With just two minutes left in a Wednesday C Bracket game at Gold Medal, the result was a foregone conclusion. Juneau Crush were up 10 points on Filcom and had been since the opening quarter.
Tournament-leading scorer Alex Heumann (86 total points) was chasing down transition buckets with ease. Nathan Lovik and Jim Carson for Filcom were finding a little success in the paint, but it never seemed like enough.
“He’s like the energizer bunny,” Lovik said of Heumann.
Filcom had to slow the game down, and if they could capitalize on a couple missed free throws, maybe they could break the seemingly impenetrable 10-point barrier.
Their only recourse in the closing seconds? They had to foul. After an inbounds pass, Lovik hugged Heumann, attempting an intentional foul. He held on a few extra seconds, pulling smiles up on either side of the court.
“Getting friendlier and friendlier every year,” referee Craig Tamaki joked.
Call it the characteristic camaraderie of Gold Medal. But with play heating up today and tomorrow with brackets narrowing toward the championship, that camaraderie might be waning. Klukwan and Haines are the two remaining undefeated teams in the B Bracket. Angoon and Klukwan are undefeated in the C Bracket and play tonight at 9 p.m.
In the womens bracket, Yakutat and Hoonah are both 1-0. Master’s teams Hoonah and Klukwan have both also logged wins.
Filcom lost 74-56 and will head back to the Juneau city league where they normally play. They wish they could have advanced, several players said, but they were also just honored the Lion’s Club invited them.
“It’s the crowd and the big court. It’s just a different competition. We’re just lucky that we got invited,” Filcom’s Mike Lim said. “We just want to thank everybody for supporting us and Gold Medal for inviting us.”
• Contact reporter Kevin Gullufsen at kgullufsen@gmail.com or 523-2228. Follow him on Twitter at @KevinGullufsen.
Juneau Crush’s Sean Joslyn, right, tips off against Filco’s Nathan Lovik in the C bracket in the Juneau Lion’s Gold Medal Basketball Tournament at Juneau-Douglas High School on Wednesday, March 21, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
