The Juneau-Douglas High School boys basketball team netted its second win in as many nights Friday with a 44-37 takedown of the Soldotna Stars at a Fairbanks-based tournament.
The Crimson Bears held every Stars player to single figures in the defense-minded affair.
Erik Kelly led the effort with a game-high 12 points, followed closely by Bryce Swofford with 10. Junior Kolby Hoover chipped in with six points in only his second game back after suffering a broken leg in the offseason.
Soldotna’s Caleb Spence led his team in defeat with nine points on a field goal, a 3-pointer and a 4-for-4 performance from the free-throw line.
CRIMSON BEARS 60, EIELSON 54
Before this season, Juneau-Douglas High School senior guard Kasey Watts hadn’t played a minute of organized basketball since eighth grade. The court rust apparently never took hold as the hockey transplant has been a key component of the Crimson Bears’ early-season successes.
Watts put up his biggest point total of the season (20 points) Thursday as JDHS took Eielson down 60-54 in the first game of an eight-game road schedule the Crimson Bears opened last week.
Watts, who also plays baseball, had the most points on the court Thursday in Juneau-Douglas High School’s first game at the Joe T. Classic tournament in Fairbanks. Watts was perfect from the field and the free-throw line, going 7-for-7 on six field goals and a 3-pointer. He topped that with a 5-for-5 performance from the line.
JDHS big men Bryce Swofford (16 points, 67 percent shooting) and Erik Kelly (13 points, 75 percent) followed Watts’ lead in the scoring column.
