The Haines Merchants and Klukwan Masters combined for a 4-0 record at the Gold Medal Basketball Tournament in Juneau this week and have advanced to tonight’s semifinal round.
The Merchants in the “B” bracket defeated Kake, 74-59, and Angoon, 83-58. Haines High School senior Tyler Swinton made his Gold Medal debut by scoring 21 points in each game. Swinton recently was named second-team All-State at the high school level.
Ben Egolf added 18 points against Kake, and Tyler Healy had a dozen. Double-figure scorers in the Angoon contest included Healy, 19; and Harry Rietze, 10.
The team will face Hydaburg in the semifinals 7:30 p.m. tonight (Thursday, March 22) in a game broadcast live on KHNS.
The Klukwan Masters will follow with a 9 p.m. semifinal against Yakutat, also on KHNS. Klukwan bested Kake, 63-55, on Monday, sparked by 23 points from Joe Parnell and 17 from Rob Larose.
Larose’s 21 points were the margin in Klukwan’s second game, as the Masters pounded defending champion Hoonah, 94-73. Jeff Sharnbroich contributed 18 points.
The tournament’s two other Chilkat Valley teams were Klukwan ANS in “B” and the Klukwan Chilkats in “C.”
Both squads played elimination games Wednesday. Klukwan ANS lost in overtime to Metlakatla, 73-68. The Klukwan Chilkats squeaked by Juneau Filcom, 73-72. The Chilkats were scheduled to play another game 2 p.m. Thursday against Yakutat.
In earlier action, Angoon edged Klukwan ANS, 69-67, on a last-second shot Sunday, despite Jacob Hotch’s 19 points. Klukwan rebounded for a 74-68 win over Kake. Hotch tallied 20 points and Brett Garvey scored 16.
Andrew Friske’s 35 points led the Klukwan Chilkats to an 89-80 victory against Hoonah on Sunday. The Chilkats then fell to Kake, 74-65, when Friske had 21 points and Jason Shull added 19.
Championship games are set for Saturday at Juneau-Douglas High School.
For more information, visit http://www.goldmedalbasketball.org.