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Newhalen boys fall in state finals

March 17th 7:00 pm | Van Williams Print this article   Email this article   Create a Shortlink for this article

After standing tall all season, after providing leadership as a point guard and team captain, Tyler Anelon broke down.

The emotion from a season packed with pressure had finally taken its toll.

Tears ran down his face moments after the Newhalen boys basketball team dropped a 67-58 decision to Aniak in the title game of the Class 1A state tournament at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.

This was a tough guy showing his soft side. He was hurting.

"I had lots of pressure on me," Anelon said. "I tried distributing the ball. The shots just weren't falling for my teammates, so I tried to take over. But the shots weren't falling me either."

The 5-foot-9 all-state guard led all players with 24 points and four assists. He also grabbed 12 rebounds.

Teammate Jeffrey Clay also had a double-double in points (14) and rebounds (14). Jonathan Tretikoff added 11 points.

Early on, Anelon looked nearly unstoppable as he gave the Aleutian Chain Conference champion Malamutes a 17-16 lead after the first quarter. He scored on drives and jumpers, getting to the rim whenever he wanted.

But Aniak answered with a run in the second quarter to take command for good.

"I had lots of confidence at the beginning, but then I started shooting a little too much there," Anelon said. "We kept trying to get the lead and that's when we got tired. Then we started throwing the ball away."

The Malamutes trailed 46-38 after three quarters before going on a furious comeback in the fourth.

Tretikoff got hot, sinking a pair of 3-pointers. Then Clay got free inside and Anelon sank two foul shots.

Within minutes it was a one-point game.

The game stayed that way down the stretch thanks to the post play of Clay, a 6-foot-1 senior.

The big man had a hand in Newhalen's final 10 points, scoring eight and assisting on the other bucket.

"He's a damn fine ballplayer," Anelon said.

Clay and juniors Gregory Trefon and Anelon were the only holdovers from the team that advanced to the state final in 2009.

Anelon said the three-time defending region champion Malamutes will be hungry to get back.

"It's going to push us a little bit harder," he said of the state title loss.

Before the tournament, Newhalen coach Bob Rychnovsky was named 1A Boys Coach of the Year for a second straight season.

The Malamutes won 19 of 22 games, including an upset of 3A Dillingham in the Sockeye Classic, and won two tournaments and two games at the state tournament.

 

Van Williams can be reached at vwilliams@alaskanewspapers.com

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