A year ago, Seldovia lost a semifinal game at the Class 1A state basketball team by five points. Calem Collier has been thinking about that game ever since.
"I told everyone if we ever got back here again, I was making sure we wouldn't lose again," Collier said. "You get a loss like that, you don't want to feel that way again and you do what you can do to make sure you don't."
Collier was true to his words Tuesday.
He scored 19 first-half points and finished with 30 points and 14 rebounds to help the Sea Otters slip past Anaktuvak Pass 56-55 and grab a spot in Wednesday's 3:45 p.m.championship game -- the first title-game appearance in history for the small Kenai Peninsula town, Seldovia coach Mark Janes said.
Seldovia will play Scammon Bay, a 55-49 over Angoon in the other semifinal.
Collier barely missed in the first half, hitting 7 of 9 field goal attempts, including three from 3-point range. Thanks to him, Seldovia led 26-17 at the half.
But that was as big as its lead got. A charged-up Anaktuvak Pass set the tone in the second half, playing with explosiveness and fearlessness.
Led by Timothy Ahgook Jr., who scored 16 of his team-high 21 points in the second half, the Wolves refused to be kept at bay. They dominated the boards, keeping Seldovia's second-chance points to a minimum, and attacked the basket, driving the lane for many of their points.
Anaktuvak Pass' team of seven players -- three of them eighth-graders -- never led but came within four points several times and three or fewer points five times, including at the end when Darin Morry drained a long 3-pointer at the buzzer.
"I knew they'd come out hard," Janes said of Anaktuvak Pass' second-half effort. "They're a young team, and they had to find their feet. We knew they could shoot the daylights out of the ball."
But for the second night in a row, the Sea Otters hung on. The 56-55 final was the same score as their Monday win over Manokotak.
"We gutted it out just lie last night with some key free throws," Janes said.
Fourteen of Seldovia's 19 fourth-quarter points came at the foul line and its final 12 points were free throws. Aidan Philpot hit six of six in the final 90 seconds to finish with 20 points, 17 of which came in the second half.
Philpot's last two trips to the line were pressure-packed. The first time, Seldovia led by three points with 16 seconds left. The second time, Seldovia led by two points with 7.6 seconds left. Both times, Philpot calmly sank both shots.
"I was confident he was gonna make (those)," Collier said.
Neither team had a long bench -- Seldovia, which Collier said has 45 kids in grades K-12, dresses eight players, one more than the Wolves. Foul trouble was a real factor at the end for Anaktuvak Pass, which lost two players to fouls and had only five players at its disposal for the final 2:40.
And even then, the Wolves continued to attack, especially Ahgook, who supplied seven of his team's final 10 points.
Morry finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds and two other Wolves hauled down double-digit rebounds -- Alexander Nay had 15 and Ahgook had 10 to help Anaktuvak Pass to a 57-40 rebounding advantage.
In Tuesday's late semifinal, Scammon Bay survived the loss of Angel Medina, the Class 1A Player of the Year, to outlast Angoon.
Medina fueled Scammon Bay with 15 points, nine rebounds and five steals before fouling out halfway through the fourth quarter.
Theodore Sundown added a team-high 17 points and hit a pair of key free throws with 29.6 seconds left to give his team a 53-49 lead. Shandon Rivers hit two of four free throws in the final 13 seconds to cement the victory.
Angoon never lead in the second half but for most of the fourth quarter but came within a possession of tying it when Duncan O'Brien drilled a long 3-pointer to cut Scammon Bay's lead to 49-46 with 3:21 left in the game. Things remained close until those final free throws by Rivers.
O'Brien scored a game-high 22 points and Forrest Braley chipped in 15 points for Angoon. Both added 15 rebounds and teammate Nathanial Hunter-Skeek pulled down 13 boards. Though Angoon had a healthy 54-33 rebounding edge, it was hurt by 24 turnovers -- 17 of which were the result of Scammon Bay steals.
In Tuesday's late semifinal, Scammon Bay survived the loss of Angel Medina, the Class 1A Player of the Year, to outlast Angoon.
Medina fueled Scammon Bay with 15 points, nine rebounds and five steals before fouling out halfway through the fourth quarter.
Theodore Sundown added a team-high 17 points and hit a pair of key free throws with 29.6 secods left to give his team a 53-49 lead. Shandon Rivers hit two of four free throws in the final 13 seconds to cement the victory.
Angoon never lead in the second half but for most of the fourth quarter but came within a possion of tying it when Duncan O'Brien drilled a long 3-pointer to cut Scammon Bay's lead to 49-46 with3:21 left in the game. Things remained close until those final free throws by Rivers.
O'Brien scored a game-high 22 points and Forrest Braley chipped in 15 points for Angoon. Both added 15 rebounds and teammate Nathanial Hunter-Skeek pulled down 13 boards. Though Angoon had a healthy 54-33 rebounding edge, it was hurt by 24 turnovers -- 17 of which were the result of Scammon Bay steals.