Sports

Toksook Bay back in 1A hoops tournament for fourth straight year

Byron Nicholai and Isaiah Pitka grew up on the basketball court together. Pitka taught Nicholai how to play the game when they were in third grade, and as teens they attached a basket to the side of Nicholai's home.

They were basketball junkies. And they still are.

The only difference is they no longer have to pretend they are champions the way little boys do.

Behind the 1-2 senior combo, the Toksook Bay Islanders won their fourth straight region championship with a 53-45 win over the Chefornak Salmon in the title game in Bethel.

They're the first team in the district to win four straight boys championships, and Pitka and Nicholai have played on all four title teams.

Their journey will continue at this week's ASAA/First National Bank Class 1A state tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center. Class 1A teams tip off Wednesday with a full day of play-in games that will decide which teams will advance to the state tournament bracket. The losers will drop into a consolation tournament.

"We were just talking about how we've played in so many games together," Nicholai said. "It's been a lot of fun. We know how the other plays and what we need to do when we are on the floor.

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"It's something we don't have to worry about when we play together because we just know that we're going to do well together."

Pitka and Nichoali led Toksook Bay in scoring during the regular season, and the region tournament was no different, Islanders coach Joe Lincoln Jr. said.

"They are good 3-pointer shooters," he said. "If they have the shot, I tell them to take it because we've got guys that can get rebounds."

Toksook Bay is 14-3 heading into tournament play. In 2014, the Islanders advanced to the championship game, losing to Klawock.

Lincoln is in his first year as the boys varsity coach, taking over for his cousin, Simeon Lincoln. He spent the previous three seasons at the local middle school, where he coached many of the players on this year's varsity team.

"To tell you the truth, I was nervous at first," Lincoln said. "But since then we started getting comfortable."

Lincoln graduated from Toksook Bay in 1983 and helped the Islanders win the divisional title game over King Cove as a senior. He is very proud to be coaching the boys.

Even though Toksook Bay has a reputation for success, Lincoln expects his guys to prove themselves every game. Take nothing for granted, he tells them.

"Never underestimate your opponent because you don't know what they are capable of doing," Lincoln said.

Van Williams is a freelance writer in Anchorage and a correspondent for the Alaska School Activities Association.

Van Williams

The Alaska Sports Blog provides daily posts on Alaska athletes doing great things at the professional, international, collegiate level. The priority of the blog is to bring attention to athletes who are not otherwise getting recognition. Since 2009 former Anchorage Daily News Sports Editor Van Williams has written over 1,900 stories on over 300 Alaskan athletes. Williams turned pro straight out of East High School in 1990. He signed with the Monroe Journal in North Carolina, where he worked and attended Wingate College. Later, he returned to Alaska to work for the Anchorage Times. He eventually went to work at the Anchorage Daily News, where he became Sports Editor before leaving in 2008 to start his own communications company. He lives in Spenard with his wife Marisa Cedeño. Reach him at alaskasportshall@yahoo.com

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