Send this article to Promobot

Road trip rallies Kotzebue

February 3rd 10:14 am | Van Williams Print this article   Email this article   Create a Shortlink for this article

The development of the Kotzebue boys basketball team took another positive step in the right direction over the weekend with a solid showing at the annual Unalakleet Community Appreciation Tournament.

The Huskies won twice and lost twice, but all four games were competitive.

"That really helps us to grow," coach Craig McConnell said.

In the first game, Kotzebue outlasted Golovin 72-65 in overtime on the strength of foul shooting.

The Huskies scored 10 of their 13 points in OT from the free-throw line.

Golovin features Class 1A star John Peterson, a former starter at Mt. Edgecumbe.

"On a bad night he'll score 20," McConnell said. "On good night he'll score 40, which is what he did against us. But we were able to beat them."

In the next game, Kotzebue lost to Elim by 2 points. The Huskies were plagued by foul trouble, with three starters each picking up three fouls in the first half. Then another player with two fouls quickly got two more to start the third quarter.

"It ended up coming back to haunt us," McConnell said. "Our defense wasn't able to play as aggressively. We lost our confidence. They were slicing through the lane. We just lost any intensity we had earlier in the game."

In the third game, Kotzebue beat St. Mary's 50-41 on a day when the Huskies unloaded their bench and let the reserves gain some valued experience.

In the third-place game, Golovin got revenge by beating Kotzebue in a close game.

"We missed a 3 at the buzzer that would have won the game for us," McConnell said. "I felt pretty good about that game. We played well, but again fouls plagued us. I told the kids, when you go on the road you get what you get and you have to adjust to it."

Overall, the longtime coach was pleased with his team and happy his players got a taste of a competitive road trip.

"Unalakleet is such a great place to play because the fans all come out," he said. "It's just a neat tournament. They don't charge an admission fee. The refs are volunteers. The whole attitude and atmosphere of the tournament is one of giving and so it's very refreshing."

Reach Van Williams at sports@reportalaska.com.

 

Contact us about this article at editor@thearcticsounder.com

Copyright 2012 The Arctic Sounder is a publication of Alaska Media, LLC. This article is © 2012 and limited reproduction rights for personal use are granted for this printing only. This article, in any form, may not be further reproduced without written permission of the publisher and owner, including duplication for not-for-profit purposes. Portions of this article may belong to other agencies; those sections are reproduced here with permission and Alaska Media, LLC makes no provisions for further distribution.