In a battle between two state-tournament teams from last season, West High used its speed and pressure defense to derail host Heritage Christian 64-49 in nonconference boys basketball action Monday.
West charged to an 8-0 lead in the first 62 seconds and although Heritage cut the gap to 11-7 on Jeremiah Ridgeway's 3-pointer a couple minutes later, West was never really threatened.
Four players hit double figures for West, which put a lot of athleticism and experience on the court despite the absence of three players who aren't yet eligible, including all-state guard Thomas Feeney Jr.
Devin Bookert poured in 16 points, Justin Kauffman followed with 15 and Dominique Queen and Jalil Abdul-Bassit had 13 apiece. Booker and Kauffman combined for 19 first-half points to power their team to a 39-24 halftime lead.
Amos Vreeman pumped in a game-high 19 points and Ridgeway added 18 to lead Heritage Christian which, like West, returns a number of players from last season.
The teams are two of Anchorage's best in their respective classifications. West, a frequent Class 4A power under coach Chuck White, finished fourth at last year's state tournament after getting upset in the first round. Heritage, a frequent Class 3A contender under coach Brad Lauwers, also placed fourth.
The contest was an ASAA endowment game, so it won't count on either team's record.
West 20 19 13 12 -- 64
Heritage Christian 11 13 13 12 -- 49
West -- Queen 13, Bookert 16, Kauffman 15, Brown 5, Abdul-Bassit 13, Rus 2. Totals 24 10-15 64.
Heritage Christian -- Hanks 2, Millar 8, Ridgeway 18, A. Vreeman 19, G. Vreeman 2. Totals 17 14-21 49.
Three-point goals -- Queen 3, Bookert 2, Abdul-Bassit, Ridgeway. Total fouls -- West 23, Heritage 21. Fouled out -- none.
Anchorage Daily News
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