King Cove’s Thomas Mack fires from downtown. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
Defense is king in King Cove and now the T-Jacks are kings of Class 1A boys basketball.
Led by an active defense and late-game poise, King Cove held off defending state champion Kake 39-31 in the ASAA March Madness Alaska state title in front of 3,000 fans Saturday at the Alaska Airlines Center.
Thomas Mack delivered a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds and the T-Jacks held Kake scoreless in the first quarter to escape this battle between unbeatens, snapping Kake’s 60-game winning streak dating back to 2021.
“The main thing we did well was play defense,” said King Cove coach Kenneth Barbour. “It’s been our priority since Day 1.”
The T-Jacks (23-0) took a 16-point lead into the third quarter before Kake rattled off a 19-3 lead to tie the game on a Dominic Ross free throw early in the fourth quarter to tie the game 29-29.
“We just got lazy,” Mack said. “I was scared for a second, but I knew we had it.”
He made sure of it. The 6-foot-4 senior converted an and-1 to give King Cove a 34-29 lead with 4:13 remaining.
From there, the T-Jacks hit five free throws in the final minute to seal the deal and King Cove another title to go with the one it won in 2019.
“I’m proud of the accomplishment our team was able to make,” Mack said. “We pushed hard throughout the whole year.”
1A Boys All-Tournament
Jager Brandell, King Cove
Thomas Mack, King Cove
Stewie Sundown, Scammon Bay
Josiah Sundown, Scammon Bay
Dominic Ross, Kake
Keontay Jackson, Kake
Andrew David, Minto
Ian McCarry, Cook Inlet
Alek McCarry, Cook Inlet
Ray Sagoonick, Shaktoolik
Tizano Nelson, Lumen Christi
Frederick Olanna, Shishmaref
Ivan Jones, Noatak
William Morgan, Aniak
Terry Anaruk, Kipnuk
Connor Hootch, Emmonak
King Cove carried a 24-10 lead into halftime on the strength of 3-point shooting and the playmaking of Mack.
The T-Jacks knocked down three 3s in the first quarter and another one in the second quarter, most of them coming from college range.
Mack pumped in 10 of his team’s first 15 points after hitting two 3s, converting a three-point play and adding a free throw. He also added a nice assist to Brennen Larsen for a layup.
Michael Gould added eight points in the half and made the other two 3s.
King Cove scored the game’s first 12 points, hitting jumpers and making hustle plays. Larsen made a great save on a ball going out of bounds, throwing it behind his back right to Ashten Gould for a jumper in the lane.
Mack’s second 3 made it 9-0 and he blocked a shot on the final play of the first quarter.
Kake’s Dominic Ross splits the defense. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
Kake’s Tavin Chilton got his team on the board 28 seconds into the second quarter with the first of his five 3s in the game.
He drained three treys in the third quarter to help get the Thunderbirds (26-1) back in the game. The comeback was kicked off by Aiden Clark’s blocked shot.
Keontay Jackson – who had a 35-point, 18-rebound game in the first round of state – scored on a pretty Euro-step to begin the scoring in the 16-point run and added another drive to end it, pulling the Thunderbirds within 29-28.
King Cove stood tall at the end, though, never relinquishing the lead.
King Cove coach Kenneth Barbour’s expression is why they call it March Madness. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
“This was a hard win. They’re a good team,” Barbour said of Kake. “We were fortunate enough to hang on in the third quarter.”
King Cove won despite starting guard Jager Brandell playing banged up after injuring his ankle in Friday’s semifinals.
“The other players stepped up,” Barbour said. “I can’t say enough about my team. We started the year off saying, ‘we’re the state champions.’ We expected to be state champions and then we played the whole year with that in mind.”
KAKE (31) – Munoz-Torres 0, Ta.Davis 0, Ty.Davis 0, Hanson 0, Moler 0, Ross 4, Chilton 15, Clark 4, Jackson 8, Bean-Willis 0, Ross-Shaquanie 0.
KING COVE (39) – A.Gould 5, Iyapana 0, J.Brandell 4, Wilson 0, M.Gould 11, L.Brandell 0, Roberts 0, J.Mack 0, T.Mack 13, Larsen 6, Standish 0, Thompson 0.
Kake 0 10 18 3 – 31
King Cove 12 12 5 10 – 39