Sports

The Monroe boys highlighted high school basketball action Friday

The Monroe boys continued to strut their stuff Friday in the Dimond Prep Shootout basketball tournament at Dimond High.

Monroe, the top-ranked Class 3A team in the state, earned its second straight lopsided victory with an 88-56 thrashing of West in a semifinal. West Valley beat Dimond 57-36 in the other semifinal to make Saturday's championship an all-Fairbanks affair.

Grace and Thunder Mountain picked up consolation victories, with Grace thumping Ketchikan 78-37 and Thunder Mountain rolling past Colony 67-56.

Monroe's win was never in doubt, as the Rams led 27-12 after one quarter and 40-21 by halftime. They outrebounded West 36-17 and shot 65 percent to West's 44 percent. Four Rams scored in double-digits, led by 23 points from Tyler Wells. Scooter Bynum added 19 points to go with eight rebounds, Jalon McCullogh hit for 11 points and Edwin Erickson dropped in 10.

Da'zhon Wyche led West with 14 points, and Deandre Wilson racked up 12.

West Valley's was powered by Taj Washington's 18 points and Travon Brackett's 11 rebounds, nine points and four blocks.

Dimond, which trailed 15-5 after one quarter, got eight points from Zach Deloney.

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Grace's win was led by a game-high 24 points from Trevor Osborne, who buried 8 of 9 shots from beyond the arc, five players scored in double-figures for Grace in a 78-37 consolation win over Ketchikan.

Luke Offord deposited 13 points for the Grizzlies on 5-of-5 shooting that included three treys. Alex Fancher notched 12 points, with Hans Karlberg and Eric Johnson each chipping in 10.

Colton Paulson led Ketchikan with nine points.

Jacob Calloway propelled Thunder Mountain to victory, scoring a game-high 22 points to lead Thunder Mountain to a 67-56 consolation win over Colony.

Matt Seymour tossed in 17 points for Thunder Mountain, which came in as the fifth-ranked Class 4A boys team in the state.

Colony, which came in as the top-ranked Class 4A team, got 21 points and eight rebounds from Damien Fulp.

GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL

Soldotna 51, Wasilla 31

The Soldotna girls basketball team used a big second half to defeat host Wasilla 51-31 on Friday in a high school game.

Makayla Wong posted a double-double for the Stars, scoring 14 points and hauling in 12 rebounds. Katelynn Kerkvliet also netted 14 points, and Julie Litchfield added 12. Soldotna outscored Wasilla 27-8 in the second half to break open a game tied 24-24 at halftime.

Shayla Johnson led Wasilla with nine points and Catherine Baham corralled nine boards.

Kodiak 53, Service 12

Kodiak's Jerica Nelson outscored the Service girls basketball team Friday, helping the Bears torch the Cougars 53-12 in a nonconference game at Service High.

Nelson finished with 18 points, hitting two of Kodiak's four 3-pointers. Hannah Wandersee put up 10 points for the Bears, who led 24-10 at halftime and held Service to two points in the second half.

Hallie Thompson led Service with four points.

South 68, Kotzebue 57, OT

Zulai Cole's 27 points sparked the South girls basketball team to a 68-57 overtime win over Kotzebue in the Nome Subway Shootout on Friday.

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Sadie Hodgson tacked on 16 points for the Wolverines, who outscored Kotzebue 14-3 in overtime.

Kotzebue's Collen Snyder pumped in 23 points and Mary Su Hyatt added 14.

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