Jason James could not be stopped and Ketchikan came back from a four-point halftime deficit to beat Bartlett 65-61 Friday in the semifinals of the O'Brady's Invitational at South High.
The Kings will face West Valley in the championship game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at South High. West Valley beat the host Wolverines 48-41 in Friday's late semifinal to keep Anchorage teams out of the title game.
James, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, scored Ketchikan's first 10 points en route to a 29-point performance on 12 of 18 shooting from the field.
"Jason James is probably the best kid very few people know of," Ketchikan coach Eric Stockhausen said. "… He's averaging 20 points a game, and doing it very efficiently. His teammates are doing a great job of getting him the ball and he's just as crafty a player as you'll see."
Behind James, the Kings led 13-9 by the end of the first quarter, but James cooled off in the second quarter and Bartlett stormed back to take the lead.
Bartlett's Kage Freelove orchestrated an old-fashioned 3-point play to give the Golden Bears a 14-13 lead early in the second quarter. Bartlett's backcourt duo of Bentiu Panoam and Freelove combined for 38 points and Bartlett's fast-pace style caused problems in the form of turnovers and botched rebound attempts for Ketchikan in the second second and early in the third quarter.
Bartlett extended a 28-24 halftime lead to 35-24 midway through the third quarter, and Stockhausen responded by telling his players to try to slow down the game.
The Kings took their time and made several passes on each possession to counter Bartlett's fast-break style, and James again hit his stride.
"We just had to play more calm," James said. "We had to slow our pace down and not play their game, which was to try to speed us up and turn it over and try to make us make crass decisions."
The strategy paid off for Ketchikan.
James worked the ball to the rim and Matt Standley complemented him on the outside, hitting 4 of 10 treys to finish with 17 points.
"Matt, I would argue, is one of the top two or three shooters in the state and he has a green light," Stockhausen said. "He's hit a lot of big shots for us already this year. He had 30 in the last game against South at the championship in Lathrop, so he's feeling good about shooting the ball."
Standley, James and Jake Smith each hit a 3-pointer in the last two minutes of the third quarter to tie the game 47-47 heading into the final quarter. James' triple came as the clock expired, much to the delight of the Ketchikan fans in attendance.
The Kings' Isaac Johnson hit a jumper to give his team the lead for good, 53-51, with five minutes remaining. Ketchikan worked the clock from there on, and Standley iced the game by hitting 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch.
"Bartlett really did a great job. I was impressed with them last night and they carried that through (the game)," Stockhausen said. "They're a good team and just gonna get better.
"They gave us some trouble early and luckily our kids pulled it together. It was a good high school game to be a part of."
West Valley 48, South 41
Daniel Hornbuckle racked up 18 points and nine rebounds to lead West Valley past South 48-41, depriving the Wolverines of a spot in the championship game of their own tournament.
The Wolf Pack built a 31-21 halftime lead and was able to hold off South in the second half.
Alex Adams poured in 18 points and Jake Swenson added 10 to spark South.
Barrow 73, Kenai Central 62
Despite trailing after the first quarter, a balanced Barrow team controlled the final three quarters en route to a 73-62 win over Kenai Central in a consolation-bracket game.
David Matthews led the Whalers with 17 points on 6 of 7 shooting. Kamaka Hepa (15 points), Travis Adams (13) and Kevin Goodwin (13) also scored in double figures.
Barrow led by as many as 16 points in the second half.
Josh Jackman paced the Kardinals with 16 points, Austin Brazell added 14 and Garrett Fit grabbed 11 rebounds.
Colony 59, Thunder Mountain 45
Tyler Boyer's 14 points and 10 rebounds keyed Colony's 59-45 win over Thunder Mountain in a consolation-bracket game.
Anton Chamblee chipped in 11 points and six assists and Nolan Martin added 10 points for the Knights, who cemented the victory by outscoring Thunder Mountain 19-10 in the fourth quarter.
Chase Sievers led all scorers with 16 points for Thunder Mountain. Shane Miekle added 10 points.
O'Brady's Invitational
Friday's games
Barrow 73, Kenai 62
Colony 59, Thunder Mountain 45
Ketchikan 65, Bartlett 61
South vs. West Valley, late
Saturday's games
2 p.m. – Kenai vs. Thunder Mountain, seventh place
3:45 p.m. – Barrow vs. Colony, fourth place
5:45 p.m. – Bartlett vs. South, third place
7:30 p.m. -- Ketchikan vs. West Valley, first place