get too tired our first set of games,” “I think this first set of games are very important. They set the stage as how we have been practicing and if we need to make any changes. It gives us a preview on what needs to be done for the rest of the season. Hopefully we have covered all our bases and we can make a strong opening weekend.”

Eyerus Tingley, Shayla Reeves, Kylie Ibias, Michaela Demmert and Sarah Morris will be perimeter threats.

“As a ball club I definitely notice that everybody seems a little bit more mature in the sense that we are a little bit more court smart,” Nizich said. “Most of the girls have been together since freshmen and we finally have the chemistry down, we know where we are on the court.”

The JDHS girls graduated a talented arsenal that included Hannah Swofford, Taylor Larson, Maria Weyhrauch, Sara Tarver, Nani Ostrom, Olivia Henderson and Karli Brakes. Coach Leslie Knight stepped down, but in her footprints is a disciple that came into the JD system in 2003.

“I think our strength is our speed,” JDHS girl’s head coach Dee Boster said. “Hopefully that will make up for our loss of size in the key. We will have to work harder on rebounding and blocking out inside.”

The Crimson Bears return Esra Sideek, Marissa Brakes, Nicole George and Kaitlin Fagerstrom, players who all found time last year; and Ari Gross, Gabi Fenumiai and Kayla Balovich are expected to fill the front line.

“Marissa will be our leader, on and off the court,” Boster said. “I don’t expect her sister, I expect Marissa. She makes very good decisions on the court.”

Fagerstrom is a raw sophomore who only lacks confidence; all the other skills are in the Crimson Bears’ uniform.

Sideek will be the first option on offense, and the first person the defense keys on, so Fagerstrom, Gross, Fenumiai, lightning guard T Jae Garcia and senior Sierra Tagaban will be vital.

Replacing the speed, off-guard, and forward components will also come from Tori Gogg, Kymberlee Kelly, Rachelle Roldan, Amberli Fitka and Rolonda Scaife.

“We don’t want to change the program,” Boster said. “It has been successful for a long time. We are a really young team. I am a little nervous, a little excited. There are big shoes to fill, the expectations of keeping that success alive.”

Boster said she expects her kids to wear the Crimson Bears uniform with pride.

“The girls work hard in practice and are excited to be here,” Boster said. “Their expectations, and ours, are high.” The Falcons’ boy’s graduation of John Correa, Josh Jones and Jimmy Mota will not affect their athleticism on the court of nine returning players.

“The first series for us is going to be much like Juneau’s first game last weekend,” TMHS head coach John Blasco said. “It will probably be a little sloppy at first until we settle down from the adrenalin of the first game and of playing our cross-town conference rival. We have had three good weeks of practice and I am excited to see how we perform in these games and how we react to facing a very tough opponent.”

Third year players Ty Grussendorf as a shooting wing with range and Sam Jahn in the pivot are impact players. Junior Keith Ainsworth, a varsity player since his freshman year, is the team leader. Travis Johnson is a hustler on the court and the Tupou brothers, Josh and Vili, are a competitive point guard combo.

Throw in Matt Seymour and Ben Jahn, who saw significant minutes as freshmen, and Avery Stewart and Coltin Lanz who know the program, plus football quarterback Camden Thomas with athletic leadership qualities, and the Falcons will hunt bear. Mike Uddipa will see back up point guard duties and Allen Shaw is a defensive workhorse off the bench.

“We got to see them play against Ketchikan and we know that they have a lot of strong players,” Blasco said. “We know we will have our hands full Friday. We haven’t beaten them yet but that is definitely on our minds. They have a strong senior class and size in side. They will be tough. I think fans will see, as they have the past two years, our group of young guys that are not going to quit until the buzzer goes off. We will play hard every possession and play an up-tempo kind of game. They are an exciting group for sure.”

The Crimson Bears’ boys graduated Ryan Baldwin, Nino Crisostomo, Travis Godfrey, Colin Gozelski, Eddie Hurtte, and De’Andre King but seem hardly affected. They too lost a retiring legend in Steve Potter, but JDHS filled the hole with a 12-year assistant.

“I think it is going to be a fun season,” JDHS head coach Robert Casperson said. “It will be a little bit more of a traditional look, a little more high school size and a rededication to doing the work.”

Lance Ibesate and Tony Yadao are two of the state’s top guards and have quality postman Evan Gross to work around, plus big men bench play from Jeffrey Pusich, Taylor Swofford, Bruce Jones and Gary Speck.

“We are very excited,” Ibesate said. “New coach, new system, it’s going to be fun. I am just going to try and be tough this year, be pesky and in people’s grills playing good defense. I just want us to learn from every game.”

Added Yadao, “We are looking to have good chemistry this year. As seniors we have to lead by example and bring our strengths to help make the team do better.”

Alec Calloway and Darien Stanger were starters at Ketchikan last weekend but Ryan Kelly, Jesse Miller, Austin Shoemaker and Aquino Brinson found time on the court. Calloway can go inside or outside and, being left handed, makes it hard on defenders. Phillip Fenumiai is still involved in all-star football practices each weekend in Anchorage, but when he joins the team he will be a starter at basically any position. Jackson Lehnhart is recovering from an ankle injury.

“A lot of guys did more off-season work than before,” Casperson said. “We talk about what it means to be a Crimson Bear and the responsibility that comes with it. When we passed out the uniforms you could see that light in their eyes, they are excited.”

Sunday December 11, 2011
Crimson Bears devour Ketchikan's Kings by Klas Stolpe and Richard Larson
     JDHS sweeps season opening hoops series 69-55 and 75-60

Trailing by one point entering the fourth quarter of the first game in the 2011-12 season on Friday night, the Juneau-Douglas High School boys basketball team needed to make a statement that they were still going to be the class of the southeastern conference.

A barrage of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter triggered a 20-4 Crimson Bears run that turned a tense game into a big 69-55 win over Ketchikan on Friday at the Clarke Cochrane Gymnasium.

“Definitely it was great to hit some shots,” JDHS head coach Robert Casperson said. “But we put some pressure on their defense that created those shots with dribble penetration. Lance (Ibesate) was able to get into the paint quite a bit.”

With the score tied 43-43 early in the fourth, Ibesate penetrated multiple times and was either fouled, made a layup or kicked out to teammates for open jump shots.

JDHS’ Austin Shoemaker, playing in his first varsity game, drained an open look from outside to start the run. Ibesate added his own triple, and Tony Yadao drained two more clean looks from outside to finish off the scoring streak by the Crimson Bears senior guards. Juneau scored 20 points in four minutes to break the game open.

“We started to get guys open. We started taking higher percentage shots,” Yadao said. “We worked the ball around more and were getting open.”

Ketchikan coach Eric Stockhausen said the focus of the Kings was to stop penetration and then close out on the outside shooters.

JDHS coach Robert Casperson stated point guard Ibesate was instrumental in the comeback and the attitude of the Crimson Bears was always up beat.

“Our guys are buying in to playing the type of basketball that the community will enjoy watching,” Casperson said. “We had instances where guys were taking charges.

Six-foot-seven, 220 pound Evan Gross keyed the momentum swing late in the third quarter by taking a charge in the lane.

“All four of his teammates ran over to pick him up,” Casperson said. “All four. It was awesome. The game was still tough and back and forth at the time.”

Casperson also mentioned the Crimson Bears’ unselfishness, especially on the receiving end of assists.

“We have been working a lot in practice on thanking the passer,” Casperson said. “And the screener. When Tony buried that three in the fourth quarter on a kick out from Lance you could here him yelling and complimenting Lance for that pass. That is stuff that is important if we are going to continue to build and do the things we want to do this year. To see that in the first game is encouraging.”

Continued Casperson, “Ketchikan is a tough place to play. It certainly is a big win. It’s the opener, but I don’t want to downplay it too much, because these are conference games.”

Added Yadao, “Most of us have been playing together since fifth grade and I think that will help us a lot this year.”

Despite numerous turnovers, foul trouble, and horrendous shooting from the foul line, the Kings kept battling back from deficits in the first three quarters. The Kings took a one-point lead into the fourth quarter on Fred Seludo’s 3-point basket, but then were overwhelmed by Juneau’s outside shooting in the fourth.

Juneau-Douglas had four players in double figures, led by Ibesate, who scored 20 points. Yadao added 16, Alex Calloway 13, and Shoemaker 11. Gross added four points, Jeffrey Pusich and Gary Speck two each, and Darien Stanger one.

