Charles Greene said he’s always been know a shooter.
But in recent weeks, the Nome-Beltz junior said he’s somehow lost his touch.
Greene found it Thursday, hitting his first give 3-pointers en route to a game-high 21 points in a 62-55 upset win over Houston at the Alaska 3A Boys Basketball Tournament.
“I’ve been in a slump the past few games so it’s good to make some,” he said. “I just haven’t been where I want to be, but tonight sure was a good one.”
Houston was the No. 1 seed in the tournament with a 23-0 record entering play on Thursday. But the Nanooks jumped out to a 19-10 lead after one quarter and led 28-21 at half with Greene making all three of his 3-pointers, his only shots from the field in the half.
“It just gets us going early,” he said of the early baskets.
Nome-Beltz head coach Patrick Callahan said breaking Houston’s 1-2-2 full-court press was the main factor in being able to convert the shots.
“We were a good shooting team but we knew we had to handle their press,” Callahan said. “We knew if we could handle that, especially in the first quarter that we’d have a chance. And we did, we handled it and hit some shots.”
Houston fought back and took a brief one-point lead in the second half but the Hawks couldn’t hang on as Nome-Beltz went on a run in the 4th quarter to build back its lead.
Houston finished with four players in double figures. Kelvin Nicoll led the way with 14, Hunter Jefferson and Braden Cork each had 12 and Cole Taylor contributed 10.
[Houston’s Hunter Jefferson has channeled tragedy into strength]
Finn Gregg added 16 points for the Nanooks and teammate Dawson Schaeffer kicked in 14.
Despite being underdogs against the previously undefeated Hawks, Callahan said his team was better than its 19-7 record showed.
“We don’t think our record shows how good we are this year due to COVID,” he said. “We went down to the Palmer tournament with two of our best players missing and had three losses.”
Nome-Beltz will have a day off before facing Grace Christian in the championship game, which is Saturday at 3 p.m.
Grace Christian prevents lower seeds from completing sweep in semifinals
On a day that saw all the other higher seeded teams in the 3A semifinals of the state basketball tournament fall in their respective games, the Grace Christian Grizzlies were determined and grateful that they able to snap the streak and advance to the championship game for the the first time since 2018.
“There is always a little pressure and stress when that happens,” Grace Christian coach Jason Boerger said. “Expectations are high and it gets you tight but I’m glad our guys got to fight through some adversity.”
Led by junior Luke Lentfer, who finished with 12 points, the Grizzlies made it tough on the Valdez Buccaneers to find a consistent rhythm on offense in a physical 51-36 victory.
“It’s really awesome to be in this arena and play in these big games with all these crowds,” Lentfer said.
Teammate Kellen Jedlicka also added 12 points for the Grizzlies.
Grace Christian formed an nearly impenetrable wall in the paint and forced Valdez to earn their buckets the hard way when they tried to drive in for layups and mainly stick to perimeter shooting.
“We had to go to what we do best which is our toughness and our size,” Boerger said.
Unfortunately for the Buccaneers, they had a poor night shooting from the field from start to finish. In the first half they went 5-of-21 from the field to shoot 23% and didn’t fare much better after halftime as they went 8-of-24, 33% from the floor.
“It gives us great comfort to know that we can go inside and keep fighting for boards,” Boerger said. “We have a real will to win and you could see that tonight.”
Lentfer was named the 2022 Player of the Year for the 3A boys level and is an imposing force when driving into the paint and preventing others from doing the same on the opposite end of the court. He was two rebounds shy of recording a double-double and is the hardest worker on the team according to his coach.
“He just has a will and a work ethic unlike any other player,” Boerger said. “He never gets beat in a drill and he never stops.
The Grizzlies will face off against a program that Boerger is very familiar with in the Nanooks. He was the coach for Nome-Beltz in 2001 and 2003.
Alaska Boys 3A State Basketball Tournament
At Alaska Airlines Center
Wednesday’s results
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Houston 58, No. 8 Mt. Edgecumbe 42
No. 4 Nome-Beltz 68, No. 5 Hutchison 39
No. 3 Valdez 52, No. 6 Homer 39
No. 2 Grace Christian 80, No. 7 Barrow 48
Thursday’s results
Consolation
Mt. Edgecumbe 53, Hutchison 41
Barrow 55, Homer 46
Semifinals
Nome-Beltz 62, Houston 55
Grace Christian 51, Valdez 36
Friday’s game
4th/6th place
Mt. Edgecumbe vs. Barrow, 11 a.m. Auxiliary Gym
Saturday’s games
3rd/5th place
Houston vs. Valdez, 10:30 a.m. Main Gym
Championship
Nome-Beltz vs. Grace Christian, 3 p.m. Main Gym