We’re talking basketball on this week’s Nanook Sports Minute, starting with the Lady Nanooks who traveled to Unalakleet for the Christopher Lockwood Memorial Tournament. The girls were out for revenge against the Lady Wolfpack, who had just claimed first place at the Subway Showdown the weekend before.
They first squared off against Shishmaref Thursday night and earned a 86-54 win. Benny Lie led the scoresheet with 21 points. Friday night the Lady Nanooks took on Brevig Mission and claimed a 60-36 victory with four players putting up double-digit points.
The two wins set them up for a decisive rematch against the Lady Wolfpack on Saturday. The game went back and forth until the buzzer with the Lady Nanooks edging out the win 47-45.
Benny Lie’s 46 points and tireless defense across the weekend earned her the tournament MVP award with Alora Stasenko joining her on the all-tourney team.
The boys’ team traveled to Anchorage for the Wolverine Classic. They first faced off against the 4A Wasilla Warriors. The team tested the traveling Nanooks’ mettle with a close game to the finish. The boys wound up closing the game out with a win, 46-42. Senior Finn Gregg and sophomores Lane Schuerch and Cohen Booth all put up double digits.
Friday night the team took on the West Valley Wolfpack. The game seemingly tested the nerves of fans more than the players, who appeared calm and collected throughout the gutsy game. With the championship game on the line, Finn Gregg put up 32 points to lead the Nanooks to the 58-60 win.
7-year-old Raylan Octuck brought a basketball to the game to get it signed by the team. Just as it appeared he missed his chance, Raylan Octuck's mom, Nikita Octuck spotted assistant coach Jon Gregg heading into the locker room.
“Could they…. Could the Nanooks sign my ball?” Raylan Ocktuck recalled.
“He said, ‘Yeah, yeah, absolutely' and he took him back. When he went to their room I was waiting in the hallway and I heard him, he said, ‘listen up, this is Raylan. He wants everybody to sign his ball,’ and then I heard all the boys cheering back there. It was awesome," Nikita Octuck said.
Our full story on that special moment is available here.
Saturday night the team squared off against the South High Wolverines. Against the true home team the Nanooks put on a show for their traveling fans. Coming out of halftime the team extended their lead to 16 points including buckets from Kevin Ongtowasruk and Kendall Ulroan. They ended the match with a 66-56 win over the Wolverines and extended this season’s record to 9-0.
Both teams are back in action this weekend with the boys hosting Unalakleet here at home and the girls heading back to Unalakleet for the third straight week. We’ll have coverage from those games on next week’s Nanook Sports Minute.