Kyle Day led the Kings with 18 points, sparking several key runs in the first three quarters with strong drives to the basket. Day’s outside shooting wasn’t falling, however, and like most of his teammates, he struggled from the free-throw line. Ketchikan guard Mark Dulay tallied 13 points.

Juneau hit just 19 of 30 at the charity stripe, while Ketchikan was a dismal 7-19.

Despite six turnovers and seven fouls in the first four minutes of the game, Kayhi held a 7-4 lead before Juneau went on an 11-3 run to end the quarter. Yadao scored six points in less than a minute to key the run.

Ketchikan battled back to jump in front 18-17 in the second quarter on a layup by Auger, but again Juneau responded with an 8-2 run to go up by five. The Crimson Bears held a 28-23 advantage at the break.

The Crimson Bears looked like they might pull away early in the third quarter, claiming a 35-28 advantage after a three-point play by Shoemaker, but once again Ketchikan responded. The Kings finished the quarter on an 11-3 run, taking a 39-38 lead on a 3-pointer by Fred Seludo after a flawlessly executed offensive series.

“It’s a Stockhausen-coached team,” Casperson said. “You know they are going to come back on you, that they are never going to give up. That’s how he coaches them.”

The game was tied 43-43 with 6:14 left to play after Day hit a floater on a good drive down the lane, but Juneau-Douglas took over from there.

“I would imagine after the first-game nerves are out of the way, the teams will settle in a little more and it will be a little cleaner brand of basketball,” Casperson said.

Bruce Jones led the JDHS JV with 13 points in a tough 71-49 loss to Ketchikan JV on Friday and Adam Empson added 12. The Ketchikan junior varsity used a 13-1 run at the end of the second quarter to take a 38-25 halftime lead, then pushed the advantage to as much as 25 points in the second half. Empson also scored 13 points as the JDHS C team lost to the Ketchikan C 51-49.

“It is still pretty early in the season,” Casperson said. “We are still figuring things out. And when I say ‘we’ that is myself included in terms of rotation and which groups and combinations play best together. We were able to put runs together and Ketchikan responded right back with their own. In order to create separation on someone we have to have consistency defensively during those runs. I think more so down the stretch we were making the shots and getting the stops.”

On Saturday the Crimson Bears took Casperson to heart and made all the right defensive choices, taking a lead in the first quarter and stretching it into a 75-60 win. Juneau-Douglas took control with a 13-0 first quarter run, then kept the Kings at bay the rest of the game. The Kings led 8-6 early, but then Juneau-Douglas went on a 13-0 run to take command. Juneau-Douglas led 28-14 at the end of the first quarter and Kayhi never got closer than seven points the rest of the night.

Juneau-Douglas seniors guards Lance Ibesate, Tony Yadao and Austin Shoemaker combined for 40 points, and senior forward Alex Calloway added 11 points, as the experienced Crimson Bears had the upper hand in both games. Juneau-Douglas used a 20-4 fourth-quarter run to win 69-55 on Friday.

Ibesate lead JDHS with 21 points, Yadao had 13, Alec Calloway 11 and Gary Speck eight.

“He did everything he needed to do to help us win tonight,” Casperson said of Ibesate. “As a team, the things we have worked on in practice are being executed on the court...and the things we haven’t worked on we handled very well.”

Kayhi played Juneau-Douglas relatively evenly after the first quarter, but it wasn’t enough for the Kings to seriously climb back into the game. The Kings scored the first five points of the second half, and had a chance to cut the lead to four points, but a 3-point attempt from Day went in-and-out. Following the 3-point miss, the Crimson Bears went on a 12-2 run to push a 48-41 lead up to 60-43.

The Kings never gave up, and the crowd cheered them on each time they got the score under 10 points, but the veteran Crimson Bears didn’t allow Kayhi to put together any long rallies.

“They’ve got two all-state guards that have started for three years for them, and it showed,” Stockhausen said. “Besides Kyle, all of our guards just got done playing their second varsity game.”

Ibesate and Yadao have had starting roles or major playing minutes since they were sophomores.

“A lot will start with our guards,” Casperson said. “Lance and Tony have a considerable amount of basketball knowledge. They know how to control situations.Once we got that early lead it was important to keep it. We know what the Ketchikan guys can do. They keep coming at you, they are not going to quit.”

Juneau-Douglas hit three 3-point baskets in its first-quarter explosion, but also did a better job of rebounding the ball and scoring on offensive putbacks. Yadao drained a 3-point basket from the right corner 40 seconds into the game, a sign of what was to come from the Crimson Bears.

“We definitely made a few more shots today than we did yesterday,” Casperson said. “But so did Ketchikan. It was a cleaner game, which I was expecting, but that spurt we had in the beginning I wasn’t really expecting.”

In the first quarter, it looked like the Kings might get run out of their own gym. Kayhi regained its composure, but showed it still has some growing to do to get to where Juneau-Douglas is right now.

Shoemaker scored only six points for the Crimson Bears, but is an explosive presence off the bench for a JDHS team with three quick, talented guards and a deep rotation of solid big men.

“We are definitely blessed to have the quickness at guard that we do,” Casperson said. “Then we have a guy like Austin coming off the bench. He is a very dynamic player as a sixth man. He wants to lead the team in rebounding and I think he did that tonight. Alec also rebounded very well. I can see that rebounding and the players coming off the bench are going to be key for us this season.”

“We’ve got three strong teams in Southeast. Thunder Mountain is going to be tough, too,” Ibesate said. “I think the (Southeast) teams will surprise some people this year.”

Friday December 09, 2011
Scouting - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     Coach Robert Casperson says the JDHS boys, who play in Ketchikan tonight and Saturday, played the Kings 7 times last year for an overall record of 5-2. The Crimson Bears beat them at the Dimond Prep Shootout (1-0); Twice at home for conference wins (3-0, 2-0 conf); Lost to them two times down in KTN (3-2, 2-2 conf).

JDHS got the #1 seed going into the Region V Tournament on a coin flip or blind draw from a hat or something after multiple tie-breakers were employed.

JDHS was then 2-0 against them in the Reg. V Tournament (5-2 overall).

Our JV’s were 4-0 against Ktn. last year and a lot of those players have moved into varsity roles for both teams.

Thursday December 08, 2011
H.S. Hoops - Juneau Empire by Klas Stolpe
     Nothing struck such excitement, and fear, in my youth along the panhandle in Alaska as the opening of the high school basketball season.

As elementary age lads carrying physical education class red rubber balls larger than our torsos we were drawn to the extreme squeaks and squeals of old converse high tops on freshly polished floors, the sound of which would escape out through cracked gymnasium doors and windows as the high school boys practiced.

In middle school we wrapped double scarves around our necks and walked through snow drifts to one of the only outside courts, shoveled it off, and played until our toes felt like thumbs; and then crammed along the side lines of the high school gym to watch our local Vikings team against a variety of behemoths and wizards and shape-shifters that left our mouths agape.

When it was finally our turn, when the first whiskers of adolescence and pimply maturity was upon us, we knew what had to be done and why.

We had to practice; at all times, at all hours, and in all weather. Why? Because in my day… well basketballs were still round, but the league was all one smorgasbord of hoops. Small schools played large schools, and more often than naught, the competitions were even and fierce and came down to the final minutes.

And the largest school was Juneau.

With Juneau, we knew what would come. We saw it when we traveled as ‘middlers’ to Floyd Dryden and Dzantik’I Heeni.

We knew the Crimson Bears would be physical inside and fast outside, that they would have a man inside your uniform on defense as soon as the referee put the ball into the center jump circle.

That center jump begins again on Friday in Ketchikan. If you could see me now you would notice the horned Vikings helmet is pushed forward on my head, my converse are double knotted, and my inseams have been let out a notch or two over the years.

But the excitement and fear is still there.

The Juneau-Douglas and Thunder Mountain teams are part of a new fangled triangle of schools seeking an automatic bid to the state basketball tournament in Anchorage. To do that they have to win the region tournament or amass the newly implemented Alaska Scholastic Activities Association’s WPI schedule.

The WPI, or Winning Percentage Index, is decided by a team’s win-loss record against 4A teams and their opponent’s win-loss record. If you balance your checkbook as bad as I do, this is roughly what can happen:

Beating a team with a bad record can hurt your ranking; Losing to a team with a good record leaves you safe on the surface; and beating a team with a good record helps you move to the top of the heap.

Now, the champions of the Southeast, and the Mid Alaska, and the top two teams in the Cook Inlet and Northern Lights automatically qualify for state. The remaining two berths, which had previously gone to third place teams in the CI and NL, are awarded to the two teams with the top WPI’s that don’t automatically qualify.

