Barrow boys win Valdez Elks Tournament

Published on February 17th, 2010

By VAN WILLIAMS

Eager to avenge a loss to arch rival Nome from seven days earlier, the Barrow boys basketball team didn't disappoint in the rematch.

This time around the Whalers controlled the action from the very beginning en route to a 70-61 victory in the championship game of last week's Valdez Elks Tournament.

Tournament MVP Tyler Adams pumped in 23 points, Albert Gerke added 18 points and Victor Unutoa delivered a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The win improved Barrow's record to 16-2 on the year.

More importantly, though, it was the second victory over reigning state runner-up Nome in three games this season, a vast improvement from last season when the Whalers dropped three of four to the Nanooks.

"Confidence wise, it's good," Barrow coach Jeremy Arnhart said.

The Whalers beat Cordova, 4A Houston and Nome on their way to winning the Valdez Elks Tournament for the second straight year. Last year's championship propelled Barrow to the Class 3A state tournament, so maybe this year's title will do the same.

"We went down there expecting to win," Arnhart said. "To get the finals we had to defeat some good teams. It was like a state tournament atmosphere as afar as the caliber of teams there."

In the title tilt, Barrow extended its lead to 22-15 after Adams drilled a half-court shot at the first-quarter buzzer. The advantage was 36-26 at halftime, although the score was even in the second half.

Nome's player-of-the-year candidate Jeremy Head netted a game-high 35 points.

Still, though, Arnhart was happy with how his team limited what his teammates could do.

"The thing I think that helped us win is we defended well," the coach said. "If we want to be good and we can beat anybody, we have to defend well and we did that pretty much the whole tournament.

"We're not leveling off. We're getting better and better."

Arnhart was especially pleased with the aggressive mind-set Adams brought to the court, something he's been trying to get the 6-foot-1 junior guard to do more often.

"He was wanting the ball and taking the ball to the rim, not just becoming a 3-point shooter," the coach said. "He actually played a complete basketball game, especially against Cordova and Nome."

Against Cordova, Adams poured in a season-high 30 points, many of the late, to help Barrow rally from a double-digit deficit to win 63-55.

"He pretty much kept us in the game," Arnhart said.

In the semifinals, Barrow beat Houston 60-49 behind double-figure scorers Daniel Thomas (19) and Gerke (14).

Adams was quiet that game but he made lots of noise in the championship game against Nome, using his dribble penetration and cause breakdowns in the defense.

"If he's handling the ball a lot, that allows us to get Albert down low where he can rebound and where he is more effective," Arnhart said. "When he penetrates, his vision is very good and he creates opportunities for a lot of players, and I think we got away from that earlier.

"For us to be good, that's the kind of style we need to play in the half-court set."

Barrow girls finish 2-1

The Lady Whalers weren't going to let a disappointment of losing the first game in overtime of the Valdez Elks Tournament.

So they took out their frustrations on Nome and Hutchison.

The Barrow girls bounced back after a tough OT loss to eventual champion North Pole to win two straight games and place third in the eight-team event.

Kivvaq Nungasak and Jaleen Simmonds were both named to the all-tournament team. Nungasak also was the 3-point winner after making the most 3-pointers in three games.

The Lady Whalers walked away with the Sportsmanship Award as well.

In the opener, North Pole beat Barrow 45-43 despite 17 points from Simmonds.

Barrow beat up Nome 67-34 to secure the No. 1 seed at the upcoming Western Conference regional tournament. The Lady Whalers put the game away with a 24-1 advantage in the second quarter.

Nungasak sank seven 3-pointers en route to scoring a season-high 27 points.

In the third-place game, Barrow beat Hutchison 52-40.

"We had a couple girls getting sick and played pretty poorly, but we found ways to score when it mattered," Barrow coach Ryan Meyers said.