Defending home court on Senior Night on the final day of the basketball regular; for a high school basketball team nothing is more rewarding (until tournament time).
The Soldotna Stars and Nikiski Bulldogs hosted conference opponents on Saturday for their final home games adding additional weight to the Saturday showdowns.
Nikiski cruised past Seward for a pair of Southcentral Conference victories. The SoHi Lady Stars held-off Kenai; the Soldotna boys rallied from ten points down to top the Kardinals.
SoHi Boys 57 – Kenai 55
A drive and a bucket by Jersey Truesdall with :02 seconds remaining pushed the Soldotna boys past the Kenai Kardinals, breaking a 55-55 tie and capping a rally from nine points down in the fourth quarter; as the Stars defend home court and steal a 57-55 victory from the Kardinals in Northern Lights Conference action on Saturday.
The Kardinals led throughout the first three quarters plus; SoHi battled to a 55-52 lead into the final minute. Trailing by three, Kenai’s Luke Beiser connected on a three-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game at 55-55 with :20 seconds remaining.
SoHi’s final possession ended with the ball in the hands of sophomore Jersey Truesdall; a drive to the front of the rim and the game-winner for Truesdall and the Stars. The winning basket was the first (and only) field goal for Truesdall on the night. SoHi outscored Kenai 19-10 in the final quarter.
For the game, David Michael lead the Stars with 16 points; Sam McElroy added 11 points. Luke Beiser lead the Kardinals with 22 points; Preben Strende added 14.
The Northern Lights Conference Basketball Tournament opens play on Thursday, March 9th at Wasilla High School with the Soldotna boys earning the #4 seed and SoHi will open against the #5 Kodiak Bears. The #6 seed Kenai Kardinals will face the #3 Palmer Moose.
SoHi Girls 38 – Kenai 28
The SoHi girls built a seven point lead at the half, extended to a 10-point lead after three quarters and cruised to a 38-28 NLC victory over Kenai on the Lady Stars Senior Night.
Brittani Blossom lead the Stars with 14 points, including three, 3-point baskets. Lexi Carrasco lead the Kardinals with nine points.
The Soldotna girls earn the #4 seed into the Northern Lights Conference tournament and will face the #5 seed Kenai Kardinals girls in Thursday’s first round at Wasilla High School.
Northern Lights Conference tournament brackets should be released on Sunday and will be available on the www.radiokenai.com website.
All games involving Kenai and Soldotna basketball teams will be broadcast on ESPN 1140AM and www.radiokenai.com
Nikiski Girls 61 – Seward 16
The Bulldog girls dominated Senior Day at Nikiski with a 61-16 Southcentral Conference victory over Seward. Rylee Jackson, the Bulldogs only senior, scored the game’s first point and then retired to the bench to continue her recover from illness. Bethany Carstens lead the Bulldogs with 15 points; America Jefferies scored 13 points and Emma Wik added 12.
The Bulldog girls will enter the Southcentral Conference tournament as the #2 seed with a conference reecord of 10-2 and will face #7 seed Houston in the first round on Thursday, March 8th at Colony High School.
Nikiski Boys 57 – Seward 50
The Bulldog boys won a third-straight SCC contest for the week with a 57-50 victory over Seward on Saturday. Noah Litke scored 19 points for the Bulldogs. Jace Kornstad added 14 and senior Ian Johnson scored 13 points. Seeding for the boys bracket for the Southcentral Conference tournament should be released on Sunday (may have to wait for a make-up game on Monday in Anchorage).
All games involving Nikiski basketball teams will be broadcast on ESPN 1140AM or KSRM 920AM and www.radiokenai.com
Nikiski Basketball Note:
Junior Bethany Carstens scored her career 1000th point in the Bulldogs 64-23 victory on Friday over Houston. Carstens scored 36 points against the Hawks, with the record coming in the third quarter of the game.