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Bristol Bay boys qualify for state tournament

March 8th 12:13 pm | Van Williams Print this article   Email this article   Create a Shortlink for this article

When the Bristol Bay boys basketball team lost in the state championship game two years ago, the underclassmen vowed to get back.

They followed through on that promise.

Led by star guard Jaxon Wassillie, the Angels finished second in the Peninsula Conference 2A region tournament at Bristol Bay High School. They clinched their berth to state after beating Cook Inlet Academy of Soldotna 67-32.

"Everything has really come together the last couple games," said Bristol Bay coach Larry Scott. "They are starting to play well and do the things that we practice."

Wassillie, an all-state caliber player, pumped in 21 points. He scored 12 points in the third quarter alone when the Angels blew it open.

Everett Moorcroft added 11 points on the strength of three 3-pointers and Sergie Chukwak and Luke Wilson each chipped in 10 points.

"Offensively they are starting to see each other on the floor a little bit better," Scott said.

Wilson had scoring nights of 22 and 25 points in the region tournament.

Defensively, Bristol Bay held CIA to just a dozen points in the first half, limiting all-state shooting guard Matt Moffis to just three. He finished with only nine points, well below his average.

"We worked really hard to keep the ball out of his hands," Scott said. "The game before that he scored 25. The boys just worked really hard to make sure it wasn't him this time that did it."

Bristol Bay avenged two heart-breaking losses to CIA earlier this season - a 51-50 setback in the tournament's first round and a double-overtime defeat at a tournament in Seldovia.

The key to victory was slowing down Moffis.

"I ran Sergie and Brandon at him," Scott said. "Anytime the ball would fall over to the wing we'd bring the top guy from that box-in-one on that side over to double him so there would be help on the wings every time."

Wassillie, Rush and Zack Aspelund are team captains and join David Finney and Dallas Zimin as the only remaining players from that 2008 state runner-up team.

They won't be in awe of the big city and bright lights.

"They know what to expect," Scott said.

Scott, who returned to the bench after a three-year break, led Bristol Bay to the 2006 state championship game.

With two near-misses, the goal is clear this time.

"We're not going there to be the just-happy-to-be-here team," the coach said. "We're going to try and do something."

 

Van Williams can be reached at vwilliams@alaskanewspapers.com

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