West Valley fends off Monroe Catholic to advance to first Alaska 4A boys state title game in 33 years

For the first time in over two decades, a Fairbanks boys team will be playing in the Alaska 4A state championship basketball game. The last to make it that far into the playoffs was Lathrop in the 1999 season, when the Malemutes finished runner-up to East Anchorage.

The last team to win it all from the Golden Heart City was West Valley in 1990, and after beating fellow Fairbanks program Monroe Catholic 44-41 in the semifinal round on Friday night at the Alaska Airlines Center, the Wolfpack are back in the big game.

“It’s a dream we’ve talked about all season long, and now we’re on the doorstep trying to open the door and hopefully shut it behind us,” West Valley head coach Colten Growden said.

It marked the fourth matchup between the two teams this year. It was also the Rams’ first time playing in a 4A state tournament since being elevated from the 3A level.

While West Valley came out on top in each of their past three matchups, Monroe Catholic was able to close the gap each time from losing by 22 points in the first meeting, 18 points in the second and eight points in the third game.

Rams guard William Bast in particular gave the Wolfpack headaches throughout Friday night’s game — especially in the second half, when he scored 12 of his team-leading 20 points.

“We played hard defensively and kind of switched things up,” Growden said. “We played a little zone there and went back to man. They hit some big shots that normally we don’t see from (Bast) but he made some big plays down the stretch for his team and put some pressure on us for sure.”

Not to be outdone, West Valley star senior guard Stewart Erhart accounted for over half of his team’s total with a game-high 24 points and tied for the game-high in rebounds with eight boards.

“I was just doing whatever it took to win,” Erhart said. “If the ball is in my hand, I’m confident and can live with the results.”

He recorded exactly 12 points and four rebounds in each half and came up with one key bucket after another for the Wolfpack seemingly every time they needed it, or when it looked like the Rams were gaining momentum.

“That’s why he’s the back-to-back Gatorade Player of the Year,” Growden said. “He shines in the brightest moments and he wants the pressure. He tends to show up and put out for his teammates to do the best that he can do so they can succeed.”

[West Valley’s Stewart Erhart named Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year for boys basketball]

Erhart also made the final defensive stop when he swatted the ball away in the waning seconds of the game, as Bast’s shot fell short and bounced off the rim.

“I just saw three seconds on the clock and tried to tip it away,” he said.

After West Valley came up short of making the finals last year following an opening-round upset to Colony, Erhart said the team’s goal has been to put themselves in position to potentially win just the second state title in program history.

“It would be amazing just for my teammates and let them get all the recognition,” Erhart said. “It’s not just about me. I’m just one person and one player. I can’t achieve that goal without them.”

Regardless of who won Friday’s matchup, the city of Fairbanks was going to have a hometown team to root for in the state title game.

Growden is grateful that his team is the one that’ll represent the community and hopes they reward fans for all of their faithful support through the years and over a three-decade-long championship drought.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for Fairbanks as a community in general,” he said. “It’s nice that we’ve got a shot but we really just want to bring it home for the community.”

Bettye Davis East beats West in surprising rout

The Thunderbirds are heading back to the state title game for the third year in a row after defeating the Eagles handily in the semifinal round of the 4A state tournament 62-31 in the last game of the night.

“I thought that our plan was good and we really watched a lot of video the last couple of days,” East coach Chuck Martin said. “You have to slow them down. You can’t open up the court for them, and our kids executed the game plan of keeping them out of the paint and keeping track of their shooters.”

It marked the fourth matchup of the season between the two teams, with East winning all four. While it can be difficult to defeat the same quality opponent more than once, let alone four times in a single season, East made it look easy against West from start to finish.

At one point in the first half, Martin subbed out his entire starting lineup and let his reserves see extended time, and the Thunderbirds still didn’t miss a beat.

After coming off a day’s rest following an upset win over Dimond on Wednesday, West struggled to keep up and find a rhythm while East looked like a well-oiled machine for the majority of the game.

“I thought having a day off really benefited (West) because of all the effort they put into Wednesday night’s game,” Martin said. “They weren’t really sharp, but I think a lot of it had to do with our defense.”

Neither team had a player reach double figures in scoring. The Thunderbirds had nine of their 12 players score at least one basket and all but one at least attempted a field goal at some point.

Martin expects that Saturday’s title tilt with West Valley will be close and competitive.

“We have a tremendous challenge (Saturday),” Martin said. “They have the best player in the state and we have to put a game plan together.”

4A Boys state basketball tournament

Wednesday

No. 1 West Valley 60, No. 8 Juneau-Douglas 37

No. 3 Bettye Davis East 54, No. 6 Anchorage Christian 30

No. 4 Monroe Catholic 45, No. 5 Colony 30

No. 7 West Anchorage 69, No. 2 Dimond 63 (OT)

Friday

Consolation

Juneau-Douglas 73, Colony 64

Dimond 58, Anchorage Christian 30

Semifinals

West Valley 44, Monroe Catholic 41

Bettye Davis East 62, West 31

Saturday

4th/6th place

Dimond vs. Juneau-Douglas, 9 a.m. at Seawolf Sports Center

3rd/5th place

West vs. Monroe Catholic 9 a.m. at Auxiliary Gym

Championship

Bettye Davis East vs. West Valley, 7:30 p.m.