And it was the Mariners legs, and improved free throw shooting, that beat the Mustangs 63-58 in a thriller in Homer.
“We’re just in tremendous shape,” said Head Basketball Coach Mark Casseri. “The young men stepped up and played well. I’m pleased with their performance.”
Chugiak jumped out to a 16-12 first quarter advantage and held a three-point lead at halftime.
Two minutes later, after a pair of lead changes, Gilbert stole the ball and dished to Smith, who hit a layup and was fouled on the play.
His free throw and a Gilbert layup seconds later gave Homer a 47-46 lead that they never relinquished.
Homer outscored Chugiak 32-24 in the second half, and the Mustangs couldn’t find a way to stop Smith, who scored 15 of his game-high 23 points in the second half, hitting three three-pointers and dropping five of 10 free throws.
While Smith shined Saturday, he gave a nod to the Mariner coaching staff after the game.
“A lot of the credit goes to the coaches,” Smith said. “They just told us what to do, and we did it.”
But like his coach, the speedy point-guard said conditioning was the difference in the game, especially in the second-half.
“That’s all the two basket tip drill,” Smith said.
In the drill, as explained by Casseri, the 11 varsity players run up and down the court tipping the ball against the backboard at both baskets. The drill lasts for five minutes each practice and starts over if a ball ever hits the floor.
With only 11 players running on the court, the drill forces quickness and builds endurance, Casseri said. And both were evident in Homer’s win Saturday.
“We just blew by them and they grabbed us, and got in foul trouble,” said Casseri. “It frustrated them.”
The Mariners hit 19 of 37 free throws in the game, while Chugiak hit 12 of 19.
The difference in the number of fouls seemed to frustrate the Chugiak coach as well, especially when a pair of intentional fouls called late in the game sealed the Homer win.
Casseri, however, said the referees called a fair game.
“I don’t think the refs cost them the game as much as our legs did,” Casseri said.
Those legs will be tested again this week, as Homer travels to play Skyview Saturday and then hosts Kenai Tuesday night.
Ben Stuart can be reached at ben.stuart@homerenews.com.
But a three-point shooting barrage, including one by Homer’s Justin Smith and two by Luke Gilbert, gave the Mariners their first lead of the game in the third quarter 41-38 with just over five minutes remaining.
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