ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The Alaska Airlines Classic — one of the most anticipated and storied high school basketball tournaments in Alaska — lived up to the hype after an opening day of star power and rim-rattling slams.
West Anchorage 66 — Ketchikan 60
Future UAF Nanook Marcus Stockhausen scored 33 points for Ketchikan, but it wasn’t enough, as host West Anchorage outlasted KayHi with the boost of a 23-13 third-quarter advantage. Outside of a scoreless second quarter, senior Buob Marial was brilliant for West, tallying 27 points in the victory, while Carmelo Mason added 17 and Bishop Hardman provided 15 to help the Eagles advance to the Alaska Airlines Classic semifinals.
“It’s the best tournament in the state because you have the quality of teams,” West Anchorage boys basketball coach Josh Muehlenkamp said. “In every round, you have to lift and every round you have to play better because there are some really good teams here who play really well together, so it is always a lot of fun because it brings the student body and it brings a high quality of basketball to Anchorage.
The Alaska Airlines Classic features a 35-second shot clock, something unseen throughout the rest of the Alaska high school basketball season. ASAA, the governing body for high school athletics in the state, has approved a full-time shot clock for large, Class 4A schools for the 2025-26 season.
“It’s exciting because if our kids want to play a higher level of basketball, that’s higher level basketball,” Muehlenkamp said of the shot clock. “If you’re going to prepare them for the next level, how come we’re not doing that? So I am excited for it because again, now you get situations of using the shot clock and figure out different ways to help your team in other ways.”
27 states used a shot clock in some form in high school basketball during the 2023-24 season, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).
”Growing up in California, I was always privy to it,” Heritage Christian head coach Paul Tait said. “Experiencing it has a college coach recruiting on the East Coast and going to states that didn’t have it, I was like, ‘What happens when a team is up and just holds it for 8 minutes?’ Once you have it you’re just used to it. It will be a culture shock for everyone I am sure up here, but it adds a little more pace to the game.”
Hoover (AL) 69 — Service 26
The number four ranked team in the entire country was as advertised in their Alaska Airlines Classic opener, activating a running clock by halftime in a lopsided win over Service. Hoover High School, the two-time defending Class 7A Alabama State Champions, put on a show in their 34th straight win with seven dunks and eight three-pointers in their first tournament appearance since 2013 when they came out on top as Alaska Airlines Classic champions.
“Our guys travel a lot, it is kind of funny it was actually more snow and colder at home when we left than it is here, so we got all of our big puffy jackets and everything and it was actually colder at home,” Hoover head coach Scott Ware said.
DeWayne Brown, a 6-foot-9 250-pound forward scored 20 points on 7-of-8 from the field, with five of those being dunks. Brown, a four-star recruit, is taking his talents to the University of Tennessee next season.
“Obviously DeWayne kind of dominated the game inside,” Ware added. “He is a great kid, a special kid, he’s got a lot of talent. One of the things people don’t always see is his IQ, his IQ is off the chart. He could really play point guard for us the way he sees the game and understands the game.”
Fellow four-star and ESPN Top 100 player Salim London (UAB) scored five first-quarter points before leaving the game with an injury.
Service wing Mylez Mongeau had 10 points while Ridge Spencer chipped in 8 for the Cougars.
Opening day
Returning to the Alaska Airlines Classic for a second time in three years, Heritage Christian, boasting their own top-ranked talent, is heading back to the semifinals after a convincing win over Colony Thursday. A four-star recruit and St. Mary’s signee Dillan Shaw dropped 21 points on four three-pointers, while San Diego State commit and Top-20 nationally ranked power forward Tae Simmons had 20 of his own as Heritage cruised to victory.
”We went to the zoo last time, we’ll do the Wildlife Observatory tomorrow, talking about dogsledding on Saturday maybe, fun stuff,” Tait said of the trip to Alaska. “When we came up here [two years ago], I said I’d like to come up here every four to five years to give the boys the chance to experience this.”
Heritage will play Hoover in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Friday which is certainly to be a game of fireworks.
East Anchorage 41 — Columbia (GA) 39
Day one of the tournament may have saved the best for last with the night in terms of a competitive contest, as East took down Columbia by two points in a matchup of historic programs.
Reigning Alaska MaxPreps Player of the Year Muhammed Sabally drilled a three-pointer with about 1:30 left to tie the game at 39 apiece. After he and Braeden Speakman each hit a free throw down the stretch, the T-Birds defense came up with a stop in the final possession to hold on to the 41-39 victory.
”I just liked our effort, we never gave up throughout the night,” Sabally said after scoring a game-high 16 points. “Defensively, we were fighting, digging, they’re an aggressive team from Georgia, we know how basketball is out of state, so we were just trying our hardest to stay in front, contest without fouling and that’s what we did tonight.”
“It is a great win in that we beat a good team, a very good team and a very good program, a historic program down in Georgia, historic coach, it was tremendous to get to coach against him,” East coach Chuck Martin said of Columbia and Dr. Phil McCrary. “I thought we put a performance together tonight defensively, which was really encouraging.”
East will face West Friday at 7:30 p.m. in a classic crosstown rivalry for the chance to punch a ticket to the Alaska Airlines Classic.
“It’s a rivalry and we have a lot of respect for them because they’re good,” Martin said of East vs. West. “You have to prepare.”
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