Homer’s basketball teams found mixed success at home and on the road over the last week, ultimately both falling to Soldotna High School in Southcentral Conference action Tuesday night at the Alice Witte Gymnasium.
Starting off last Thursday, the Mariner boys topped Mt. Edgecumbe after a three-pointer scored by the latter as the buzzer went off forced the game into overtime. Homer came out on top, finishing the game 70-63.
Stanley Swoboda led the Mariners with 22 points, while Japheth McGhee contributed 14 and Ethan Anderson added 10.
Coach Weston Carroll said after the game that it wasn’t easily won.
“I knew they were a good team, but coming out of (the) break I think they were probably just a little bit rusty to where I feel like we kind of took advantage of that in the first half, but then they came back and played pretty good in the second half, to where I felt fortunate to get a win out of that one,” he said.
“I think for kind of a young group and a new group this year it was a real good team building opportunity for them,” he continued.
Mt. Edgecumbe 9, 12, 18, 22, 2 — 63
Homer 7, 20, 24, 10, 9 — 70
MT. EDGECUMBE (63) — Toomer 5, Constantine 15, Alstrom-Beans 9, Johnson-Edwards 5, Dunaway 10, Brown 11, Adams 4.Totals — 25 9-20 63.
HOMER (70) — Munns 0, Beachy 6, Adkins 7, Reutov 7, Raymond 0, Anderson 10, Knapp 4, J. McGhee 14, Swoboda 22. Totals— 26 16-30 70.
3-point goals — Mt. Edgecumbe 4 (Constantine 3, Toomer 1); Homer 2 (Swoboda 2). Team fouls — Mt. Edgecumbe 18. Homer 19. Fouled out — Alstrom-Beans, Brown.
On Friday, the Lady Mariners fell to host Redington 22-38, while the boys proved victorious over the Huskies 70-29.
Girls
Homer 6, 6, 4, 6—22
Redington 4, 9, 10, 15—38
Homer (22) — Bishop 2 2-2 7. Bales 1 1-2 3, Doughty 1 1-2 3, Todd 2 0-0 5, Carroll 1 0-0 2; Totals: 8 4-7 22.
Redington (38) — Simmons 1 0-0 2, Apareza 2 0-0 5, Seymour 3 6-12 12, Fuller 6 9-13 19; Totals: 11 15-25 38.
Still on the road, the two teams repeated this pattern at Houston, with the boys coming out victorious at 70-62, and the girls falling 40-29.
Boys
Homer 21, 19, 21, 21—72
Houston 8, 20, 17, 15—62
Homer (72) — Beachy 4 1-2 10, Adkins 3 3-5 9, Reutov 3 0-0 6, McGhee 7 2-4 16, Anderson 5 2-3 12, Knapp 2 0-0 4, Swoboda 6 2-3 15, Mann 0 0-2 0; Totals: 32 10-19 72.
Houston (62) — Ca. Wyrick 3 8-9 14, Co. Wyrick 3 0-0 9, Welsh 1 0-0 3, Faliniko 1 0-0 2, G. Mulhaney 4 0-0 8, O. Mulhaney 2 0-0 4, Mose 4 1-3 9, McLaughlin 6 1-2 13; Totals: 24 10-14 62.
Girls
Homer 2, 7, 11, 8—29
Houston 9, 10, 6, 15—40
Homer (29) — Inama 2 0-1 5, Bishop 0 2-2 2, Bales 1 0-0 2, Daughty 3 0-3 6, Todd 3 2-4 8, Carroll 2 0-0 4, Smide 1 0-0 2, Hatfield 0 0-2 0; Totals: 12 4-12 29.
Houston (40) — Graham 2 0-2 4, Whitted 2 0-0 4, Bitler 4 4-9 12, Wingzenberg 4 2-4 11, Elson 1 1-4 3, Ritchie 2 2-4 6; Totals: 15 9-23 40.
Back at home on Tuesday, both the boys and girls teams fell to visitors Soldotna High School in nonconference play. In the girls’ game, the Stars forged ahead fast, getting up 30-7 after the first quarter and winning the game 65-21.
The visiting Soldotna girls basketball team notched a 65-21 victory over Homer on Tuesday in nonconference play.
