A Sullivan Arena crowd of about 3,000 watched a thrilling state championship game Saturday, including two kids from Dimond High who painfully watched two of their best friends finish the job the four of them started back in third grade.
Colton Lauwers scored seven points in overtime, including the go-ahead bucket from underneath on a pass from Michael DuPree, to lead the Lynx to a rough-and-tumble 55-52 victory over underdog Soldotna in the Class 4A title game.
No one cheered Lauwers' heroics more joyfully than fellow seniors Ryan Hanley and Chris Plooy, who were stuck on the bench with five fouls. Those three, plus DuPree, have been playing together since the third grade. As freshmen at Dimond, they vowed to leave the school as state champs.
"We had to do it," a beaming Lauwers said. "It was destiny."
As the Lynx celebrated, Soldotna suffered in silence.
No one predicted that the Stars, 23-5 and runners-up in the Northern Lights Conference tournament, would be playing Saturday night. And once they reached the title game with wins over Lathrop and Wasilla, few expected them to hang long with the Cook Inlet Conference champs from Dimond who boast a bit of everything -- size, speed, shooters and, maybe most important of all, team chemistry developed during all those years Hanley, Lauwers, Plooy and DuPree played together.
"We never expected to get to the championship and get this far," said a despondent Matt Grubb, Soldotna's senior point guard.
Grubb played was a big reason why the Stars quickly established themselves as a worthy opponent, but with 6 minutes, 13 seconds left in regulation, he was whistled for his fifth foul. He was the first of five players to foul out -- three from Soldotna, two from Dimond. Watching the rest of the fourth quarter and the full four-minute overtime was sheer misery, Grubb said.
"It's probably one of the hardest things I've had to do. I wish I could've been out there to help them to victory," he said.
Soldotna's bench came through in the form of Zayan Akerbane, who hauled down 10 rebounds and had a big bucket called off because of an offensive foul late in the game, and Boomer Blossom, who had five points and three assists.
But the Lynx had some tricks in reserve, too. Though they pretty much rely on the four seniors and junior Travis Thompson, they got a huge contribution in overtime from sophomore J.J. Nixon.
Lauwers gave Dimond the lead for good, 51-50, on the pass from DuPree with 91 seconds left. Soldotna called a timeout but whatever play the Stars may have set up during the break was negated by Nixon, who stripped Liam Andrus of the ball and raced downcourt for an uncontested layup and a 53-50 Dimond lead with 55 seconds left.
"As soon as he touched the ball, I knew we had two points," DuPree said.
But the star was Lauwers, a burly 6-foot-4 senior who had a monster game, tallying a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Plooy -- who fouled out in overtime -- also had a double-double for Dimond with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Hanley's numbers were lower than usual -- seven points and six rebounds -- but his seven steals kept the Lynx in the game during regulation.
In the final seconds of regular, Plooy was both hero and goat for the Lynx. He hit a pair of free throws with 43 seconds left to tie the game 45-45, and had a chance to end it in regulation but missed two follow shots as the clock wound down. The score remained 45-45 as overtime began.
Soldotna jumped to a 49-46 lead on 4 of 6 foul shooting, but Lauwers brought the Lynx back. He hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final 2:40, including two with 6.6 seconds left that made it a three-point game.
"I missed some, and usually I don't miss that many," said Lauwers, who was 11 of 15 from the line. "It was the big stage. I had to make those last ones."
Soldotna 16 5 16 8 7 -- 52
Dimond 14 9 14 8 10 -- 55
Soldotna -- Blossom 5, Grubb 13, Carver 11, Aberkane 3, Geller 6, Jansen 2, Andrus 12
Dimond -- Thompson 6, DuPree 3, Plooy 16, Hanley 7, Lauwers 21, Nixon 2
BARTLETT 64, WASILLA 55
Courtney May, Damon Sherman-Newsome and Malik King combined for 44 points to earn the Golden Bears third place.
May led Bartlett with 16 points, Sherman-Newsome went for a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, and King scored 14, too. The Warriors featured three double-figure scorers in Adrese LaVern (game-high 20 points), John Knowles (12) and Cole Shierman (10).
WEST 90, JUNEAU 50
The Eagles, upset by Wasilla in the first round, pounded a second straight consolation opponent, getting a combined 58 points from Mike Russell Jr., Tom Feeney Jr. and Devon Bookert.
Russell led the way with 23 points, Feeney furnished 19, Bookert bagged 16, and the Eagles blitzed their way to a 54-38 halftime lead. Eric Gross paced the Crimson Bears with 16 points and Sean Bavard popped in 12.
All-tourney team 3A Boys All-Tournament Team
Jordan Birchell, Petersburg; Jesse Blandford, Nome; Michael Stepovich, Monroe; Cole Daniel, Hutchison; Jonathan Mazzella, Petersburg; Jeremiah Ridgeway, Heritage Christian; Kevin Rima, Hutchison; Robert Perea, Seward; Jeremy Head, Nome; Justin Sander, Barrow.
By BETH BRAGG
bbragg@adn.com