Sports

Service boys win battle with Barrow

Service used stellar free throw shooting to edge Barrow 60-55 in the championship game of the Doc Larson Roundball Classic basketball tournament on Wednesday night at Wasilla High.

The Cougars went 22 of 30 from the foul line, including 10-for-10 shooting by Eben Upton, who finished with 18 points. Tournament MVP Nathan Fromm also scored 18 points and grabbed five rebounds while keeping Barrow star freshman Kamaka Hepa relatively in check on the defensive end.

Hepa led Barrow with 19 points and 11 rebounds and four blocked shots, but made only six of 16 shots from the field. Travis Adams scored 12 points and Sione Tuai and Antonio Dunbar added eight each for the Whalers, who suffered their first loss of the season.

Barrow opened the game on an 11-2 run, forcing Service to call timeout with 5:11 left in the first quarter. The Cougars were able to close the gap to 31-28 by halftime in front of a large crowd that turned out to watch a game pitting the defending Class 4A champions against Barrow, a power from the Class 3A ranks.

Service started the second half on an 8-0 run and pushed its lead to as many as seven points before the Whalers cut it to 42-39 heading into the final period.

Barrow never pulled closer down the stretch, as Service hit six consecutive free throws in the final minute to ice the game.

Two Barrow players fouled out of the game as the Whalers were whistled for 24 fouls compared to 12 for the Cougars.

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Pindo Drammeh scored eight points and had 10 rebounds for Service, which remained undefeated and won its second prep tournament of the season. Brad Wacker and Ronald Hall also scored eight points each for Service, which won despite getting zero points off the bench.

Service's win was the first for an Alaska team in the tournament's six-year history.

Mesa Verde (Calif.) boys 79, Thunder Mountain 76 (OT)

Mesa Verde (Calif.) got 26 points from Bret Lynch and 19 from Yelisey Vakulchik to beat Thunder Mountain 79-76 in overtime in the third place game at the Doc Larson Roundball Classic in Wasilla.

Chase Saviers led four Thunder Mountain players in double figures with 19 points. Jacob Calloway and Shane Mielke added 16 for the Falcons, who also got 13 from Trent Uddipa.

The Citrus Heights, California, school finished second with a 2-1 record, while the Juneau-based Falcons were 1-2.

Wasilla boys 57, West Valley 52

Wasilla overcame a game-high 31 points from West Valley's Daniel Hornbuckle to earn a 57-52 win in a consolation round of the Doc Larson Roundball Classic in Wasilla.

The Wolfpack star also had six rebounds, but shot 9 of 28 from the field.

Issac Houck scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Wasilla, which also got 15 points and eight boards from Alex Baham.

Wasilla finished 1-2 in the tournament; West Valley went 0-3.

Lake Stevens (Wash.) girls 51, Wasilla 36

Lake Stevens, Washington completed an undefeated run through the three-game Doc Larson Roundball with a 51-36 win over host Wasilla on Wednesday.

Alex Briggs and tourney MVP Emily Vandergrift scored 12 points for Lake Stevens, which also got 10 from Hailey Wilson.

Azlynn Brandenburg scored 11 points and Leya DePriest contributed eight points and six rebounds for the Warriors, who finished 1-2.

Thunder Mountain girls 57, Barrow 49

Thunder Mountain got 18 points and 12 rebounds from Ava Tompkins and 17 points from Ashley Young to earn a 57-49 win over Barrow on Wednesday at the Doc Larson Roundball Classic basketball tournament in Wasilla.

Thunder Mountain made 25 free throws. Tompkins went 14 of 18 from the foul line and Young hit 5 of 6. The Falcons were 2-1 in the girls' four-team, round-robin tourney.

Rose Mangoyak scored 13 points and had a game-high 17 rebounds for Barrow, which also got 15 from Alaina Wolgemugth. The Whalers finished 0-3.

All tournament

Boys -- Jacob Calloway, Thunder Mountain; Pindo Drammeh, Service; Bret Lynch, Mesa Verde; Antonio Dunbar, Barrow; Kamaka Hepa, Barrow; Nathan Fromm, Service (MVP)

Girls -- Ashley Young, Thunder Mountain; Leya DePriest, Wasilla; Hailey Wilson, Lake Stevens; Kylee Griffen, Lake Stevens; Ava Tompkins, Thunder Mountain; Emily Vandergrift, Lake Stevens (MVP)

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