<\/a>Metlakatla senior Brody Booth (12) scores over Seward’s Lane Petersen and Jack Lindquisst (1) during their 3rd\/5th-place game Saturday at the 2025 ASAA March Madness Alaska 2A State Basketball Championships at UAA’s Avis Sports Center. (Klas Stolpe \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Metlakatla senior Brody Booth jumpstarted the Chiefs with a hard rebound and assist to senior Carter Marsden for a baseline drive, another Marsden score with a Booth assist, a Booth rebound, and a Marsden score again to cut the lead to 12-6.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
After a Seward score by Jack Lindquist Metlakatla got a Booth highlight reel with a score on a drive, a rebound by senior Troy Russell who fed Booth for another drive and score, and Booth driving through the key and feeding Marsden inside to cut the deficit to 14-12 after eight minutes.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
A Seward basket by Talon Lemme was answered by Metlakatla senior Frank Guthrie from past the arc to trail 16-15.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
A Seward basket by Emerson Cross was answered by Metlakatla’s Booth from past the arc to tie the game at 18-18. Booth then rebounded a missed Seward shot, drove the length of the floor and through traffic for the Chiefs first lead at 20-18 with just over four minutes remaining in the second quarter.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“Metlakatla basketball means to me, like, it’s really fun,” Booth said after the game. “You get to learn a lot and it’s very inspiring to other kids because, you know, our community is a huge basketball community and you have pride. Everyone talks about it back home, just, ‘I want to play on the Chiefs.’ As a kid, as kids playing basketball, growing up they are incoming Chiefs and it means a lot to our community. They really look forward to it and it really helps to the mental aspect of the game.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
A rebound by sophomore Rocco Lindsey was thrown to Booth who drove again and fed sophomore Cruz Lindsey for a 22-21 lead. Another Booth steal and dish to Russell for a 24-21 lead forced a Seward timeout.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
The Seahawks would score with 25 seconds left in the half to close to 24-23, but Chiefs’ sophomore Gianni Scudero-Hayward hit a shot past the arc at the buzzer for a 27-23 advantage at the break.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“You just try to do your best,” Scudero-Hayward said after the game. “Try to play hard and have fun…I remember watching my dad play at adult tournaments so I try to play like that, but I never really saw him play in high school.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Metlakatla would work to a 38-26 lead after three quarters with scores by Marsden, Guthrie, Booth, two rebound putback scores by Marsden and a Booth shot past the arc.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“It’s about teamwork and not being selfish,” Marsden said. “Slowing the ball down, just getting good open looks, swinging it…Metlakatla is a big basketball name on the jersey. There are some big shoes to fill. So we just try our hardest out there.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
<\/a>Metlakatla seniors Carter Marsden (13), Frank Guthrie and Brody Booth scrap for a loose ball with Seward’s Emerson Cross (10) during their 3rd\/5th-place game Saturday at the 2025 ASAA March Madness Alaska 2A State Basketball Championships at UAA’s Avis Sports Center. (Klas Stolpe \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
R. Lindsey scored on an assist by Booth to open the fourth quarter and Booth then scored on a drive for the Chiefs largest lead of the game at 42-26.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Seward would close to 44-37 as Lemme hit from the arc, Cross scored, Van Shank hit back-to-back scores (answering one by Booth) and Lemme hit inside.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Metlakatla’s Guthrie stopped the comeback with a shot past the arc for 47-37 with under four minutes to play.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
A technical on Seward gave Metlakatla four free throws, but they could not capitalize. Booth would earn another assist on ball possession with Marsden getting the team’s 49th point.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Seward pressed full court and found a basket by Mason Elhard and another past the arc by Lemme with two minutes remaining to pull to 49-44.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Seward closed to 49-46 as Cross scored with 1:42 left to play.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Missed Metlakatla free throws allowed Lemme to hit again past the arc with 1:22 left to tie the game at 49-49.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Metlakatla missed and the ball went out of bounds to Seward. A full-court pressure defense by the Chiefs resulted in their batting down a pass, but the ball went to the Seahawks and Cross scored on a rebound follow for a 51-49 lead with 27 seconds left to play.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
A missed Metlakatla shot was rebounded by Seward’s Shank and the Chiefs had to begin fouling the Seahawks to get them back on the free throw line for a possible miss.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Three fouls later Seward’s Cross missed his first free throw, but made the second with 7.3 seconds left to play.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
<\/a>Metlakatla sophomore Gianni Scudero-Hayward (1) is pressured by Seward senior Noah Price (3) during their 3rd\/5th-place game Saturday at the 2025 ASAA March Madness Alaska 2A State Basketball Championships at UAA’s Avis Sports Center. (Klas Stolpe \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Trailing 52-49 Metlakatla set up a last-second shot, and Booth shot a tough contested shot past the arc that went in and out.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“We’re just the gritty, hard-work team that sells out on defense and plays great physical basketball,” Metlakatla coach Tony Scott said. “This is a good team and Seward’s a good team. There were four of us here that could have won the title and, you know, you just take away the last four minutes of the last two games and we probably would have been standing there at the end.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“We just…something happened there at the end, we couldn’t make free throws for the last two games and it just killed us. I think we were 0-10 from the foul line today. And that game is out of reach if we just keep the pressure on them with those free throws, but if you miss eight in a row in the fourth quarter it just gives that other team that life, that hope.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“And then they hit shots. They have some good shooters. And a couple times we gambled where we shouldn’t have. We should have played better straight-up defense and it cost us because they knocked down those shots. But I love this group of kids, great group of kids. They sold out for me all year and they had what it took. We just didn’t have the shots drop when we needed them to.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Marsden led Metlakatla with 18 points, Booth added 16, Guthrie six, Scudero-Hayward three, Russell, C. Lindsey and R. Lindsey two each. Booth had 11 rebounds, Marsden and Guthrie five apiece, Russell and R. Lindsey three apiece and Scudero-Hayward one. Booth had eight assists, Russell and Guthrie three apiece. Booth and junior Sebastian Martinez had two steals apiece.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Metlakatla went 0-10 at the free throw line, Seward 5-13. The Chiefs had 29 total rebounds, 13 fouls and 10 turnovers. The Seahawks had 34 rebounds, 13 fouls and 11 turnovers.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t