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Sand Point boys finish fourth at Elks

February 15th 9:30 pm | Van Williams Print this article   Email this article   Create a Shortlink for this article

Not necessarily known for his scoring, Kory Cheek unleashed a scoring spree Saturday against Togiak that carried the Sand Point boys basketball team to a 79-58 victory.

Cheek cashed in 9 of 10 field goals on his way to scoring 19 points. He also ripped down 15 rebounds to give him a monster double-double, helping the Eagles claim fourth place at the Elks Tournament in Bristol Bay.

"It proved to be a great day for Kory under the basket," said coach David Mitchell.

Cheek's big game is typical of the Eagles, a team full of playmakers capable of going off at any time.

That balanced attack is a big reason why Sand Point has won 10 of 16 games this season.

It all starts with CJ Roby, the leading scorer who averaged 27 points in three games at the Elks Tournament. His weekend performance was highlighted by a 39-point effort in an 83-75 win over Koliginek.

But the Eagles are hardly a one-man show.

They have other players averaging double digits in Tim Lundgren (16), Matthew Bravo (13) and Cheek (10).

Then there's Brandon Gundersen, a playmaker who averaged 9 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

And others like Troy Bousley and Keith Wilson.

Together, they form one of the more formidable teams in the AEBSD region. They have only three losses to 1A teams, including one to undefeated Newhalen.

But Sand Point played the top-ranked Malemutes tough in a 13-point loss.

"We got off to a slow start and were unable to overcome a huge halftime deficit," said Mitchell, whose team outscored Newhalen by 14 points in the second half. "It was a good learning process."

With only seven players, Mitchell stresses the importance of playing as a team.

Share the ball, work together, play defense.

"The Eagles should be very proud of their play," the coach said.

It's no surprise the players are picking up what he's putting down - the Sand Point boys team has a combined 3.66 GPA.

"There is much to celebrate," Mitchell said of his team's season.

And with the postseason nearly upon us, the best might be yet to come.

Unalaska loses heartbreaker

For the second time this season, the Unalaska boys basketball team lost a thriller that could have gone either way.

Unfortunately, though, both games went to other way.

This time it was a heartbreaking 56-52 loss in triple overtime to Dillingham at the Dean Cummings Sr. Basketball Tournament in Delta Junction.

"It was a crazy, back and forth game," said Dillingham coach Deon Lopez.

It also featured a scoring dual between Unalaska's Andrew Seman (30) and Dillingham's Kendall Alvarado (27).

JJ Fernandez added 10 points and Eric Do six points for the Raiders.

Lady Raiders go to Delta

The Unalaska girls basketball team traveled a tough road in Delta Junction.

The Lady Raiders were beaten by Dillingham, Monroe Catholic and Seward.

Yet coach Alan Haskins was happy with his team's effort and keeps seeing improvement, even if it's not always indicative on the scoreboard.

"I was the most happy that the girls were able to handle the pressure of the press, however, they were not able to make layups," Haskins said.

"I also need to get them to shoot the ball."

Defensively, Asia Vernon led the charge.

"She hustled in every game as did all the girls," he said. "They never gave up."

 

Van Williams can be reached at vwilliams@alaskanewspapers.com

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