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Noatak basketball sweeps Sivu Tournament

December 23rd 2:57 pm | Van Williams Print this article   Email this article   Create a Shortlink for this article

Just give Anthony Ashby the keys and watch him go.

The junior guard drove the Noatak boys basketball team to the 2011 Sivu Tournament championship after beating Buckland 49-46 in the title tilt.

Ashby performed like a sports car on the court in all three games, zooming by defenders on his way to the rim.

"I'm real fast and nobody can stop that," he said.

The 5-foot-11 Noatak playmaker pumped in 68 points in the tournament for an average of 22.7 points per game. Most of his points came on dribble penetration.

"It's easy for me to drive," Ashby said.

On the girls side, the Noatak girls beat Buckland 49-40 in the championship game behind the scoring of player-of-the-year candidate Brianna Kirk.

Kirk scored 26 points in the title game and had a tournament single-game high of 40 in the first game.

The girls game was neck-and-neck until the final two minutes when the Lady Lynx took control for good.

Back to the boys, Noatak opened with a 79-52 win over Alak during which Ashby went off for 27 points.

Alak's Simon Aguvluk led all scorers with 30.

In the next game, Noatak beat Buckland 49-46 with Ashby [16] and J.T. Mitchell [15] combining for nearly two-thirds of the team's overall output.

Buckland's Lyle Hadley netted a game-high 23 points.

"As they have done so many times in the last few years, the Buckland and Noatak boys game came down to a last-second shot," said Noatak coach Stan Vanamburg.

Buckland carried a 4-point lead into halftime before the Lynx roared back in the third quarter to take a 3-point lead into the fourth quarter.

"Neither team could execute very well in the final period and the Lynx escaped with a victory after Nathan Hadley III's 3-point shot rimmed out as the buzzer sounded," Stan Vanamburg said.

From there Noatak capped its undefeated run with a 74-35 win over Kivalina behind the 1-2 punch of Ashby and Mitchell. Both players scored 25.

Ashby was especially impressed with his buddy's ability to clean the glass.

"His rebounds were awesome," Ashby said of Mitchell.

Kivalina's Byron Adams had 20 of his team's 35 points.

The high school basketball season just started, but already the Lynx can call themselves champs.

"It feels good," Ashby said. "We've got a pretty strong team. This team right now, we've been playing ball since elementary. We know each other and we trust each other all the time."

Sivu Tournament Results

Boys

Championship Game: Noatak 49, Buckland 46

All-Tournament Team

Simon Aguvuluk, Alak

Anthony Ashby, Noatak

Nathan Hadley III, Buckland

J.T. Mitchell, Noatak

Byron Adams, Kivalina

Lyle Hadley, Buckland

Burton Nayakik, Alak

Free Throw Champion: Brenton Nayakik, Alak

Three-point Champion: Nathan Hadley III, Buckland

Sportsmanship: Alak

Girls

Championship Game: Noatak 49, Buckland 40

All-Tournament Team

Brianna Kirk, Noatak

Frances Nashookpuk, Alak

Lila Barger, Buckland

Jay Jay Aguvuluk, Alak

Rose Stalker, Kivalina

Myra Stalker, Kivalina

Stephanie Washington, Buckland

Free Throw Champion: Jackie Norton, Kivalina

Three-point Champion: Tia Hadley, Kivalina

Sportsmanship: Alak

 

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