The 3A Mt. Edgecumbe Braves won their second game in a row at the den of the 4A Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears, earning a 68-47 win in the George Houston Gymnasium on Saturday.
The Braves “poked the bear” again and this time their host didn’t respond until the second half, more notably the fourth quarter.
“I do believe that if somebody had walked in with four minutes in the fourth quarter and hadn’t seen the score they would have had no idea that we were down as big as we were because of how hard we were playing,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “And that has to happen the whole way through, from the opening tip through the fourth quarter.”
Unfortunately for JDHS it did not happen in the first half.
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior Ahmir Parker (2) shoots against Mt. Edgecumbe senior Brent Sun (32) Lennie Brandell (0) Donovan Stephen-Standifer (35) and junior Torian Dull (2) during the Crimson Bears’ 68-47 loss to the Braves on Saturday in the George Houston Gymnasium. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
Mt. Edgecumbe jumped out to a 18-4 lead after eight minutes behind a deep shot past the arch from junior Torian Dull (home town Napakiak), free throws by senior RJ Didrickson (Hoonah/Sitka), a put back by Didrickson, a jump shot by sophomore Kaden Herrmann (Koliganek) and a shot past the arch by senior Brent Sun (Shungnak), a Didrickson jumper, a free throw by senior Donovan Stephen-Standifer (Tyonek) and a buzzer beating triple by Herrmann.
“We had a pretty solid game plan coming into today,” MEHS coach Andrew Friske said. “The guys got a full night of rest, 17 in one room is a little tight, but I guess we bonded a little better for tonight’s game. Overall a really good first half. I thought our defense was much better and we reversed the ball, moved the ball, shared the ball the best we have all season. Thank goodness we had a little bit of a cushion on the first half, second half Juneau made a run which we were expecting, and we just held on that last four minutes and played really well.”
JDHS managed only a basket by junior Joren Gasga and a single free throw from both junior Brandon Casperson and senior Pedrin Saceda-Hurt in that first quarter, and would only score seven points in the second quarter as every shot seemed to just miss the mark no matter where it was put up.
“We had a really tough night shooting,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “Shots that were really good looks for us didn’t go. Shots that normally go. Shots that went last night early in the game, they weren’t falling. I didn’t have a problem with our shot selection tonight, it’s just our missile guidance system was off and they just weren’t hitting. I think as a young player that can be tough to rationalize sometimes, you know, you’ve got the wide-open look you’re used to hitting…and well, the defense has to maintain you through those cold spells. And I feel like through parts of the game the defense didn’t maintain us until the second half. We are trying to build some accountability within them and capacity within the players to take ownership, leadership, responsibility on the floor…talking to each other, communicating and getting things done and I’m really proud of what I saw in the second half because they started to do that more. They are starting to get it.”
Mt. Edgecumbe senior Donovan Stephen-Standifer (35) is defended by Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior Ben Sikes (11) and juniors Brandon Casperson and Joren Gasga during the Braves’ 68-47 win over the Crimson Bears on Saturday in the George Houston Gymnasium. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
Mt. Edgecumbe led 38-11 at the half as Royce Alstrom (Anchorage) hit two deep shots, Herrmann three more baskets around the key, Didrickson from past the arch and a pair of free throws, sophomore Xavier Gunderson (Sand Point) a basket and Stephen-Standifer a free throw.
JDHS shot just eight percent from past the arch in the first half.
Said coach Casperson, “And then we came out and missed our first two threes in the second half and assistant coach Sleppy said ‘there goes our eight percent’ and it made me chuckle. It was just one of those nights…we were just off, for whatever reason, but we competed. We didn’t quit. And that says something. We can work with that.”
JDHS would outscore MEHS 16-14 in the third quarter behind the deep shots of senior Gavin Gerrin and Gasga, the hustle shots of Saceda-Hurt and juniors Kurt Kuppert and Tyler Frisby, and the inspired play of senior Ahmir Parker.
“There is a lot to be learned,” Parker said. “We learned that as a team we struggled with a dominant presence in the paint and we learned that we’re a team that is heavily reliant on certain things, and when those things aren’t falling we have to find an alternative, and tonight that alternative was found a bit later in the game. But I think there are positives to take away from it. We definitely build the intensity when we are talking to each other and we are doing all the right things, and if we can start the game off like that we’ll be just fine.”
