The pressure was on the West Eagles on Thursday.
Sure, they had the homecourt advantage for the opening round of the Alaska Airlines Classic boys basketball tournament. But with that advantage came the need to succeed.
Nearly all of their classmates were watching. Students at both West High and Romig Middle School were let out of classes early so they could pack the West High gym for the noon game, and the Eagles didn’t want to disappoint the crowd of about 2,000.
“This is a very important game to win because you want to put on a show for the crowd,’’ West junior Traivar Jackson said.
And so when the Juneau Crimson Bears made a furious fourth-quarter comeback to slash West’s 13-point lead to two points, Jackson and his teammates responded by putting on a show to claim a 68-61 victory.
Scoreless for the first 4 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter, West came alive just in time to cool off the Crimson Bears. The Eagles outscored Juneau 14-9 the rest of the way to soar into Friday’s semifinal round of the eight-team tournament.
The semifinals weren’t a sure thing for West midway through the fourth quarter.
Juneau opened with an 11-0 run sparked by Cooper Kriegmont’s nine points. When Kriegmont drained three free throws after getting fouled while attempting a 3-pointer, West’s lead was sliced to 54-52 and the Eagles called a time out.
“In my head I was thinking, ‘Oh no, they better not come back. We gotta take it to them,’ ’’ Jackson said.
West did just that by reeling off seven unanswered points in a 70-second span after the timeout. With 2:26 remaining, the Eagles led 61-52.
Juneau didn’t make it a one-possession game again until the 27-second mark, when Austin McCurley hit a 3-pointer to make it 64-61. West answered a couple of seconds later with a free throw, and then Jackson ended the show with a showstopper.
The 6-foot-6 forward got the ball in transition and dunked the ball with 13 seconds left, bringing a roar of delight from the bleachers.
“End up on a boom,” Jackson said, grinning.
Jackson finished with 17 points, including a pair of dunks, and 6-2 freshman Omar Adegbola added 14 for the Eagles. Anthony Snow, a 6-4, 240-pound senior, provided eight rebounds, seven points and a formidable inside presence.
Kriegmont, a strong 6-1 junior, led all scorers with 25 points and provided poise and muscle for Juneau. He helped put a scare into the Eagles, who missed a slew of shots early in the quarter.
“It’s never fun to lose a lead,” West coach Josh Muehlenkamp said. “We came down and jacked up quick shots and didn’t want to defend."
Once the Eagles returned to the habits that earned them leads of 36-26 at the half and 54-41 at the end of three quarters, they regained control.
“You want these guys to make good decisions (in life), and that’s where it starts — out there,” Muehlenkamp said, nodding at the gym floor.
The Eagles always play their first game of the Alaska Airlines Classic in front of the West and Romig student bodies, and even though the big crowd might lead to some jitters, Muehlenkamp loves it.
“I told people this is the funnest game to play in,” he said. “… How many people in life get to do something they love in front of 2,000 people?”
Alaska Airlines Classic
At West High
Thursday’s Results
West 68, Juneau 61
Dillard (Fla.) 68, East 54
Trinity (Nev.) 65, Colony 58
Dimond 75, Barrow 46
Friday Games
Consolations
2:30 p.m. — Juneau vs. Barrow
4 p.m. — Colony vs. East
Semifinals
5:30 p.m. — Trinity vs. Dillard
7 p.m. — West vs. Dimond