Call it the rise of the eighth-graders.
The youngest team in the Class 1A boys basketball tournament will play in Tuesday's semifinals at Sullivan Arena, and almost half its players haven't yet made it to high school.
With fewer than 200 villagers in the Brooks Range village of Anaktuvuk Pass, the student population is small enough that eighth-graders can join the team under Alaska School Activities Association rules that ensure the smallest schools can field teams.
The Amaguks – that means wolves in Inupiat – have three eight-graders on a team of seven that also includes one freshman, one sophomore and two seniors.
On Monday, the young team managed to beat the gutsy and older Noatak Lynx 64-58 behind a blowout performance by Darin Morry, a standout eighth-grader sporting braided pigtails and an arching shot from outside the perimeter.
Facing a taller opponent that included five seniors, Morry led all scorers with 21 points and earned Player of the Game honors for his team. He drained 5 of 10 3-pointers, including three crucial treys in the closing minutes as the Lynx rallied.
A fellow eighth-grader, Justice Nukapigak, added 10 points.
The Amaguks first-year coach, Lillian Stone, said the kids grew up playing together, often in contests against men from the village.
"They formed a bond," she said.
The only other 1A boys team with eighth-graders is Angoon, which has two. The Eagles, who played in Monday's late game at Sullivan, knocked off Fort Yukon during Saturday's play-in round, ending the championship hopes of the top-ranked Class 1A team in the Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches statewide.
Be loud, be proud
In a state where villages are wild about basketball, it's hard to say who has the most rabid fan base.
But a contingent that got the gym rolling Monday was Unalakleet, with dozens of floor-stomping, arm-waving fans shaking black-and-gold signs and shattering the early morning quiet.
"Keep it up Wolfpack, keep it up," they chanted, even with the seconds ticking down and their team leading by 20.
As close to the court as a fan could get sat Warren Katchatag, with a salt-and-pepper buzzcut and a booming voice that has brought him the fan-of-the-game award on numerous occasions, including twice last year.
It's an attractive prize -- $100 in gift cards from the Alaska Commercial store and Span Alaska go to the most enthusiastic and positive fans with an AC store in their village. Tournament organizers said they have $10,000 in gift cards to give out this week.
Profanity doesn't fly. "We're looking for people with good spirit," said Emilee Rogers, a representative with the companies who scans the crowd for winners.
Katchatag said he's cheering for the Wolfpack, but he hopes to keep winning the gift cards too -- it's a nice bonus after spending hundreds of dollars to fly into Anchorage from the Northwest Alaska village.
"Cheer loud, be proud," he said of his approach.
The support doesn't hurt. Unalakleet knocked off Metlakatla – ranked fourth in the state -- 62-43 on Monday.
Unalakleet isn't ranked, but that's in part because it has sought out tough Class 3A teams to train for March Madness, said coach Steve Ivanoff.
"I'll take 0-22 if you told me we're playing in the championship," he said.
The gangs all here
The village of Teller near Nome brought nearly its entire high school to Anchorage for the state tournament.
The community raised $10,000 to bring seven extra players the school couldn't pay for.
"They just went ballistic," said Susette Carroll, the school's principal, referring to moms and others who frantically sold nachos and hamburgers to raise the money and get every boy and girl on the teams to the tournament. There are no restaurants in the village, so selling food fueled the fundraising.
In total, 24 players -- about 10 percent of the village – made the trip.
."Every boy from the high school is here, and all the girls but three – they are back home cheering," Carroll said.
The school has made strides academically and athletically, Carroll said, with the girls making it to state for the first time last year -- they finished fourth -- and the boys making it this year for the first time in history.
Though the boys lost on Saturday fall into the consolation tournament, the girls are hoping to do even better this year.
On Monday, they advanced to the semifinals by beating St. Mary's 25-23. They play Wainwright on Tuesday, but winning doesn't seem to be their only goal.
Lindsay Weyanna, an eighth-grade forward who scored two points, was most excited that the team won a sportsmanship award at a recent tournament.
"We have good teamwork," she said.
Matching Metlakatla
Matching garb for fans is standard fare at the tournament, but a sweatshirt designed for the Metlakatla girls team stood out, with a family crest honoring a top player.
With the nickname MissChief emblazoned across the front of the blue-and-gold sweatshirts, the hoodies honor senior forward Theresa Wellington-McGilton and her family's heritage.
On the back is her family's circular crest, designed by an artist and depicting the angled eyes and hooked nose of an eagle, and beneath that a sharp-toothed killer whale, representing clans from the state's southeastern most community.
Mom Pamela McGilton had about 30 of the sweatshirts made, plus a bunch of T-shirts.
On Monday, Metlakatla squeaked past Dillingham 37-36. Wellington-McGilton, a senior forward, scored a game-high 16 points and won Player of the Game honors for her team.
"We're pretty confident we're going to win state," she said after the game, icing a shoulder injured in a dive for the ball. "If we play like we're capable of, we can get it done."