The Crimson Bears have been snatching regional titles left and right, boys and girls, since James Naismith dreamed up this kooky game in 1891 (FYI, he was Canadien and is also credited with inventing the first football helmet).

The Falcons are just on the verge of making a point as to where the round ball rolls best.

JDHS travels to West Anchorage, Service, Wasilla and Palmer; and hosts Chugiak, Kodiak and Mt. Edgecumbe. Don’t giggle, the MTE Braves pulled a number on “us” during the regional championships crossover game last season, remember? The Braves are considered a power. They may not factor into the WPI but they still pack some OMG.

The Falcons travel to Anchorage Christian and Kodiak and host Palmer, West Valley and West. Yes, ACS is a 3A school (but refer to OMG above).

The JDHS boys are the team that I feared growing up. Tony Yadao and Lance Ibesate will be in your shorts 24-7. A week from any game you play against the Crimson Bears it will still feel like 10 games. Yadao can shoot as well, and at 5-foot-11 he can post if needed on smaller guards. And here is just a giggle: they could start 6-foot-9 Taylor Swofford, 6-foot-7 Evan Gross (both over 230 pounds),6-foot-5 Bruce Jones, 6-foot-4 Alec Calloway, and 6-foot-3 Phillip Fenumiai. And have four more 6-foot-somethings ready and waiting. By the way, Jones is a freshman. It has been a while sine a freshman has made the adjustment to varsity ball.

New head coach Robert Casperson has brother Kevin, Steve Houlihan, Greg Huebschen and Akeem Micheli to assist.

Oh, and did I say fast? Like in your shorts? Just wanted to make sure you were listening Thunder Mountain.

The Falcons meanwhile, are no slouches. Think football, minus the helmet and pads and there you go. Coach John Blasco has Camden Thomas, Josh and Vili Tupou, and Sam and Ben Jahn looking pretty darn smooth off the grass and on the hard wood. Keith Ainsworth, Ty Grussendorf and Matt Seymour are three of the streakiest shooters on the planet and will present an interesting matchup in southeast.

The girls are another matter. JDHS graduated what should have been the second straight state championship team. Their final game at Anchorage’s Sullivan Arena last year was just a total miscue. It happens.

This season new coach Dee Boster features Nicole George and Sierra Tagaban as the only graduates to be, and George brings the competiveness of lots of time spent watching what to do right. Junior Esra Siddeek is possibly one of the top shooters in the state and classmate Marissa Brakes brings breakneck speed and leadership. Surprises loom as the season progresses and two to keep an eye on are rapidly improving sophomore post Ari Gross and lighting quick T Jae Garcia.

The Falcons’ girls are also young, but heavy on experience. Shale Kibby and Kinsey Marshall are the lone seniors; Jonelle Staveland, Eyerus Tingley, Shayla Reeves and Kylie Ibias are juniors with plenty of game time; Michaela Demmert and Makayla Pierce are impact players; and Ashley Young and Sarah Morris are freshman that have made the cut. Coaches Tanya Nizich, Arnold Ibias and Danielle Larson are at the helm.

The JDHS boys are in Ketchikan this weekend. On Dec. 16 the Falcons host the Crimson Bears in a double header boys and girls games, then travel down Glacier Highway to the JD gym on Dec. 17. If you can’t wait until then, check out the middle school madness beginning today at Floyd Dryden and Dzantik’i Heeni; or check out the junior varsity and ‘c’ team games at JD beginning tommorrow.

Don’t forget your calculators though. There is something to find exciting about each of our four teams. It may be size, speed, hustle, ball control, or just the colors blue and silver and red and black.

What matters is when the color maroon comes to town. Then I can wear my black/blue/silver/red armbands high enough to cover my old PHS Vikings tattoo…and I can start to figure out the WPI index, because only one of my two teams gets the automatic bid.

Monday December 05, 2011
Holiday Happiness...
     Get into the swing of things and do your holiday shopping on line with the Crimson Bears. Be sure to click on the "Gear Up for Game Day" image to buy that special someone all the latest and greatest team apparel.

It doesn't matter what sport they like, each item and design is almost 100% customizable. Pick the style, color, logo, and team of your desire. Then wear you Crimson cool to the gym for home games with pride!

Sunday December 04, 2011
Varsity Team Selected
     As the Crimson Bears prepare for an early season match-up against conference foes in Ketchikan December 9th and 10th, you can see the group of young men that will represent Juneau's Red and Black this year.

Click on the link in the drop-down menu above to see a list of this season's varsity team members. Junior varsity will follow, as will team photos...

Monday November 28, 2011
Alaska High School Basketball Has Officially Begun
     Check back often to view news and other information on the 2011-2012 Crimson Bears, such as rosters and photos of this season's varsity, JV, and C teams.

Friday October 21, 2011
New Fast Break Club Membership Drive... Join the Team!
     It’s time to become a member (or renew your membership) in the Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears Fast Break Club. The club’s purpose is to give financial support to the Bears boy’s basketball teams while helping other Bears activity groups.

This year the FBC has three membership levels.

White: $50.00 includes 1 FBC Crimson Bears window decal.

Black: $75.00 includes 1 FBC Crimson Bears window decal & 1 FBC apparel item of your choice.

Crimson: $125.00 includes 2 FBC Crimson Bears window decals & 2 FBC apparel items of your choice.

In addition, each paying member will receive his/her name on the Fast Break Club banner located above the basketball office in the main gym and on the FBC link on the team’s website showing your personal support to the program. Names will be posted two times during the season. Payments received by December 10, 2011 will be posted before the first home game against TMHS on Saturday, December 17th. Payments received after December 10, 2011, but before January 13, 2012 will be posted before the January 20th games. Any membership payments received after January 13, 2012 will be posted as time allows.

Remember, your paid membership provides opportunity to our youth in many ways and is also tax deductible!

Click on the "Fastbreak" link in the above drop-down menus for the new registration form.

Thank you for your membership to the Fast Break Club. Your support is very important and very much appreciated. We look forward to seeing you around town and at our home games.

Please visit Facebook and look for Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears Boys Basketball to keep up with the team!

Monday October 17, 2011
Holy Cow, the Bears are on FACEBOOK!
     That's right, we've gone "high-tech" and joined the 2000's with our very own Facebook page. Please visit Facebook and look for Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears Boys Basketball to keep up with the team!

Tuesday September 27, 2011
New Schedule Released
     Catch all the action with your 2011-2012 Crimson Bears this season. You won't want to miss a single minute of game time as the team takes on regional and statewide opponents under first year head coach Robert Casperson. With a strong group of varsity candidates working hard in the off season, this year should be an exciting one to watch.

Click on the "Printer Friendly" version to get your copy and mark your calendars so you can show your support at all the home games.

See you at the gym!

Wednesday September 21, 2011
JDHS announces the appointment of Robert Casperson to the head coach position of the Crimson Bears Boys Basketball team
     For Immediate Release 9/21/11:

It may seem as though Robert Casperson was destined to become the head coach of the Juneau-Douglas High School Crimson Bears Boys Basketball team, but look a little closer and it is easy to see that it was hard work and dedication that got him here.

Born and raised in Juneau, Casperson follows a strong family tradition on to the JDHS basketball court. His parents, JDHS graduates, both spent their fair share of time in the gym. His father, Bruce, played high school basketball for Juneau in the 50’s and mother, Christine, was a cheerleader for JDHS. Bruce even spent time coaching Junior Varsity basketball and teaching history at JDHS.

The youngest of five children, Casperson grew up watching his older brothers play and coach the sport of basketball. His oldest brother, Kevin, was the Crimson Bears Boys Basketball Junior Varsity coach for 12 years.

“As someone that was born and raised in the capital city, I am honored and humbled to be chosen as the new head coach for the boy’s basketball team at Juneau-Douglas High School,” says Casperson, “I could not have reached this point without the support of my family, friends, and the community, and for that I am very thankful.”

The family ties come full circle - one of the players on Bruce’s JV team in the 60’s was George Houston, who then became Robert’s high school coach. When Robert got into coaching at JDHS (under Coach Houston), he had another well-known basketball name on his team – Thunder Mountain Head Basketball Coach John Blasco.

While playing under Coach Houston, Casperson and the Bears were 93-15, including a since unmatched 25-2 season his senior year. He graduated from JDHS in 1996, a three-year letterman in basketball and two-year varsity letterman in baseball.

