The Thunder Mountain High School student section came out in force to cheer on the boys basketball seniors one last time Saturday night.
The seniors didn’t disappoint.
Owen Mendoza scored 14 points and the other five other seniors combined for 21 points in a 59-54 win over Ketchikan on senior night.
The win put TMHS (13-10, 5-3 SEC) atop the Southeast Conference standings going into the Region V 4A Championships, which takes place in a week and a half in Ketchikan.
“We didn’t want to regret anything,” TMHS senior Roy Tupou said. “So we just went hard, fought, competed and were able to come out with the win.”
The Thunderdome began buzzing just 10 seconds into the game when junior Puna Toutaiolepo scored the first two points of the game.
It was the start of a 15-3 run that forced Ketchikan to call a timeout with 3:24 left in the quarter.
Josh McAndrews’ 3-pointer two minutes into the second quarter gave the Falcons a 23-11 lead.
Less then a minute later, senior Luke Clark sprained his left ankle and did not return. Clark, who helped ignite the crowd with five points in the first quarter, maintained a positive spirit after the game.
“I just love seeing my team winning and having fun together and it made me have fun,” Clark said. “Even when I wasn’t playing, it felt like I was playing with them.”
Kayhi junior Marcus Lee (25 points) looked to tie the game at 27-27 with a straightway 3-pointer with under a minute left in the half. The ball missed the rim, and and the Falcons led 29-24 at halftime.
Mendoza scored four quick points at the start of the second half to grow the TMHS lead back to seven.
Kayhi trailed by only five points at the start of the fourth quarter, but made costly turnovers and gave up two 3-pointers to TMHS sophomore Brady Carandang to fall behind by double digits.
The Falcons shot 9 of 15 from the free-throw line; the Kings went 12 of 16 at the charity stripe.
The senior class of Tupou, Mendoza, Clark, Josh McAndrews, Steven Rosales, Bobby Cox, Sebastian Bradley (student assistant), Mary Landes (manager) and Taia Hadfield (manager) were showered with candy and public remarks before the game.
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nolin.ainsworth@juneauempire.com.
