Josh Gray racked 25 points and Tyler Rambo scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half as Christian Life Academy of Humble, Texas, beat host West 87-65 to take the title at the Alaska Airlines Classic boys basketball tournament Saturday.
After losing to West in the title game last year, Christian Life turned in a convincing win this time.
The Cougars took a 49-32 lead at halftime, with all three of the team's 3-pointers coming in the first quarter and Rambo, a 6-foot-5 senior wing, scoring eight points in the second quarter.
West's Devon Bookert, a 6-2 senior guard, piled up 23 points, going 7 of 9 from the free-throw line and drilling two 3-pointers. Alphonso Hernandez, a 6-1 junior, added 10 points for the Eagles.
In the consolation games, Columbia, Ga., beat Princeton Day of Maryland 75-57 to claim third place, Nome knocked off East 73-61 to take fourth place and Ketchikan cruised past Lathrop 72-60 to finish seventh.
Columbia, ranked 17th in the nation by ESPN, bolted to a 23-4 lead after one quarter and maintained the large lead throughout. Algie Key led Columbia with 15 points, Stephon Allen notched 14, Tahj Shamsid-Dean added 12 and Nate Mason totaled 11. Princeton Day's Chris Thomas led all scorers with 22 points.
In the game for fourth place, Tim Sullivan knocked in five 3-pointers to lead Nome with 22 points and Christian Leckband hit 10 of 12 free throws on his way to 21 points. The Nanooks overcame a one-point halftime deficit and used a hot third quarter from Sullivan and Leckband to secure the win. David Dumpson led East with 18 points.
In the seventh-place game, Chas Allen scored 11 of his game high 27 points in the first quarter, helping Ketchikan roll to a 32-19 lead at halftime. Kyle Day, who finished with 22 points, buried three 3-pointers in the third quarter to help maintain Ketchikan's lead. Ray Streeter led Lathrop with 11 points.
Colony 57, Kenai 47
Colony used a strong third quarter and a game-high 18 points from Hunter Eisenhower to earn a 57-47 home win over Kenai on Saturday.
Colony took a 44-36 lead into the final period and Eisenhower scored nine of the Knight's 13 fourth-quarter points to hold off Kenai. Tyler Spalding topped Kenai scorers with 11 points.
ACS 95, South 84
With a game-high 27 points from Wes Arnes and 21 points from Chris Voss, Anchorage Christian streaked to a 95-84 home win in a nonconference boys basketball game against South.
South led 50-44 at halftime, but ACS scored 30 points in the fourth quarter, thanks to 10 points from Voss and 8-of-10 foul shooting by Calvin Hoffman, who finished with 16 points.
Tommy Hobbs led South with 25 points and Tommy Walker chipped in 21.
Anchorage Daily News
sports@adn.com