Robert Casperson began working with the JDHS basketball program in 1999, and took over the freshman team in 2000, amassing 85-12 win-loss record. He has led the JDHS JV team since 2006-2007, and has a cumulative record of 92-20. During that same tenure, Coach Casperson had been the head Boys Basketball Coach at Floyd Dryden Middle School until 2009, and worked with the local Hooptime organization in an advisory role during its formative years.

Coach Casperson is proud to be a part of the program that he grew up with and enjoys the opportunity to give back to his community. “Throughout the years, Juneau basketball has established a long history of young men focused on dedication, discipline, and teamwork. It is my intent to build upon these pillars of success. I look forward to the continued support of the community as we work together to maintain a program that Juneau will be proud of on, and off the court,” he says.

Casperson takes over from Coach Steve Potter who spent 18 years with the JDHS basketball program – five of those as head coach. Potter enjoyed a 91-45 record and led his team to five consecutive Region V 4A Tournament Championships.

Coach Casperson is a Member of the Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches. He earned his Associates in Arts and Sciences at Shoreline Community College, and Bachelor of Liberal Arts Degree with an emphasis in Social Science from the University of Alaska Southeast. He also holds a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from the University of Alaska Southeast. He is a 6th grade Language Arts/Social Studies teacher Floyd Dryden Middle School. Casperson is married and has two children.

Sunday September 18, 2011
JDHS Boys Basketball Gives Back
     Varsity candidates recently participated in the Juneau Parks & Recreation 2nd annual Day of Play. 12 student-athletes donned the Crimson and Black and played basketball with community youth. This free, community based event was well received by the city of Juneau and the session that the Bears participated in was well attended by children of all ages.

Thursday March 17, 2011
JDHS faces tough task in Round 1 - Juneau Empire by Shaun T. Cox
     The Juneau-Douglas boys’ basketball team tips off in its sixth straight state tournament appearance Thursday, but the Crimson Bears haven’t exactly had the best of luck in recent years.

Since 2006, JDHS has lost five straight opening-round games, with four losses coming by an average of just 3.5 points, one in overtime. Wasilla rolled to a 69-46 win in the first round last year and edged the Crimson Bears for the No. 3 tournament seed this season, even though JDHS swept the Warriors in a weekend series Feb. 4-5.

Joining fourth-seeded Juneau-Douglas, who plays No. 5 North Pole on Thursday at 11:30 a.m., on the top half of the bracket in the 2011 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska State High School Basketball Championships is No. 1 Bartlett against No. 8 Kodiak.

No. 2 West faces No. 7 Palmer and No. 3 Service takes on the aforementioned Warriors in the bottom of the bracket.

“I think that it’s pretty much wide open,” JDHS coach Steve Potter said of the tournament draw. “As long as we weren’t coming in as the seven or eight seed, then we’ve got to be pretty happy with what we got.”

North Pole boasts All-State first-teamer Jesse Ward at forward, second-team guard Eli Sponseller and forward Kody Broderick, an All-State Honorable Mention, as its top players.

Potter said the Patriots aren’t very deep, but Ward, who puts up 17.7 points per game, is a southpaw stud at 6-foot-6 who can run the floor and shoot from the perimeter.

“They have some big guys that are pretty talented, but they don’t play a lot of guys. It’s going to be important for us to be sound defensively, first and foremost,” he said. “Jesse Ward ... is a 6-6 left-handed kid and he’s a shooter — not just big, but he shoots it, too.

“We’ll probably start with Colin (Gozelski) on him because he can go out on the floor and guard guys,” he continued. “We’ve seen him before because he’s been starting for them since he was a sophomore, but he’s still good. Just because we’ve seen him before doesn’t mean it’s any easier.”

The 6-foot Sponseller, who averages 8.1 points and 4.2 assists, is the Patriots’ big threat out of the backcourt.

“The word that we’ve gotten is he’s pretty good if you let him go right, so we’ll try to limit that,” Potter said of defending Sponseller. “They have some other guards that aren’t renowned for their ball handling abilities, so hopefully we can put some pressure on them.”

Broderick, a 6-foot-6, 190-pound post who averages 11 points and eight boards, controls the lane for the Patriots and is a good rebounder, Potter said.

“He’s a double-figure rebound guy (most nights) and it’s important to stop him,” he said. “We certainly have the size to (control the glass). It will be different for us after playing so many games against Ketchikan and Thunder Mountain. It’s the opposite end of the spectrum — they’re small and North Pole is not small.”

The Patriots beat the visiting Crimson Bears 54-46 last season.

“We play them once every three years or so,” Potter said. “The times that we’ve played them in the past (their style of play) was trapping and pressing, change defense every possession and try to confuse you. I think this year they’ve backed off that and they sag like Ketchikan and Thunder Mountain were doing this year. The difference is they’re sagging with bigger guys on the inside.

“Hopefully we can get some stuff in transition, but we’ve just got to make sure we’re patient on the offensive end. We’ve got to make them work,” he continued. “As long as we’re moving well, making hard cuts and doing our best to keep them off the boards, then we’ll be alright.”

The Crimson Bears will face either Kodiak or Bartlett in the second round, and JDHS has already put a 75-54 thumping on Kodiak this season.

“We played Kodiak at their tournament this year and beat them by around 20,” he said. “They tried to up-tempo everything. The first time you could see the basket was a good shot. And they had some kids that could shoot the ball, but the game they won to get in the (state) tournament, they won 32-30, so apparently they’ve altered that style a little bit.”

JDHS has not played Bartlett this season.

“They’re super athletic, they play a lot of guys and are definitely up-tempo,” Potter said of Bartlett. “It would be exciting for us to get the opportunity to go up against those guys.”

Wednesday March 16, 2011
Hurtte takes leadership role - Juneau Empire by Matthew Tynan
     The roles of individual players on a basketball team are ever-evolving entities, especially when you consider how fleeting a student-athlete’s varsity career can be.

Players come, players go. Others unexpectedly grow into contributors and leaders, as is the case for Juneau-Douglas guard Eddie Hurtte.

The final buzzer had just sounded as the Crimson Bears capped a two-game sweep of then-No. 4 Wasilla, and the JDHS senior guard was celebrating his 18th birthday the best way a player could — with a win — but the night would only get better.

Hurtte was elevated to captain by his teammates immediately following the game, validating a year of hard work he had dedicated himself to after not playing much on last year’s Southeast Conference championship team.

“That was a good birthday for me,” Hurtte said with a smile spreading across his face.

Last year’s squad had a logjam in the backcourt with Victor Wilson and Alex DeRocher, now college freshmen, playing a lot of minutes with up-and-coming guards Lance Ibesate and Tony Yadao.

Hurtte said he knew he’d have a shot his senior year.

“I guess in the offseason I noticed there would be some playing time left, so I knew I needed to step up,” he said. “It feels good to actually be helping out the team, to contribute.

“Going from last year where I’d play scarce minutes to being in there, knowing you can have a big game and affect how the team does, that’s a motivator.”

And Hurtte has contributed significantly as one of coach Steve Potter’s first players off the bench. Now his team has recorded its sixth consecutive state tournament bid and will face North Pole on Thursday in the first round of the ASAA/First National Bank Alaska 2011 State Basketball Championships at Anchorage’s Sullivan Arena.

Hurtte said it’s nice to see the process come full circle after playing such a limited role last season.

“It definitely showed if you’re willing to work hard, you’ll be rewarded,” he said. “Hard work really does pay off if you come together and work as a team.”

As for what that moment felt like when his status was elevated to that of team captain, Hurtte said it felt good knowing his teammates supported him in that role.

“It was something the team wanted. They wanted another person to represent the team as a captain,” he said. “I guess they thought I fit that role, so I took it.”

Potter said Hurtte being named a team captain in the middle of the season was certainly out of the ordinary in comparison to his previous years as coach.

“In the past we’ve had the guys pick captains before the season, and we were missing guys at the beginning of the year and I didn’t think we’d be doing it that way,” he said. “As the year progressed, Eddie was certainly giving us a lift. Actually, it was Ryan (Baldwin) who brought it up and the guys all supported it.”

Potter also said Hurtte epitomizes perseverance in high school hoops. He said it didn’t always go well for his senior guard.

“Eddie struggled last year. It was difficult for him,” Potter said. “But if you put your work in you’ll get your opportunity, and Eddie is a classic example of that.”

Next on the captain’s agenda: help prepare his teammates for what lies ahead. But despite the fact they won the conference tournament once again, the Crimson Bears walked off their court for the final time with a bitter taste in their mouths.

After defeating Ketchikan to win the 4A boys’ bracket of the 2011 Region V 3A/4A Basketball Tournament, the Bears were upended by a determined Mt. Edgecumbe team in the 3A-4A crossover game on Saturday night.

