HoopTime boys take B bracket title
Hoonah boys, girls sweep C bracket championships, Haines girls win B
The HoopTime 7 boys basketball team's 43-38 overtime rematch victory over Sitka for the B bracket title last week highlighted a whirlwind 2009 HoopTime Southeast Shootout Basketball Tournament.
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Juneau's own HoopTime 7 team's title tilt against Sitka gave them a chance for revenge after falling to Sitka 46-34 in an earlier round robin game. The championship game was very close the entire way, until the Juneau squad ran away in overtime with a 43-38 win.
In all, 28 middle school-aged basketball teams participated in the tournament, which was held in the Thunder Mountain High School and Floyd Dryden Middle School gyms. Teams from Haines, Skagway, Sitka, Hoonah, Kake and Cook Inlet squared off in their respective A, B and C brackets. Games began on Wednesday with round robin format and proceeded into single elimination bracket play on Friday with championship games held on Saturday at Thunder Mountain.
The tournament was sponsored by Juneau's HoopTime Basketball Club, a non profit AAU-affiliated organization that helps more than 120 Juneau boys and girls youths participate in organized play. HoopTime was started in 2002 by Ed Webb as a development program for the high school's programs. The HoopTime coaches focus on building a foundation of good skills and work habitats in the young players during the annual season that begins in January and ends with the Southeast Shootout.
In the girls A bracket, HoopTime 8, Juneau-Douglas High School C, and Cook Inlet played each other in a round-robin format throughout the week. HoopTime 8 topped JDHS C, while Cook Inlet and HoopTime 8 split two games in head to head competition. Cook Inlet won the first game against HoopTime 8 by a score of 46-38, while HoopTime 8 won the rematch by a score of 46-40. Both games saw several lead changes with outstanding play by both teams.
Cook Inlet eventually earned the right to advance to the bracket's final game against the girls B bracket All-Tournament Team. Cook Inlet won the crossover game 49-28.
In the boys A bracket, HoopTime 8 played the JDHS C team several times throughout the week, with the last game narrowly won by JDHS C 54-53.
The HoopTime 8 boys later played the B bracket boys All-Tournament Team in their own crossover game to end the tournament, with HoopTime 8 edging the B boys 39-37 on a lay-up with just five seconds remaining in the game. HoopTime 8 had jumped out to an early lead and led 27-20 at the half, before the B team stormed back in the second half to tie the game with 30 seconds left.
In the girls B bracket, Haines and Kake squared off in the championship game. Haines jumped out to a 14-8 lead at half-time, and Kake could not close the gap despite continuing to play hard over the course of the game. Haines went on to win 42-32.
In the girls C bracket, Skagway and Hoonah made it to the championship game after both teams defeated the HoopTime 6 Black and HoopTime 6 Red squads in the semifinals. Hoonah used hot shooting and aggressive defense to win the title tilt 39-29.
In the boys C bracket, Skagway and Hoonah made it to the championship game after both teams won hard-fought games in the semifinals. The score went back and forth in the title game until Hoonah pulled out the 34-28 victory in the final seconds.