Anchorage Daily News

They aren't cousins, they are brothers. And now they're state champions.

The Cousin crew -- Anthony, Kevin and D.J. -- shined on the big stage Saturday night at the Class 4A boys state basketball tournament, leading the fourth- seeded Wolverines to the school's first title on the hardwood by upsetting second seed Bartlett.

South held off a furious fourth-quarter charge by the Golden Bears before holding on to post a dramatic 56-54 victory in front of a crowd of 3,300 at Sullivan Arena in a championship game that will go down as one of the greatest of all-time.

The game went from a blowout to a thriller thanks to an exciting finish that saw the Golden Bears nearly rally from a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit only to miss a point-blank shot at the buzzer that would have forced overtime.

South (23-6) had never qualified for the state tournament since opening its doors four years ago, but now the Wolverines are on top of the world. And they have the Cousin brothers to thank, with the threesome combining for 34 points and 12 assists.

"Dream come true," Kevin Cousin said. "This is what we've always wanted. This is really special for us. My dad always wanted his three sons to win state, and we did it together."

D.J. Cousin, a junior forward often overshadowed by his senior brothers, delivered a team-high 15 points while Anthony collected 12 points, six rebounds and six assists and Kevin chipped in seven points and five assists.

Saturday's finale started well enough for the Wolverines, who played a near flawless first half in mounting a 33-20 halftime lead. They extended it to 46-30 heading into the fourth quarter before Cook Inlet Conference player of the year Kevin Winford got hot.

Quiet most of the way, Winford drained three consecutive 3-pointers to get the Golden Bears within 50-44. He and teammate Courtney May combined for 22 of their team's 24 points in the fourth quarter, including May's drive to pull Bartlett within 56-54.

Then Kevin Cousin was fouled and went to the line, where he missed both free throws with 9.7 seconds left to give the Golden Bears life. Bartlett (21-7) struggled to bring the ball up court, nearly turning it over once, before Efhraim Manumaleuna got it on the baseline and tossed a lob pass to Damon Newsome stationed under the basket.

The 6-foot-4 Newsome, just a freshman, bobbled the pass in mid-air for a split second and rushed to get the shot off in time. He did well in getting it off, but the ball bounced off the rim as the final buzzer sounded, ending Bartlett's 14-game winning streak and state title dreams.

"We fouled who we wanted to, got the rebound and had a shot at the end -- that's all you can ask for," Bartlett coach Vernon Lindo Jr. said. "I'm disappointed it took them so long to decide to play hard. We didn't play well 'til the last four or five minutes."

The Wolverines stormed the court while some of the Golden Bears collapsed to the floor in tears. It was a game either squad could have won, reminiscent of the regular-season series when the teams split with Bartlett winning by two and South winning by three.

"A two-point victory, a 20-point victory, I really don't care. We won the state championship," South coach Don Brooks said. "I'm just real happy for my kids."

Winford led all scorers with 21 points, with 13 coming in the final eight minutes. But for most of the night, Kevin Cousin shut down the all-state guard. Through three quarters Winford managed only eight points, with half coming off breakaway dunks in the first quarter.

"I study his moves. I watch tape every day and I study it," Cousin said. "I'm proud of myself."

So is Brooks, who said Cousin's defense was a key to victory.

"It was a total team effort, but my Kevin did a great job on their Kevin," the coach said.

Besides the stellar play from the Cousin brothers, South also got strong performances from starting forwards Trevor Smith and Aaron Stevens. The 6-5 Smith bagged 11 points and 10 rebounds and the 6-6 Stevens had 13 points, seven rebounds and two emphatic blocked shots on Winford that drew the loudest ovations from the South student section.

"I love swatting it away," Stevens said with a smile.

Even with the twin towers of Stevens and Smith guarding the rim, the Golden Bears still attacked. May, one of Bartlett's smallest yet quickest guards, used dribble penetration to help him rack up 19 points on a variety of beautiful drives in traffic. He canned three high-arcing shots over taller defenders in the final minutes, twice pulling his team within a deuce.

At the end, though, Bartlett didn't get the bounce it needed.

"You can't win them all," Lindo said. "A true champion never quits and digs down deep to find the energy and passion to make it happen. We made our run and it came up a little short. We didn't turn it on 'til it was too late."

Find assistant sports editor Van Williams online at adn.com/contact/vwilliams or call 257-4335

Colony 42, Kenai 38

Colony had no players in double figures and missed five straight free throws in the final minute, leading by two. But the Knights still held off Kenai to claim third place Saturday morning in the boys Class 4A state tournament at Sullivan Arena.

Jaron Murphy, who led Colony with nine points, finally sank two free throws with 5.7 seconds left to clinch victory for Colony.

Until those free throws, neither team could score during the final two minutes. Cory Toombs led Kenai with 21 points.

Dimond 71, Juneau 59

Ryan Hanley had 18 points to lead a quintet of Lynx in double figures as Dimond won the fourth-place game at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

Rylan Whilden (17), Chris Plooy (13), Travis Thompson (12) and Colton Lauwers (11) also reached double digits for Dimond.

Ryan Larson led Juneau with 18 points.

ASAA/First National Bank

Class 4A Boys State Basketball Tournament

At Sullivan Arena

Championship

South 16 17 13 10 -- 56

Bartlett 15 5 10 24 -- 54

South -- A. Cousin 12, K. Cousin 7, Smith 11, D. Cousin 15, Nolder 2, Colbern 2, Stevens 11.

Bartlett -- May 19, Roan 9, Winford 21, Newsome 2, Manumaleuna 2, DeVoe 1.

Third Place

Colony 11 9 11 11 -- 42

Kenai 9 11 11 7 -- 38

Colony -- Zagars 3, Huggins 2, Murphy 9, Palmer 2, Scott 2, Niver 5, Gray 8, Moseley 7, Stearman 4.

Kenai -- Saltzgiver 7, Byrd 9, Toombs 21, Lazaro 1.

At Wells Fargo Sports Complex

Fourth Place

Juneau 22 13 9 15 -- 59

Dimond 18 15 19 19 -- 71

Juneau -- Brinson 8, Grussendorf 4, Craig 4, Ibesate 2, Larson 18, Gross 14, Bavard 3, Levale 6.

Dimond -- Thompson 12, Plooy 13, Hanley 18, Whilden 17, Lauwers 11.

4A boys all-tournament team

Cory Toombs, Kenai; Trevor Smith, South; Kevin Winford, Bartlett; Josh Moseley, Colony; Anthony Cousin, South; Ryan Hanley, Dimond; Eric Gross, Juneau; Damon Newsome, Bartlett; Aaron Stevens, South; Rylan Whilden, Dimond.

ADVERTISEMENT