A last-second attempt to tie by Colin Gozelski fell short as Juneau-Douglas lost a 44-42 slugfest for its only home loss of the season.

Hurtte said neither he nor his teammates will forget that night.

“It fired us up. That was a big loss, our only loss on our home court,” he said. “I was ticked off. I knew we could have won the game. I definitely felt disappointed but, once again, I definitely think this game fired us up for what we need to do at state.”

Despite the loss, Hurtte said the team played hard that night against a team JDHS had already split two games with during the season. But the Bears have to eliminate mistakes in tight games such as these, he said.

If the Bears are to have a shot at winning the state title, they’ll have to be on top of their game both mentally and physically.

“It showed when we want to play, we can play hard. But if we zone out we can play really bad,” he said. “It’s up to us how well we do in the state tournament.”

Hurtte said the team is confident, not only in its chances to beat North Pole on Thursday, but to win the whole thing. Still, he and his teammates know it will take a lot of preparation and a little luck to accomplish their ultimate goal.

“North Pole is tough and coach has been really focusing our practices on how they play and how we need to come out against them,” Hurtte said. “We’ve been working on communication because when we play poorly, it’s because of a lack of communication.

“That doesn’t bring a unity to the team,” he continued. “When we do talk, we play a lot better.”

Juneau-Douglas’ strength going into the season was its interior size, and it’s remained that way throughout the year. But the Bears will be tested come Thursday morning against the Patriots, a team that boasts a big front line as well. Potter said North Pole will run a sagging zone defensively, hoping to crowd the Bears’ bigs and force the guards to make shots.

He said that style is similar to what Ketchikan and Thunder Mountain like to do against the Juneau-Douglas offense, but the Patriots are much bigger in the paint.

Hurtte said the team has been going full-bore in practice.

“We’ve been practicing with high intensity and playing the best we can so we are focused and prepared for state,” he said. “It just depends on whether this team is ready to get to work.

“I definitely think we can go all the way if we play to our potential. When we play as hard as we can we’re a very good team, but if we zone out it’ll be like the Mt. Edgecumbe game,” he continued. “It all comes down to how we want to play, and it’s a big week ahead of us.

Friday March 11, 2011
Alaska Newspapers/Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches All-State teams announced
     Juneau-Douglas junior point guard Lance Ibesate was named Third Team All-State on the boys’ side, with backcourt running mate Tony Yadao selected as All-State Honorable Mention.

“I certainly think both Lance and Tony had really good years and are deserving of their spots,” JDHS boys’ coach Steve Potter said.

Ketchikan’s Chas Allen was named Second Team All-State.

“That’s nice that guys from Southeast were recognized,” Potter said. “Some years, nobody from Southeast gets on but maybe one honorable mention. It doesn’t always feel like we get the recognition, and there were other guys that if they were playing in Anchorage where they’d be seen more often, might have gotten some looks. Hopefully, they’ll keep playing well.”

The second-seeded Juneau-Douglas girls begin defense of their state title at 8 a.m. Thursday against No. 7 South. The No. 4 boys face No. 5 North Pole at 11:30 a.m. Thursday in Anchorage’s Sullivan Center.

All-State Teams Class 4A Boys:

Player of the Year: Devon Bookert, West

Coach of the Year: Tyler Moor, Service

First Team:

Devon Bookert, West; Damon Sherman-Newsome, Bartlett; Jesse Ward, North Pole; Connor Devine, Wasilla; Ryden Hines, Dimond

Second Team:

Eli Sponseller, North Pole; Amu Aukusitino, Service; Chas Allen, Ketchikan; Jalil Abdul-Bassit, East; Brayton Kuiper, Wasilla

Third Team:

Christian Odom, Palmer; Adam Klie, Service; Sean Niekamp, Palmer; Lance Ibesate, Juneau-Douglas; Colby Mitchell, Chugiak

Honorable Mention:

Trenton Anthony, Bartlett; Kody Broderick, North Pole; Treshawn King-Dunbar, Bartlett; Tommy Hobbs, South; Dylan Lauwers, Dimond; T.J. McKinney, South; Ray Streeter, Lathrop; Tony Yadao, Juneau-Douglas; Dominique Queen, West

All-State Teams Class 4A Girls:

Player of the Year: Keiahnna Engel, Dimond

Coach of the Year: Lesslie Knight, Juneau-Douglas

First Team:

Keiahnna Engel, Dimond; Sarah Tarver, Juneau-Douglas; Hannah Mattson, West Valley; Kaitlyn Klapperich, Colony; Alexis Imoe, Wasilla

Second Team:

Karli Brakes, Juneau-Douglas; Sierra Afoa, Dimond; Taylor Larson, Juneau-Douglas; Alyssa Hutchins, Wasilla; Mary Klapperich, Colony

Third Team:

Joanna Garcia, Kodiak; Bobbi Britt, Bartlett; Jasmine Yarde, West Valley; Heidi Pichler, South; Kelsey Cottle, Wasilla

Honorable Mention:

Kate Anderson, Dimond; Josie Broderick, North Pole; Celeste Colegrove, Wasilla; Erin Doherty, Ketchikan; Tia Mason, South; Allison Schoenborn, East; Raquel Young, Kenai

Monday March 07, 2011
4A Boys All-Conference
     Chas Allen (Ketchikan)

Jesse Lindgren (Ketchikan)

Kyle Day (Ketchikan)

Tony Yadao (JDHS)

Lance Ibesate (JDHS)

Keith Ainsworth (TMHS)

Sunday March 06, 2011
Braves edge Bears as last-second tip misses - Juneau Empire by Matthew Tynan
     It might have been just an exhibition with each of the combatants already guaranteed a berth in their respective state tournaments, but both teams played like it was their last.

Juneau-Douglas forward Colin Gozelski jumped in the paint and tipped the ball to the rim off a Phillip Fenumiai full-court pass from the baseline with .3 seconds remaining, only to watch it glance off the iron before Mt. Edgecumbe students rushed the court in celebration of their team’s 44-42 win over the Crimson Bears in the finale of the Region V 3A/4A Basketball Tournament on Saturday night at Juneau-Douglas High School.

The Bears nearly completed an improbable comeback in the final seconds of the game as junior Tony Yadao drilled a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to cut the Braves lead to 43-42 before JDHS fouled Mt. Edgecumbe junior forward Travante Williams with .3 remaining.

Williams hit the first free throw, but in an effort to miss the second intentionally he missed the rim, giving the ball to the Bears with no time elapsed. Fenumiai’s pass was on point, but a deflection by Alec Calloway and the tip by Gozelski fell short as the Bears fell in their final home game.

“We knew Mt. Edgecumbe was talented, we’ve seen them twice before. For whatever reason we were not locked in,” Bears coach Steve Potter said. “Being down five points at half doesn’t seem like a big deal, but against them it was. We made errors down the stretch. Hopefully this is an eye-opener. We need to focus on the task at hand.”

Juneau-Douglas had several costly turnovers down the stretch of a close game that Mt. Edgecumbe led most of the way. But the Braves never led by more than seven points, and that was in the first quarter.

“We had some mindless turnovers, but I think the guys played hard and maybe it was fatigue that was a factor,” Potter said. “I thought we got a lot out of our matchups, it was an extremely physical game and I thought we eventually got them to do what we wanted them to do, but it didn’t happen quickly.

“We played hard, just not particularly well.”

But this was just an exhibition, and in about two weeks the Crimson Bears will head up north to test their mettle against the best in the state. Potter said he knows what his team needs to be successful.

“We need to be in the game, mentally, and we need to be focused. We can’t have unforced errors,” he said. “Teams are good enough to force errors so we can’t just give the ball away for nothing.

Gozelski led the Bears in scoring with 13 points, but was the only player in double figures. Williams’ 14 points were a game high.

Saturday March 05, 2011
JDHS wins the war against Ketchikan - Juneau Empire by Shaun T. Cox
     Once again, the Crimson Bears are Anchorage bound.

A late 9-1 run propelled Juneau-Douglas to a 61-53 win over archrival Ketchikan on Friday in another classic Southeast Conference clash in the 4A boys’ bracket championship of the Region V 3A/4A Basketball Tournament in Juneau.

Chas Allen banked a shot high off the glass with about two minutes remaining to make it a 50-48 game, and the Bears’ Lance Ibesate answered with a runner in the lane the other way to start the Bears’ big push.

