West High boys basketball mounts comeback to take down Service in overtime thriller

Friday night’s Cook Inlet Conference clash between the boys varsity basketball teams of Service (15-7) and West Anchorage (13-6) high schools couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start for the hosting Eagles. They managed to make just a single bucket in the opening period and found themselves staring down an 18-2 deficit.

While both teams went on to score 12 points in the second period, the visiting Cougars maintained what felt like an insurmountable 16-point lead at halftime. However, West didn’t wither or give up, mounting a furious comeback to force overtime and emerge victorious with an exhilarating 63-58 win.

“We dug ourselves in the hole, and it’s on us to come back,” West senior Des’laone Cook said. “We finish strong every time, but we have to work on starting off strong to make things easier.”

After being held scoreless in the first two quarters, Cook erupted in the rest of regulation and overtime, finishing with a game-high 20 points.

“They were looking for me, we were playing defense, and we played together,” he said. “Coach told us in the locker room that we’re built for this.”

Cook was especially deadly from behind the arc, where he knocked down five 3-pointers, including a pair back-to-back to make it a two-point game late in the fourth quarter.

“I knew my team was going to come together and pull through in overtime,” he said.

West clamped down on defense, which sparked their offense in the third period when they were able to outscore Service 18-7 to whittle the deficit down to 11 points entering the final period of regulation. From there, they outscored the Cougars 14-9 to force overtime.

“We just had to come together as one, play defense, and get stops,” junior Buob Marial said.

While Cook was helping the Eagles chip away at Service’s lead by making a clutch bucket from the perimeter, Marial drove to the rim for some key layups, including the one that tied the game 49-49 with 1:14 left in the fourth period.

“He was shooting and I had to go to the basket,” said Marial, who finished second on the team in scoring with 13 points.

The two of them accounted for 12 of West’s 14 points in overtime with Cook sinking two more 3-pointers, Marial making two layups, and each of them going 1-of-2 from the free-throw line.

This win carries serious implications in the Cook Inlet Conference standings heading down the final stretch of the season. West’s conference record improved to 7-3 while Service dropped to 6-4, tying them with Bartlett in third place for the time being.

West moved into the second spot in the CIC behind defending 4A state champion Bettye Davis East Anchorage, who they lost to by double-digits earlier in the week in an away game. The Eagles were glad to bounce back at home Friday.

“We’re two of the top teams, so this is going to determine the rankings for regions and state. So this means a lot to us,” Cook said.