High School Sports

ACS boys win Class 3A thriller to set up title-game meeting with Valdez

Demarcus Hall scored a highlight-reel bucket with about two seconds remaining to propel Anchorage Christian into the championship game of the Class 3A boys basketball state tournament.

Hall’s spinning, driving layup lifted ACS to a 64-62 victory over the Eielson Ravens in semifinal action Friday at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Lions will meet Valdez at 3 p.m. Saturday. Valdez cruised past Grace Christian to return to the title game for the first time since winning the 2004 tournament. ACS won the 2011 championship and was the runner-up in 2012 and 2013.

The Ravens erased ACS’s 10-point halftime lead and turned the final minutes into a nail-biter.

The game-winning basket made Hall the game’s leading scorer with 19 points. Also making big contributions for ACS were Danilu Guzman (10 points, 11 rebounds), Orlando Lozano (11 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds) and Fredrick Onochie (13 points, 8 rebounds).

[Grace Christian dethrones Barrow at Class 3A boys basketball tournament]

For Eielson, Christian Bolton tossed in 17 points, Brock Renson had 15 points and 12 rebounds and DeAndre Ford chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.

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Four players scored in double figures for Valdez, which led 26-18 at halftime. Kyler LaBonte led the way with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, Jaden Freeman added 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting and Logan Heckathorn and Bennett Hinkle combined for 21 points.

Grace Christian’s Turner Goforth scored 15 points and Andrew Beck tallied 14.

In Friday’s consolation games, Sitka edged Nome 54-50 and Monroe buried Barrow 65-51 to stay alive. They’ll play for fourth place Saturday.

Eight players scored for Sitka, including Morgan Simic (10 points) and Gavin Flores (9 points, 9 rebounds). Nome was led by Stephan Anderson’s 16 points.

Izak Lohrke’s 18 points and 10 rebounds and Isaac Garcia’s 17 points powered Monroe. Barrow was led by Brendon Matthews’ 14 points and three steals.

ASAA March Madness Alaska

Friday’s results

Sitka 54, Nome 50 (consolation)

Monroe 65, Barrow 51 (consolation)

ACS 64, Eielson 62 (semifinal)

Valdez 62, Grace Christian 50 (semifinal)

Saturday’s games

8 a.m. — Sitka vs. Monroe, 4th place, Wells Fargo Sports Complex

8:30 a.m. — Eielson vs. Grace Christian, 3rd place, Alaska Airlines Center

3 p.m. — ACS vs. Valdez, championship, Alaska Airlines Center

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