Tony Yadao got a steal and a free throw, and then Ryan Baldwin put back a missed free throw to push JDHS ahead 55-48. Allen was fouled on a 3-pointer but he made just one free throw and Baldwin got another stickback. Two more free throws for JDHS essentially put the game out of reach with less than 20 seconds to play.

Junior Alec Calloway added insult to injury for the Kings by swatting away Allen’s last-gasp 3-pointer at the buzzer, the crowd went crazy and the Crimson Bears celebrated.

“In the timeout we all just stopped and talked about how we’ve already lost to them by two points in a really close game, and that irritated us,” senior forward Colin Gozelski said of the Bears’ key run. “We said, ‘We’re five minutes away from winning the game, let’s give it all we got, and let’s cut down these nets and win the Southeast.’”

JDHS coach Steve Potter credited the Bears’ defensive effort and overall balance. Ten different players got into the scoring column for JDHS, led by Gozelski’s 16 points. Yadao and Ibesate scored 10 each, and Baldwin added eight.

“(Ketchikan) made some tough shots and they made us look silly a couple of times, but I think it wore on them down the stretch and at the end of the game, we were still big,” Potter said. “Baldwin came up huge down the stretch and I thought Colin played his best game of the year, Lance and Tony were very good. I thought top to bottom, everybody contributed.”

Gozelski also saluted the raucous crowd that rocked the gym for giving the Bears a boost.

“We loved it. We’re 4-0 here and 0-2 there (in Ketchikan), so the crowd has something to do with it,” he said. “You have to love the crowd; both sides. Ketchikan brought like a hundred people to cheer for them. It was a loud gym with no open seats, and you’ve got to love that for a regional.”

Both teams came out firing in the early going, with Allen knocking down a long jumper to start things off. Yadao answered the other way with a 3-pointer from the top of the key for the Bears’ first lead.

Allen hit a free throw and Gozelski scored after two Juneau-Douglas offensive rebounds. Jesse Lindgren went to the cup for a deuce and Allen stuck a triple from the right side. Yadao then buried another 3-pointer to tie the game at 8-all as the teams traded blows back and forth.

Ketchikan finished off the first with a 9-2 run after Lindgren and Allen went straight to the basket for scores, and the Kings made seven straight free throws for a 19-10 lead, but JDHS senior Nino Crisostomo got a stickback to make it a 19-12 game after a quarter.

“I was nervous because whenever we beat them in one game, the next one is always really close,” Gozelski said. “I though we got kind of fat and happy there in the first quarter, but then we came back and made a good push to win the game.”

The teams traded scores to start the second period, and two straight JDHS buckets inside cut into the deficit. Ibesate found Gozelski wide-open underneath the basket for a score, and an Eddie Hurtte jumper tied the game at 25-25 at the 4:55 mark.

Lindgren regained the lead for the Kings with a tip-in the other way, and two free throws by Alex Williams pushed Ketchikan ahead by 3, 29-26.

But it was all Crimson Bears over the final two minutes of the first half.

De’Andre “Jazz” King scored inside and then Yadao made the play of the night, driving and whipping a behind-the-back pass to King for an old-fashioned 3-point play, again sending the crowd into a frenzy. Baldwin then got a score inside and Juneau-Douglas went into the locker room with a 33-29 lead at the break.

Ketchikan oustscored Juneau-Douglas 10-9 in the third quarter.

Allen led the Kings with 15 points and Lindgren added 15.

Friday March 04, 2011
Bears v. Kings... again.
     The Ketchikan Kings defeated the Thunder Mountain Falcons Wednesday for the second time in the tournament to earn another game against the Crimson Bears. This will be the seventh time the two teams have faced off this season. A win for the Bears means a 4A Championship. If the Kings win tonight it will force the "if necessary" game and the two will play for an eighth time on Saturday.

Tip-off is at 8:30 tonight.

Thursday March 03, 2011
Crimson Bears top cold-shooting Kings - Juneau Empire by Shaun T. Cox
     Juneau-Douglas controlled the paint and kept cold-shooting Ketchikan at bay down the stretch for a 53-45 win in Wednesday’s second round of the 4A boys’ bracket of the Region V 3A/4A Basketball Tournament at JDHS.

“We’ve tried to emphasize containing guys and not gambling so much and just doing the work,” JDHS coach Steve Potter said afterward. “I thought we did a fair job with that. Obviously, we broke down there at the end a couple of times late in the game and missed some free throws we don’t want to miss, but I’m certainly pleased with our effort.

“We’re looking forward to Friday’s game.”

Free throw and perimeter shooting were the downfall for the Kings. Ketchikan shot just 3 of 17 from the arc and made just 8 of 19 from the line, and were never able to crack the Crimson Bears’ defense in the paint. The Kings, outsized in the paint, fared well against JDHS underneath this year by taking advantage of their superior quickness.

But not on Wednesday night.

JDHS made better than 41 percent of its shots from the field and 15 of 23 from the stripe.

Junior guard Tony Yadao led all scorers with 20 points after a hot start.

Yadao scored the first 11 points for for the Bears, including a trio of triples, as Juneau-Douglas built a 16-9 lead after a quarter of play. Yadao’s third 3-pointer made it a 9-4 game, and a Ryan Baldwin steal led to a stickback for Alec Calloway and a 13-6 JDHS lead.

The teams traded scores the rest of the way and the Bears led 16-9 heading into the second quarter.

Ketchikan senior Jesse Lindgren made two free throws and Kyle Day scored inside to cut into the Bears’ lead to start the second quarter.

JDHS answered with six straight points to push back ahead by nine after De’Andre “Jazz” King scored inside, Lance Ibesate got a steal and dished across the lane to Yadao for a contested layup. Yadao then whipped a pass from the wing inside to Alec Calloway for a 22-13 Bears lead.

A putback for Day drew the Kings within five points, 24-19, but a loose ball was slapped out to a wide-open Ibesate at the top of the key, where he rose and drained a 3-pointer.

On the Kings’ ensuing possession, Day ball faked, dribbled right and stuck a pull-up jumper.

Senior Colin Gozelski scored a stickback at the buzzer and the Bears took a 29-21 lead into the locker room.

Juneau-Douglas held its lead throughout the third quarter as Ketchikan made just 2 of 9 free throw attempts. The Bears scored just 10 points in the third but took a 39-30 lead into the fourth, and the Kings drew no closer than five points the rest of the way.

Gozelski pulled down 13 rebounds as the Bears beat the Kings 40-29 on the boards and scored 14 second-chance points to Ketchikan’s six. Ibesate chipped in 11 points and five rebounds for JDHS.

Day led the Kings with 17 points, and Allen chipped in 11 points and six rebounds.

Ketchikan plays Thunder Mountain today at 1:30 p.m., and the winner face JDHS at 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday March 01, 2011
Rivals ready for SE tournament - Juneau Empire by Matthew Tynan
     It was a first for each of the current coaches on the boys’ basketball side of the Southeast Conference, not knowing who won Region V outright on the final night of the regular season. But when it came to tournament seeding, even one of the conference’s top team needed a little luck.

Ketchikan, Juneau-Douglas and Thunder Mountain begin their final runs at the conference’s lone state opening following a weekend that saw the Crimson Bears nab the No. 1 seed by way of a blind luck draw after the tiebreakers in place could not determine the top spot in the Southeast Conference Tournament.

Juneau-Douglas fell twice in Ketchikan over the weekend, giving the two schools an outright tie Saturday night. The Bears might have gotten lucky to grab the top spot, but coach Steve Potter said being the No. 1 seed isn’t crucial in this scenario.

“We still have to play the same teams. In a different setting it might be huge, but we know we have to play Thunder Mountain and Ketchikan no matter what,” he said. “But it helps us in that we don’t have that extra game.”

Despite coming off the two losses in Ketchikan, Potter said he feels confident in the way his team performed.

“I think we played pretty well on Saturday. We had a plan and we executed it,” he said. “But in a game where there were fewer possessions because of the tempo of the game, when we made mistakes they were highlighted. Obviously, there are some things we need to shore up, but I don’t think there are any major things we need to change.”

On the other side of the ledger, Kings coach Eric Stockhausen said he felt his team could have been better despite the victories. Still, he believes his group is ready for the chance to come back to Juneau to try and avenge the loss to the Bears in the final game of last year’s conference tournament.

“We’re looking forward to the opportunity knowing we have to play better than we did last weekend,” he said. “We’re just happy everybody is healthy and we’re excited to go.”

And while Potter seemed somewhat indifferent about being the top seed, Stockhausen said he’d almost rather it be this way.

