The Juneau Empire’s expanded coverage of the Juneau Lions Club 74th Gold Medal Basketball Tournament is made possible by Sealaska Corp. Thanks to this sponsorship, this article —and all of this year’s Gold Medal coverage — is available online without a subscription to the Empire.
Kake and Hoonah played with B Bracket elimination on the line Tuesday for the third day of this year’s Gold Medal Basketball Tournament.
It was a dramatic contest that stayed neck-and-neck for all four quarters, leading to a nail-biting overtime that ended with Kake on top for a 76-74 finish.
Tracy Jackson of Kake said with a close game like this, the difference came down to the team coming together and slowing down the pace of play.
“We have a few players out there that have played in this style of game before, too,” Jackson said. “I told them God gave us the opportunity to come back three times and if he gives us another opportunity then let’s not blow it and luckily we got through it with the win.”
Kake’s Charles Jackson (21) makes the final game-winning shot on Tuesday against Hoonah during overtime to secure Kake’s advancement in this year’s Gold Medal Basketball Tournament. (Klas Slope / For the Juneau Empire)
Simon Friday led all scorers and Kake with 41 points, and Shawn Merry chipped in 13. For Hoonah, Joseph Coronell led his team with 25 points, and Malaki Nichols put up 18 points.
Kake now goes on to play Haines at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
• Contact reporter Jonson Kuhn at jonson.kuhn@juneauempire.com.
Kake’s Jonah Davis (22) puts up a layup shot after getting the rebound against Hoonah on Tuesday during an elimination game for this year’s Gold Medal basketball tournament. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)
