Barrow freshman Kamaka Hepa completed his three-day coming-out party on Saturday by ripping down 22 rebounds to lead the Whalers past East 83-64 in the championship game of the 30th annual T-bird Classic at East High.
Hepa, a skilled 6-foot-7 player who made his high school debut a week ago in Barrow, was playing in high school games in Anchorage for the first time.
Hepa impressed in all three of Barrow's games at East High.
In the title game, he got into foul trouble that limited him to 19 minutes in the 32-minute game, yet he still dominated. His 22 rebounds helped Barrow claim a 55-24 rebounding advantage.
Barrow, which led 15-14 after one quarter and 40-31 at the half, won the game with superior rebounding and good free throw shooting. Hepa hit 7 of 9 free throws and freshman point guard Travis Adams hit 7 of 9 to help the Whalers to a 25-8 scoring advantage at the foul line.
Hepa added 15 points, two assists and two steals and got lots of support from his teammates. Sione Tuai scored 21 points, Adams contributed 17 points and seven assists, and Antonio Dunbar added 14 points and seven rebounds.
Alex Canete Hall led all scorers with 22 points for East, which got 18 from Marquis White and 13 from Louis Bonner.
In the first boys game, Juneau downed Kodiak 52-38 with sharp shooting from 3-point range and a big second half.
The Crimson Bears were 15 of 33 from long-range, with Bryce Swofford hitting all three of his attempts and Gunnar Schultz hitting both of his.
Swofford finished with a game-high 13 points and Schultz and Adam Empson each added eight for Juneau. Kodiak got a boost from Billy Alcaide (13 points, 6 rebounds) and Max Mutch (10 points).
Juneau trailed by two at the half but outscored Kodiak 31-15 in the second half.
In girls action, East took the tournament championship with a 54-45 victory over Kodiak, the reigning Class 4A state champions.
Jasmine Richard was one rebound and one steal shy of a triple-double for the T-birds. She finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and nine steals.
Neither team shot well -- 32.7 percent for East, 27.6 percent for Kodiak -- and turnovers were rampant.
Kodiak outrebounded East 54-39 -- Kirsthel Fangonilo and Stephanie Price each had 11 boards -- but the Bears were hurt by East's 23 steals. The T-birds had a 34-29 edge in turnovers.
Fangonilo had a game-high 16 points and Ila Hughes added 10 for Kodiak.
In the other girls game, Katie Pearce piled up 12 points, seven steals, six rebounds and five assists to propel Service past Eagle River 55-39.
Service's Amanda Allard sank three treys and matched Peace's 12 points. Eagle River was led by Katy Tomter's 14 points, Shekinah Young's 12 points and Hannah Yaw's 11 rebounds.
The Cougars trailed 8-4 after the first quarter but took the lead for good in the second quarter by outscoring Eagle River 24-14.
All-tournament teams
Boys
MVP -- Kamaka Hepa, Barrow
Louis Bonner, East
Marquis White, East
Alex Canete Hall, East
Antonio Dunbar, Barrow
Sione Tuai, Barrow
Travis Adams, Barrow
Jemuel Mangalus, Kodiak
Max Mutch, Kodiak
Bryce Swofford, Juneau
Kalep Tompkins, Jueany
Girls
MVP -- Octavia Hines, East
Hailey Chavez, Service
Ila Hughes, Kodiak
Jasmine Richard, East
Kalolaine Uhila, East
Katie Pearce, Service
Katy Tomter, Eagle River
Kristhel Fangonilo, Kodiak
Lexi Allen, Eagle River
Sandin Kidder, East
Stephanie Price, Kodiak
GRACE GRIZZLY CLASSIC
Boys
Grace 55, Galena 46
Tournament MVP Trevor Osborne scored 10 points in the second half to help lift Grace Christian to the championship of the school's 16th annual Grace Grizzly Classic basketball tournament.
The Grizzlies beat Galena 55-46 in the final game of the three-day tournament. Both teams won their first two games in the round-robin tournament, turning their Saturday afternoon meeting into a championship game.
Galena trailed by two at the half, 26-24, but Grace pulled away in the third quarter behind Osborne's six points to lead 42-35. Osborne added four more points in the fourth quarter and finished with 15.
