The final week of the regular season for high school basketball and peninsula teams are maneuvering for seeding into the upcoming conference tournaments and fine-tuning for a post-season run through March and early April.
For 3A and 1A peninsula teams, season records will determine placement in the Southcentral and Peninsula Conference tournaments; for the SoHi Stars, a three-day road trip to the Valley will be the first pairings against teams in the 4A division for the Stars.
In the battle for the top seed for the Southcentral Conference South, the Kenai Boys stumbled on Tuesday falling to Seward while the Kardinal girls record an overtime victory over the Seahawks.
Tuesday Game Scores
Kenai Girls 30 – Seward 29 Overtime
Emma Beck tied the game for the Kardinals in regulation time and Taylor Pierce hit the overtime, game-winner for Kenai in 30-29 overtime victory for Kenai in Seward on Tuesday. The Kardinals fell behind early and never lead in regulation time; Kenai tied the game at 19-19 for the first tie in regulation time. Beck scored with :o2 seconds remaining to force the overtime. Kenai trailed 29-28 and on the final possession got three looks before Taylor Pierce scored the game-winner, the only field goal of the game for Pierce. Emma Beck lead the Kardinals with 11 points.
Seward Boys 59 – Kenai 43
The Seward boys opened a 20-10 lead after one quarter and controlled the contest against the Kardinals with a well-balanced offense. Seward recorded eight, three-pointers and had three players score in double-digits, lead by Max Pfieffenberger with 18 points. Seward lead 52-31 after three quarters. Jakob Kvasnikoff lead Kenai with 14 points. The Kardinal boys stand at 6-5 against 3A opponents; Seward owns a 7-3 record when games against 4A SoHi are subtracted.
SoHi Girls 39 – Homer 22
The 4A Soldotna girls completed play against peninsula opponents with a 39-22 victory in Homer and the Stars now ready for a three-game swing through the Valley to close the regular season. The Stars stand at 14-0 against Kenai Peninsula 3A schools. The Stars were lead by Drysta Crosby-Schneider with 19 points in the victory on Tuesday. SoHi plays Colony, Wasilla and Palmer, all in the Northern Lights Conference, with seeding for the upcoming tournament on the line.
Homer Boys 49 – SoHi 40
The SoHi boys trailed at the half 28-26 to the Mariners; then were outscored 16-9 in the third quarter as Homer recorded its 12th victory of the regular season. Clayton Beachy scored 12 for Homer; Ethan Sewell recorded 21 for the Stars.
Ninilchik 74 – Nikiski 64
The 1A Ninilchik boys defeated the 3A Nikiski boys on the Bulldogs home floor on Tuesday 74-64. Ninilchik lead 37-27 at the half; both teams scored 37 in the second half. Landon Colburn lead the Wolverines with 18 points; Caileb Payne scored 24 points for Nikiski.