MEHS led after three quarters 52-27 as Herrmann and Stephen-Standifer hit two buckets, and Didrickson and Sun one apiece.
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Dance Team perform their Military March on Saturday in the George Houston Gymnasium. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
JDHS’ Parker also drew Didrickson’s fourth foul and was able to play physical and attack the rim.
“I think it is just a mindset,” Parker said. “Everybody has to come into the game with a bit of a chip on their shoulder, like, we know this feeling of losing at home and it has got to be a feeling that we hate. And a feeling that if it happens once we have got to come back the next day and not want to have it happen again. We have to have that as a fire that lights us to start the game off how we ended the game.”
MEHS switched from a primarily man-to-man defense in the first half to a matchup zone in the second half and it seemed to add to the JDHS shooting misfortunes.
“We call it a ‘man zone’ because half our guys think we are in a man and half of us think we are in a zone,” MEHS coach Friske said. “So it’s our secret weapon sometimes. We’re still working on it. That’s what 12 days of practice does for you.”
In the final eight minutes of action JDHS would again outscore their visitors, this time by a 20-16 spread.
The Crimson Bears’ Parker charged through the key for three baskets, Kuppert hit two from past the arch, junior Elias Dybdahl hit two on rebounds, and Saceda-Hurt and Gasga used their speed to pick up a basket apiece.
The Braves’ Didrickson still connected past the arch twice and Sun, Herrmann and senior Lennie Brandell (King Cove) added to the scorebook for the final margin of 68-47. MEHS also won on Friday 80-66.
“The big thing we’ve learned is to trust each other better,” MEHS coach Friske said of the weekend series. “That we can move the ball to everybody on the team and still be successful. The other thing is to trust that everybody is going 100% that good things happen on defense and learning the reversals and communicating in a positive manner versus getting on each other. I think the last two days have been really good for our team chemistry in general.”
Parker led JDHS with 10 points, Gasga added nine, Kuppert eight, Gerrin and Dybdahl six apiece, Saceda-Hurt five, Frisby two and B. Casperson one.
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior Pedrin Saceda-Hurt (10) attempts a shot over Mt. Edgecumbe senior Donovan Stephen-Standifer (35) during the Crimson Bears’ 68-47 loss to the Braves on Saturday in the George Houston Gymnasium. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
The Crimson Bears hit 4-9 at the free throw line, the Braves 9-12.
Didrickson led MEHS with 19 points, Herrmann 18, Sun 10, Stephen-Standifer eight, Alstrom six, Dull three, Brandell and Gunderson two apiece.
“I do think there is stuff to build on from this weekend,” JDHS coach Casperson said. “Mt. Edgecumbe is a very good team. They are going to cause a lot of problems for a lot of people in 3A and if they have any more 4A games on their schedule that is going to be a problem too because they are big and strong and they do things very well.”
The JDHS boys will play at Kodiak next weekend (Feb. 6-7) and the JDHS girls will host defending state champion Wasilla (7 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday).
JDHS JV 59, MEHS JV 37
JDHS – Fr. Keaton Belcourt 13, Jr. Christian Rielly 6, So. Hunter Carte 6, Jr. Madden Mendoza 6, Jr. Ryland Carlson 2, So. Wrenz Del Rosario 2, So. Aaron Lazo-Chappell 2. MEHS – JR. Donald Olson 11, Fr. Rashawn Stone 11, Alstrom 9, Gunderson 6, Jr. Kaden Kulukhon 6, Sr. Max Gray 5, Jr. Carter Gray 5, Sr. Ray Mork 4, Derek Wilson 2.
JDHS C 59, HoopRats 41
JDHS – Fr. Micah Nelson 14, So. Wyatt Miramontes 12, Fr. Jordan Geary 7, Fr. Troy Edgar 7, o. Alejandro Lamas 6, So. Surin Pyare 5, Fr. Bryce Haygood 3, Fr. Brenner Harralston 3, So. Adriel Cervantes 2.
HoopRats – Vinny Nizich 10, Jamie Randolph 10, Isiah Bean 8, Myles Palson 6, Max Sangster 3, Jude Rushton 3, Bill Westmoreland 1.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.
