South's senior trio of Anthony Cousin, Trevor Smith and Aaron Stevens saved their best basketball for Alaska's biggest stage and earned the school it's first basketball title. But the graduating group will make it tough for the Wolverines to reload and repeat.
Cousin, a 5-11 guard, did most of his damage on the scoreboard with a tourney-best 21.6 points a game but also chipped in 3.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and two steals a game.
Watching his back, were the forward duo of Smith and Stevens. The 6-5 Smith, who plucked 2.3 steals a contest, and the 6-6 Stevens, who blocked a tourney-high 1.7 shots per game, combined for 18.3 points and 20.3 boards a game to help the Wolverines rule down low.
Bartlett's Kevin Winford, the Gatorade Alaska Boys Basketball Player of the Year, nearly led the Golden Bears to a comeback win but settled for a runner-up finish thanks to 19.7 points, four rebounds and 2.3 steals a game. The 6-1 senior guard also hit 93 percent of his free throws.
While Bartlett will need to fill Winford's spot outside, freshman Damon Newsome developed down and nearly sent the title game into overtime with a last second look. The 6-4 forward was good 5.7 points and 8.3 rebounds a game.
Josh Moseley, a 6-3 senior forward, helped lead Colony to third-place with 10.3 points a game in his final outings in green and white.
The Dimond duo of Rylan Whilden and Ryan Hanley, both repeaters from last year's all-tourney team, helped the Lynx keep their claws with two wins after a first-round upset by Kenai.
Whilden, a 6-4 senior guard, pumped in 16.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists a game, while Hanley, a 6-2 junior forward, was an all-around force with 16.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.3 steals and one block a night.
Kenai's Cory Toombs, a 6-0 senior guard, helped the school upset Dimond en route to averaging 17.7 points, seven rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals over the tournament.
Eric Gross, a 6-4 forward, rounded out the team. The Juneau junior made his mark with 16 points, seven rebounds and 2.7 assists a game.
4A boys all-tourney team
• Anthony Cousin, South
• Trevor Smith, South
• Aaron Stevens, South
• Kevin Winford, Bartlett
• Damon Newsome, Bartlett
• Josh Moseley, Colony
• Rylan Whilden, Dimond
• Ryan Hanley, Dimond
• Cory Toombs, Kenai
• Eric Gross, Juneau
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