Toben Karlberg scored a game-high 19 points for the Grizzlies -- an effort that led to the defeat his older brother, Lou Karlberg, the Galena coach. Toben Karlberg sank all 10 of his free throws to help Grace outscore the Hawks 13-1 at the foul line. Ryan Sheldon added 10 points for the winners.
Jacob Miller tossed in 15 points and Evan Buchanan was good for 12 for Galena.
Mt. Edgecumbe 67, Delta 60
Jamal Alstrom and Bobby Pate combined for eight 3-pointers, sparking Mt. Edgecumbe's 67-60 win over Delta.
The Braves trailed 11-5 after the first quarter, but Alstrom poured in eight of his game-high 21 points in the second quarter and eight more in the third quarter to spur Mt. Edgecumbe to a 45-35 lead.
Alstrom hit three treys and Pate, who finished with 18 points, hit five. Paul Bioff added 12 points for Mt. Edgecumbe.
Delta, which missed six free throws and was outscored 21-12 from the line, got 18 points apiece from Martese Blankenship and Micah Helkenn.
GIRLS
Grace 60, Galena 48
Four players scored in double figures to carry Grace Christian to the girls title in the Grace Grizzly Classic with a 60-48 triumph Saturday over Galena.
Annie VanderWeide and Hayley Hagen each scored 13 points, Mary Hogan netted 12 and Mikayla Shamburger added 11 for the Grizzlies.
Shamburger scored all of her points in the second half to help her team expand a 23-22 halftime lead.
Tournament MVP Romay Harris of Galena led all scorers with 19 points. Sarah Buchanan chipped in 16, hitting four 3-pointers, three of them in the fourth quarter.
Bethel 70, Delta 11
Balanced scoring and tough defense marked Bethel's 70-11 romp over Delta.
Courtney Williams and Haley O'Brien each pumped in 15 points and Shantell Kessner-Kinegak scored 14 to lead the Warriors, who got points from eight players.
Bethel limited Delta to one free throw in the final quarter and yielded four field goals the entire game.
All-tournament teams
Girls
MVP -- Romay Harris, Galena
Mikayla Shamburger, Grace
Sarah Buchanan, Galena
Shantell Kessner-Kinegak, Bethel
Ashley Logan, Grace
Haley Hagen, Grace
Boys
MVP -- Trevor Osborne, Grace
Jacob Miller, Galena
Skye Shipton, Mt. Edgecumbe
Tobin Karlberg, Grace
Evan Buchanan, Galena
Martese Blankenship, Delta
COUGAR TIP-OFF
Service 48, Bethel 45
Service senior Brad Wacker came up big in the game's final minute, sinking a 3-pointer to break a tie and stealing the ball on Bethel's ensuing possession to carry the Cougars to the championship of the 35th annual Cougar Tip-Off basketball tournament.
Wacker's clutch plays keyed his team's 48-45 win in the final game of the tournament and gave the Cougars a 3-0 tournament record.
Nathan Fromm poured in 22 points and Pindo Drammeh added 12 to lead Service.
Taylor Hoffman (17 points) and tournament MVP Corey LePore (16) started off red-hot for Bethel. Hoffman's seven points and LePore's eight gave the Warriors a 17-10 lead after one quarter, but the Cougars battled back.
The game was tied 45-45 with a minute left when Wacker, who had managed three points in the first 31 minutes, won it for Service.
Eagle River 63, Chugiak 39
Eagle River rode a big third quarter to a 63-39 thumping of rival Chugiak.
The Wolves led 24-18 at halftime but blew open the game with a 22-9 third quarter that featured seven points apiece from Eric Andersen and Justin Patin.
R.J Dirscherl's 20 points led the Wolves, who got 18 from Patin and 14 from Wyatt Reiser. Nine players scored for Chugiak, a group led by Zach Philbrick with nine points.
All-tournament team
MVP -- Corey LePore, Bethel
Zach Philbrick, Chugiak
Steven Glasheen, Bethel
R.J. Dirscherl, Eagle River
Pindo Drammeh, Service
Taylor Hoffman, Bethel
Eben Upton, Service