“To me it’s no big deal. Last year, sitting around waiting to play on Wednesday wasn’t good for us,” he said. “With the tournament going on it was hard to get quality practice time. So, for us to get out and get some blood flowing through our legs, I’m excited for the opportunity.”

Saturday’s 44-42 Kings victory was a slow-paced, low-scoring tilt, but when asked if he’d prefer a game with a faster tempo, Potter said it didn’t matter as long as his team played the kind of defense he wants.

“At this stage of the game I’m just hoping for a game where we’re locked in defensively and don’t have lapses,” he said. “Slow pace, fast pace, it doesn’t matter as long as we’re guarding people.”

The Bears’ two victories over the Kings this season came when Ketchikan was less than fully healthy. But a full-strength Kings team that just defeated Juneau-Douglas twice in two nights will be ready to try and do what they couldn’t do a little more than two weeks ago: win at Juneau-Douglas High School.

“(Friday) was the first time we played (JDHS) at full strength, so we’re kind of where we thought we’d be,” Stockhausen said. “I don’t think we played particularly well last weekend, and a lot of credit goes to Juneau(-Douglas) for what they did defensively to us.

“We’re just hoping to be a little sharper next game out and try to build on that.”

The Bears will sit and watch as the first round of games is played out, but the Kings must match up with Thunder Mountain today at 6:25 p.m. at JDHS gym for the chance to play Juneau-Douglas on Wednesday night. Falcons coach John Blasco said he hopes is young team can have its best run of the season with so much at stake.

“Everybody is going to be elevating their game because everybody wants to go to state. Even though we’ve seen these teams four times each, we can’t underestimate anything they may or may not do,” he said. “I fully expect both coach Potter and coach Stockhausen to make some adjustments that could potentially catch us off guard, and we have to be ready for it.”

Though Thunder Mountain’s young group is relatively inexperienced when it comes to Southeast Conference Tournament play, Blasco said his kids are preparing with the focus of keeping the game close from the start. If they can do that, he said, there just might be a chance at an upset this week.

“With a young group like this we’ll break down the opponent for each game, but the focus for us is purely on what we’re trying to do as far as getting ourselves established in the game from the tip: keeping our defense strong but also getting our offense going early because that seems to be a lagging point for us,” he said. “There will be small adjustments, but at this point in the season you can’t throw in anything off the wall because there’s not enough time to prepare.

“So there’s no time to try anything brand new, but you can tweak what you have going. I just want my guys to be ready to compete for 32 minutes, and if we do that we’ll give any opponent a good challenge,” he continued. “You never know what can happen in a tournament like this because everyone’s playing for their lives, essentially.”

As for the girls’ bracket, Juneau-Douglas looks like a lock to make it to the state tournament in a bid to repeat as Alaska state champions. While nothing is certain, the Bears have been a dominant force all season in conference play.

Juneau-Douglas has lost only once all season — and that was to one of the state’s top teams, Wasilla — but its conference record is unblemished. The Crimson Bears are 8-0 in conference with an astronomical margin of victory. In those games, JDHS outscored its Southeast opponents by an average of 44.25 points and never won a game over Thunder Mountain and Ketchikan by less than 37 points.

Southeast Conference Tournament action begins today at 4:25 p.m. with a clash between the Thunder Mountain (7-16, 1-7) and Ketchikan girls’ teams for the chance to play the Crimson Bears in the second round of the double-elimination tournament. The Falcons (4-20, 0-8) and Kings boys’ teams square off at 6:25 p.m. following the early game, also for the right to challenge the top-seeded Bears.

Monday February 28, 2011
JV and C-Teams close season with wins
     The Junior Varsity and C-Teams finished their seasons in Ketchikan this weekend. Both teams secured victories in their last game of the year. Both groups showed steady improvement throughout the course of the 2010-2011 campaign.

The C-Team made great strides as the season progressed. Despite victories being hard to come by (4-10), this group of young men continued to work extremely hard in practice to improve their fundamentals. They competed in every game and never gave up.

The members of the C-Team should be proud that their dedication paid off at the end of the year. After a tough loss on Friday, they were able to earn a ten-point conference victory in Ketchikan Saturday night, in their last game of the season. This group of players will continue their climb if they keep working on their basketball skills.

The JV team also had a successful year of growth and improvement. They started the season by winning the first-annual Holiday Hoops Tournament, hosted by Thunder Mountain. This was a boys and girls JV tournament that featured teams from across the region.

As the season moved forward, the players on the JV team became a more focused and cohesive unit. They were able to execute the fundamentals at a high level, which lead to a stellar 20-2 season record, driven by a 14 game winning streak to close out the year. The JV team displayed improvement, dedication, and excitement that speaks well for the future of Crimson Bear basketball.

The players and coaches would like to thank all the parents and those in the community that supported their efforts in the 2010-2011 Junior Varsity and C-Team season. Without you none of this is possible.

Sunday February 27, 2011
Kings, Bears finish tied atop SE Conference - Ketchikan Daily News by John Borneman
     Southeast Conference rivals Ketchikan and Juneau-Douglas staged another classic clash Saturday at Clarke Cochrane Gymnasium.

Neither team knows exactly when it will play again.

Jesse Lindgren hit a free throw to break a 42-42 tie with 12.5 seconds remaining, Chas Allen scored a game-high 18 points, and the Ketchikan boys’ basketball team beat Juneau-Douglas 44-42 on senior night in Ketchikan.

“It was what a game should be this time of year,” Kings coach Eric Stockhausen said. “It was a grinder and we somehow found a way to win at the end.

“We’ll watch film Monday, practice Tuesday in the morning, and we don’t know when we play.”

With the No. 1 seed — and a first-round Southeast Conference Tournament bye — at next week’s 4A Southeast Regional in Juneau up for grabs, Ketchikan’s two-point win only served to further muddy the conference waters.

The Crimson Bears entered Saturday’s game with a 2-1 advantage head-to-head and a plus-two point differential against the Kings. But Ketchikan’s win gave the rivals matching 6-2 records in region play, and the teams were still tied after head-to-head, point-differential and common-opponent tiebreakers.

According to an e-mail from Ketchikan Athletic Director Lynn Wadley, the final tiebreaker will be a blind draw with the first team chosen seeded No. 1. The Region V secretary in Thorne Bay will conduct the draw Sunday afternoon, and the No. 2 seed will play Thunder Mountain at 6:25 p.m. Tuesday in Juneau.

Ketchikan needed a 10-2 run over the final eight minutes just to make things interesting.

Lindgren got a nice feed from senior Xavier Jones and converted a layup to make it 40-36, Juneau-Douglas, early in the third quarter, but the Crimson Bears’ Eddie Hurtte answered with a basket — the Bears’ only points of the period — to push the lead back to six with 5:45 remaining.

Jones hit Allen for a layup to made it 42-39, then forced a steal at half-court and drew a foul on Juneau-Douglas’ Colin Gozelski in transition. He split a pair of free throws to cut the lead to two, and the score steadied there as the Crimson Bears turned the ball over after a lengthy possession, Juneau-Douglas’ Lance Ibesate missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and Ketchikan senior Keagan Lervick missed a layup.

Allen tied the game at 42-42 with a driving left-handed layup with 44.4 seconds left, drawing a foul but missing the free throw after the Bears’ DeAndre “Jazz” King failed to convert a 1-and-1 chance at the other end.

Lindgren gave Ketchikan a 43-42 lead with a free throw. On the next JDHS possession, Gozelski was called for traveling on the wing with 2.1 seconds left and Ketchikan senior Alex Williams made it 44-42 with another 1-for-2 trip to the line.

When a deep 3-pointer by Lance Ibesate hit the back iron at the buzzer, Ketchikan escaped.

“We were a little flat for about 28 minutes,” Stockhausen said. “We just weren’t sharp. ... We didn’t shoot as well as we knew we were capable, and a lot of that credit goes to Juneau.”

Juneau-Douglas went 5-for-17 from the free throw line in a 62-50 loss Friday and 4-for-7 with two big misses late Saturday.

“We missed our free throws,” JDHS coach Steve Potter said. “Really, we make one of those free throws, it’s a completely different game. It changes the whole end-game scenario.”

Allen came up big in his final home game, scoring seven points in the first quarter and five in the fourth to finish as the only player on either team in double figures. Junior Kyle Day added eight points and Williams had seven. Lindgren had averaged 19.8 points per game in his previous five contests, but finished with five Saturday.

JDHS utilized a balanced scoring attack led by Ibesate and Ryan Baldwin’s eight points each, King added seven, and Tony Yadao and Gozelski each had six.

