Playing in its first game against Juneau-Douglas High School this season, Thunder Mountain took the lead in the fourth quarter on a lightning-quick play.
But it was a slow slog of pressure-packed free throws that allowed the Falcons to maintain the lead in the final minutes of the Friday’s game at TMHS, where they won 50-45.
Tied at 39-39 midway through the fourth quarter, TMHS sophomore guard Bryson Echiverri threw a long pass upcourt to senior guard Josh McAndrews, whose resulting layup put the Falcons up for the first time of the game.
The Crimson Bears would tie the game shortly after, but fall behind again as TMHS made 9 of their 12 free throws to close out the win. McAndrews made the first two of those first throws, but it was up to some of his younger teammates to make the rest.
“I thought Bryson Echiverri stepped up, Brady Carandang and then Roy (Tupou) coming in as a strong guard,” TMHS head coach John Blasco said. “We did a good job of just taking care of the ball, trying to keep the plays simple in the half (court).”
McAndrews scored 13 points, while Puna Toutaiolepo added 12. Luke Clark finished with nine points for the Falcons.
Erik Kelly was the only Crimson Bear in double figures with 21 points.
JDHS head coach Robert Casperson said his team was outworked and outplayed.
“What they were trying to do was effective tonight,” Casperson said. “There were times they went man (defense) and we thought they were still in a zone — we didn’t read the situation. So they were dialed in and they deserved to win.”
Junior Israel Yadao’s 3-pointer two minutes into the second quarter gave the Crimson Bears a 10-point lead. However, the Falcons closed the half on a 10-3 run, and trailed 25-22 at halftime.
JDHS responded after the break with an 8-3 run but only led 37-34 after the third quarter.
After scoring the first three points of the fourth quarter for the Falcons, Toutaiolepo stole the ball, which led to McAndrews scoring the game-tying basket with 5:20 left. Twenty seconds later, Echiverri made the long assist to McAndrews for the go-ahead basket.
JDHS entered Friday’s contest riding a four-game winning streak having defeated its last four opponents by an average of 19 points. But TMHS was also playing well, having taken down Wrangell 71-52 and Metlakatla 53-36 the week prior in Ketchikan.
“I don’t know if some of our guys had fantasies of having an 100-point lead at halftime or something, but that sure as heck wasn’t the case,” Casperson said. “And so they’re a good team, and it’s going to be a dogfight in Southeast again.”
In the four regular season games between two last season, the programs split their games, 2-2.
Check out the JuneauEmpire.com for a recap of Saturday’s game.
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nolin.ainsworth@juneauempire.com.
