One point and two-tenths of a second separated crosstown rivals.
Thunder Mountain High School boys basketball team Saturday beat Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé 53-52 behind a clutch free thrown from senior Bryson Echiverri that put the contest just out of JDHS’ reach.
“It rattled around about 100 times on the rim, it seemed,” said JDHS coach Robert Casperson of the game-sealing shot in a phone interview.
Echiverri had missed his previous free throw before delivering the game-winner. It was one of 15 points he scored.
Senior Brady Carandang also scored 18 in that game, and senior Braden Jenkins added 16 in the home game victory.
The Falcons needed every one of those points to prevail and improve their record to 14-5 and 5-1 in their conference. JDHS is now 3-15 and 0-6 in conference.
[Thunder Mountain holds off JDHS for back-to-back wins]
“We didn’t take our first lead of the game until the fourth quarter,” TMHS coach John Blasco said in a phone interview.
He said Jenkins and Kam Falls each hit key shots late in the game.
The Crimson Bears Saturday were without standout scorer Cooper Kriegmont.
Casperson said Kriegmont was “banged up” pursuing a loose ball Friday, and while the junior tried to play through the injury, Casperson said it seemed best to hold him out.
“I think Friday night we did a good job with clock management down the stretch,” Blasco said.
He said his team was able to take time in setting up a shot, and that helped prevent a JDHS comeback.
Casperson said his team played well in the game, but allowed TMHS too many second-chance points. He said on at least three occasions the team did a good job of forcing a contested shot, but failed to box out, which gave the Falcons a chance to come away with a rebound and turn that into points.
“Who knows what happens if we secure those rebounds and don’t give them that opportunity,” Casperson said.
With the two wins, Thunder Mountain put the finishing touches on a regular season sweep of Juneau-Douglas, and Blasco said he does not remember that happening recently.
“I know it happened in 2013 or 2014 because we went 8-0 in conference that year,” Blasco said.
Thunder Mountain will travel Friday to Ketchikan for a pair of in-conference games that could determine who ultimately claims the conference’s top spot.
Juneau-Douglas will host Mt. Edgecumbe High School Friday and Saturday. There will be Special Olympics exhibition games at halftime both nights, Casperson said, and there will be a Coaching Boys Into Men pledge signing Saturday.
Girls hoops
Juneau-Douglas’ and Thunder Mountain’s girls basketball teams also played each other Friday and Saturday.
The games were played at JDHS, and the Crimson Bears won both games. The first night was a lopsided 48-29 win, and the second was a closer 47-42 victory for J-D.
“I thought that we got a lot of people involved in the games,” JDHS coach Steve Potter said. “I thought that clearly Thunder Mountain is getting better, but I feel like our girls played pretty well.”
[Juneau teams enjoy big wins and a crosstown clash]
In the second game, JDHS was without senior and dynamic scorer Kendyl Carson. Potter said some senior night emotions also led to some defensive lapses in the closer game.
JDHS’ record is now 17-2 overall and 4-0 in conference. Thunder Mountain fell to 7-9 and 0-4 in conference.
“These are growing pains, and they can be painful at times, but I’ve seen the growth, and the team is starting to respond with some confidence,” said TMHS coach Andy Lee.
Lee said he was looking forward to what a full week of practice can do to help his team. Between snow-related cancellations and travel, Lee said it’s been a while since the Lady Falcons were able to get a normal week of practice in.
Thunder Mountain will host Ketchikan Friday and Saturday while the JDHS girls have this week off. They’ll play at Ketchikan next week.
• Contact reporter Ben Hohenstatt at (907)523-2243 or bhohenstatt@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BenHohenstatt