Ketchikan drops JDHS

62-50 on Friday

Jesse Lindgren continued his strong play of late with a team-high 20 points, senior Chas Allen added 15, and Ketchikan took a big step toward earning the No. 1 seed at next week’s 4A Southeast Conference Tournament with a 62-50 win over the rival Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears on Friday at Clarke Cochrane Gymnasium.

Ketchikan led for most of the first three quarters until an 11-0 run by JDHS put the Crimson Bears ahead 35-34 with 2:30 left in the third quarter. The Kings responded immediately with a 10-0 run of their own, getting a pair of 3-pointers from junior Kyle Day and a floater from Lindgren to make it 44-35 with 59 seconds left in the period.

The Bears cut the lead to 51-44 on a jumper by Tony Yadao with 3:01 left in the fourth quarter, and the teams traded baskets until Lance Ibesate hit a triple to pull the Crimson Bears within six at the 1:42 mark. Ketchikan turned the ball over and Yadao split a pair of free throws to make it 55-50, but Day earned two freebies on the other end and Ibesate missed the front end of a 1-and-1 on Juneau-Douglas’ next possession.

Wednesday February 16, 2011
Bears up win streak - Juneau Empire by Shaun T. Cox
     Juneau-Douglas upped its win streak to eight games while improving to 6-0 in Southeast Conference play Tuesday with a 55-35 win over cold-shooting Thunder Mountain at JDHS.

The Crimson Bears, on the other hand, started out hot from the field, making 63 percent of their first-half field goals, including 4 of 6 from the perimeter.

“That’s a positive for us. Sooner or later we’re going to have to figure out how to play against a sagging zone,” JDHS coach Steve Potter said. “They came out of (the zone), played a little man and then we started working on some other stuff.

“But it was a good game for us,” he continued. “We got a lot of floor time for our seniors and everybody contributed. They’ve contributed all year but this time, they got a chance to do it on the floor.”

Senior Kyle Barry, seeing his first-ever varsity action, scored inside off a Lance Ibesate drive and dish to get things started. Ibesate drove the lane for a score and a 4-0 lead as the Falcons turned it over on four of their first five possessions.

“We weren’t quite ready to go and I think it started with the JV game. Our energy level was down from the start,” TMHS coach John Blasco said. “I think we kind of woke up in the second quarter, but once you’re already down to a top team, it’s hard overcome.”

Ibesate made a 3-pointer and senior Eddie Hurtte scored an old-fashioned 3-point play before Ty Grussendorf netted the Falcons’ first points with a triple. Nino Crisostomo scored the final basket of the first quarter from behind the arc, and JDHS held a 12-3 lead after a period.

The Crimson Bears surged ahead with a 9-0 run early in the second quarter. Travis Godfrey splashed a triple from the wing and an Ibesate steal led to two free throws for Tony Yadao. Alec Calloway came off the bench to add another 3-pointer to make it a 20-5 game, Yadao made another free throw and De’Andre “Jazz” King scored inside off an inbound play before Keith Ainsworth stopped the run with a bucket at the 5:38 mark.

Ben Jahn made it a 23-9 game but Yadao got a steal and two free throws, and two Ryan Baldwin buckets inside sandwiched a Matt Seymour triple for Thunder Mountain. The Falcons closed the half with a free throw to head into the locker room trailing Juneau-Douglas 29-13.

The Falcons got back into the game with a 5-0 run to start the third quarter, but the Bears answered with a 6-0 run to push their lead back to 17, 35-18.

“We talked about coming out strong (to start the second half), and I was really proud of how they did come out and competed,” Blasco said. “But then JD made a couple of buckets and we got stuck in the hole again. From start to finish, I’m proud of the way we competed. We just have to find ways to score.”

An old-fashioned 3-point play for Ainsworth and two free throws for Sam Jahn made it a 35-23 game with 3:03 left to play in the third quarter.

The Bears continued to attack the basket inside and took a 44-26 cushion into the fourth quarter, and Thunder Mountain got no closer than 18 the rest of the way.

“We didn’t want to come out flat and we had a goal to finish undefeated on our home court,” said Ibesate, who scored 12 points with five boards to lead the Bears. “That’s what we were looking for the whole game, to finish undefeated (at home).”

JDHS has upped its record to 16-4, 6-0 on the year after losing three straight games.

“We wanted to get our rhythm back,” Ibesate said. “We were obviously really flat up in Anchorage. We’re figuring out what we need to do to get the wins.”

The Bears have just two games left at Ketchikan the weekend of Feb. 25-26. Thunder Mountain hosts the Kings Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. The Southeast Conference Tournament is March 4-6 in Juneau.

The JDHS JV team pulled off a 53-36 win behind 18 points from Darien Stanger and 14 from Jeffrey Pusich. Ben Jahn scored 10 points for the Falcons, and Matt Seymour added nine.

Tuesday February 15, 2011
Final JDHS v. TMHS contest this week
     The Juneau-Douglas JV and Varsity play Thunder Mountain today at JDHS. The game times are at 4:45 and 6:30 p.m. respectively. The C-teams will square off on Wednesday at JDHS. That game will occur at 6:30 p.m.

Sunday February 13, 2011
JDHS still perfect in SE; JV Bears sweep, C-Team swept - Juneau Empire by Matthew Tynan
     It wasn’t the barnburner Friday’s game produced, but Saturday’s clash was another battle for prime position in Southeast’s fiercest 4A rivalry.

The Kings never pulled closer than seven points over the final frame as Juneau-Douglas was able to hold off rival Ketchikan 56-46 on senior night at JDHS.

Trailing 33-30 late in the third, the Juneau-Douglas broke out of its offensive doldrums and closed the quarter on a 12-0 run that swung the momentum back in the Bears’ favor for good, and a sophomore came up big on senior night.

Swingman Phillip Fenumiai came off the bench late in the third and immediately impacted the game offensively, connecting on two 3-pointers in the final minutes of the quarter. Six of his 10 points came during the 12-0 run, but he also scored the first two buckets of the fourth to keep the Kings at bay.

“Emotions were running high and some of the guys got a little tired,” JDHS coach Steve Potter said. “Phillip was fresh and is aggressive on offense. We had gotten a little tentative — Phillip is not tentative.”

Fenumiai made the most out of limited minutes on the court. He scored 10 points, good enough for second on the team behind junior point guard Lance Ibesate’s 11.

Already without one of the team’s top players, senior Charles Allen, Ketchikan needed someone else to step up. Fortunately for coach Eric Stockhausen’s group, the Kings are well-rounded offensively.

“That was a big run by them at the end of the third – they did a great job,” Stockhausen said. “We played as hard as we could and when we get (Allen) back, I’m hoping we’ll be a little better than we were this weekend.”

Seniors Jesse Lindgren and Alex Williams scored 27 and 14 points, respectively, as the two combined for 41 of the team’s 46 points. Lindgren’s 15-point second quarter single-handedly brought the Kings back into a game appeared over early.

“I think we were feeling pretty good, and then we just didn’t come back in with the same intensity,” Potter said. “I thought we came out better in the second half, but we gave them a confidence that we didn’t want them to have.”

The Kings erupted for 21 points in the second quarter after posting only four in the first. The Crimson Bears looked like they had the game under control, but one night after Kyle Day’s 38-point performance, Lindgren took advantage of the extra attention JDHS paid defensively to his teammate.

Juneau-Douglas’ big men were forced to guard the smaller, quicker Lindgren in the post and the senior forward exploited the lack of speed in the Bears’ interior by taking his man off the dribble repeatedly.

But the Crimson Bears were finally able to establish the kind of defense Potter preaches.

“It feels good to get a couple of wins. Winning on senior night is something I’ve always looked forward to,” Bears senior guard Travis Godfrey said. “I think we’re playing better, but I think we’re progressing each game. We’re really getting the ball inside to our bigs, and against the smaller teams that’s what we have to do.

“They’re a big competitor for this conference, so playing them now and getting those wins gives us confidence.

Though it is a rivalry, each team has mutual respect for the other.

“As a program, they all play hard. They do good things and we can’t try to put our backs to them and get anything done,” Stockhausen said, referring to the Bears’ interior size. “Our best chance is to keep it moving and hope for a breakdown (defensively). Neither team shot the way it did (Friday), but coach Potter always makes adjustments. We’ll make adjustments and we’ll see what happens later in the season.”

The Crimson Bears (14-4, 5-0) face Thunder Mountain at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at JDHS before hitting the road for their final conference games Feb. 25-26 at Ketchikan.