SoHi’s Ituau Tuisaula had 20 points to lead the victors, while Brittani Blossom had 14 and and Aliann Schmidt added 12. Marina Carroll led the way for Homer with nine points.
SOLDOTNA (65) — McGillivray 2, Buckbee 0, Blossom 14, A. Schmidt 12, Bouschor 2, Tuisaula 20, Holland 2, Leadens 3, Crosby-Schneider 0, D. Schmidt 7, Fischer 3. Totals — 28 8-12 65.
HOMER (21) — Rhodes 3, Inama 0, Bishop 0, Johnson 0, Bales 2, Doughty 0, Todd 3, Parish 0, Anderson 0, Carroll 9, Hatfield 2, Sonnen 0, Dawson 2. Totals — 9 2-7 21.
3-point goals — Soldotna 1 (D. Schmidt); Homer 1 (Rhodes). Team fouls — Soldotna 7, Homer 10. Fouled out — none.
After the game, Homer coach Chad Felice said he thought his team did well against a very strong team.
“The girls played tough. You know, they don’t back down from anybody,” he said. “Soldotna’s a great team, you know, they’re definitely, in my opinion, probably one of the best eight teams in the 4A level.”
Felice said he tells his players not to worry about what other teams are doing and to focus on the goals they set for themselves during games — things like keeping their turnovers to a minimum.
“I don’t know if we met every one (of the goals) but I bet ya we came pretty close to meeting them,” he said.
Felice, too, has a new group to work with this year, with several younger players.
“It’s been phenomenal,” he said of the season so far. “The girls come to practice, they work hard every day. They’re a joy to have in the gym. We have 36 total girls in the program.”
Going forward, Felice said he wants the varsity girls to focus on their own game.
“Just being us,” he said. “Just go out there and be us. Don’t let anybody else dictate what we do. We just want to dictate what we do and go out there, reach our little goals that we set for ourselves in games, and at the end of the day if the scoreboard’s in our favor, great. If it’s not, as long as we played great, and played hard and did what we could do … you can’t fault them for that.”
The boys also fell to the Stars, 55-33. Soldotna’s Jersey Truesdell sunk five 3-pointers which helped him lead his team with 26 points.
The Stars had 10 3-pointers overall, with Ray Chumley contributing 14 points. Clayton Beachy led the Mariners with nine points.
SOLDOTNA (55) — Rich 6, Morrison 2, Hanson 0, Chumley 14, Truesdell 26, Kant 2, Wells 0, Michael 5. Totals — 19 7-14 55.
HOMER (33) — Beachy 9, Lowney 1, Adkins 0, Reutov 6, T. McGhee 2, Raymond 0, Anderson 5, Kuhn 0, Knapp 0, J. McGhee 5, Swoboda 5. Totals — 12 7-12 33.
3-point goals — Soldotna 10 (Truesdell 5, Chumley 3, Rich 2); Homer 2 (Beachy, Swoboda). Team fouls — Soldotna 13, Homer 13. Fouled out — none.
Soldotna High School’s Mikayla Leadens takes a shot at Homer’s basket during a Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019 game in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
Soldotna High School’s David Michael bolls over Homer’s Seth Adkins while taking a shot during a Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019 game in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
Homer’s Ethan Anderson jumps between Mt. Edgecumbe’s Jeff Adams (left) and Leon Toomer (right) for a shot during a Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019 game in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
Homer’s Rylee Doughty takes the ball down the court during a Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019 game against Soldotna High School in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
Homer’s Japheth McGee and Soldotna’s David Michael jump for the tipp off at the start of a Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019 basketball game between the two schools in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
Homer’s Daniel Reutov takes a shot during a Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019 game against Mt. Edgecumbe in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
Mt. Edgecumbe’s RJ Alstrom-Beans moves down the court under the pursuit of Homer’s Seth Adkins during a Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019 game in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
Mt. Edgecumbe’s Leon Toomer looks for a place to go under pressure from Homer’s Clayton Beachy during a Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019 game in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
Soldotna’s Ray Chumley sets up a shot under the guard of Homer’s Eyoab Knapp during a Thursday, Jan. 15, 2019 game in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
