Stewart Erhart

Now that he is a senior, Stewart Erhart is faced with every game potentially being his last at the state tournament.

That sense of urgency played out in Wednesday’s 60-37 victory over Juneau-Douglas in the quarterfinals of the ASAA Class 4A boys state tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center.

Erhart scored eight of his team’s first 13 points and finished with a game-high 20 points and five steals as the No. 1 Wolfpack of Fairbanks extended their winning streak to 12 games.

West Valley (25-1) took it to the Crimson Bears early and often, putting this 11 a.m. tipoff to bed by the second quarter.

“We woke up early this morning, got some breakfast in and did some stretching. We were ready for today,” Erhart said. “Every game is our last game. Every game is the last game for me and the other seniors, so we try to be leaders and come out and really put the pressure on the other team.”

West Valley was more aggressive and used their physicality to control the post and disrupt Juneau’s offense. Erhart and his backcourt bro Malachi Bradley combined to score 19 of the team’s first 21 points and 35 of its 60.

Bradley, an explosive guard, was limited with an ankle sprain and still produced 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

ASAA/First National Bank Alaska
Class 4A Boys State Championships
At Alaska Airlines Center
Wednesday
Quarterfinals

West Valley 60, Juneau 37
East 54, ACS 30
Monroe 54, Colony 30
West 69, Dimond 63 OT
Friday
Semifinals

6:15pm (1) West Valley vs. (4) Monroe Catholic
7:45pm (3) East vs. (7) West
Consolation
9:30am (8) Juneau-Douglas vs. (5) Colony
11:00am (2) Dimond vs. (6) ACS
Saturday
7:30pm Title Game

When West Valley built a 27-7 cushion in the second quarter, Bradley (11) and Erhart (10) each had outscored Juneau.

They did it by making steals, driving hard to the rim, and playing with hustle and muscle. West Valley outrebounded Juneau 23-18 and enjoyed a 19-3 advantage in steals and 12-2 in made free throws.

Just securing a rebound was a struggle for the Crimson Bears (18-11), who many times had the ball ripped out of their hands.

“Being physical like that, it’s bred in to us,” said Erhart, the two-time Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year. “That’s what we do every day in practice. We press hard, we play defense hard.”

Bradley produced a highlight reel play late in the second quarter when he soared for an offensive rebound, with the 6-foot-2 guard’s hands above the rim.

“It’s so much fun having Mal as my teammates,” said Erhart.

Both all-star seniors are from the same tiny town of Tanana, although this is their first season as teammates in high school.

“Malachi and I have had a relationship since the beginning of time,” Erhart said. “It doesn’t matter who scores. It’s a team effort and we’re trying to make a team goal here.”

Eliyah Dominique added 10 points for West Valey and Koltin Thompson had nine, including a pair of 3-pointers.

Juneau’s Sean Oliver was his team’s only scorer in double figures with 12 points, including five in the third quarter when Juneau outscored West Valley 16-13.

Oliver’s 3-pointer pulled the Crimson Bears with 42-30, the closest they had been since the first quarter. Orion Dybdahl chipped in nine points and four rebounds for Juneau.

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