This years Elk’s Tournament was a huge success because of the support of the Valdez Community and all the Volunteers who made this tournament possible. A big “Thank You” to all the fans who attended the games and all the behind the scenes workers who made this a Great experience for all the Teams that attended! (Co-Athletic Director Barb Lyons)
Varsity Girls Basketball (Coach Jodi Arnold):
Thursday: Lady Bucs 50, Cordova 37
It was an exciting weekend at the Elks Tournament! We began the tournament with a game against Cordova. At the half, we were leading 29-20. After the half we came back and extended our lead, out scoring Cordova 21-17 in the second half. The Bucs were lead by Ally Seiber with 21 points.
Friday: Lady Bucs 46, Kodiak 50
The Lady Bucs fought hard in this nail bitter of a game. We struggled in the second and third quarters and were out scored by Kodiak 19-27 in those two quarters. The lady Bucs came back in the 4th outscoring Kodiak 12-4 in the fourth, which tied the game at 41 and sent us into overtime. Kodiak hit a few key shots with only seconds in the game which lead to their win. Lady Bucs were lead in scoring by Ally Seiber and Jade Holmes with 10 points a piece and Reese King with 9 points.
Saturday: Third Place Game Lady Bucs 48, Bethel 29
On Saturday, we played in the third place game against Bethel. At the half the Lady Bucs led by a small margin, 21 to 17. The Lady Bucs came out strong in the third quarter outscoring Bethel 17-3. Ally Seiber lead the Bucs with 14 points. Reese King had 11 point. She also received the tournament’s Defensive Player award. Ally Seiber was voted part of the All Tournament Team.
Varsity Boys Basketball (Coach Bart Hinkle):
Thursday, February 14th: Valdez 68, Cordova 25
The first day of Elks Tournament basketball consisted of a number of thrilling games, with many “underdogs” battling the perceived favorites to the end. The cross-Sound matchup of Valdez v. Cordova was not one of those games for the boys’ bracket. The Bucs established their dominance early in the game, built a 35-11 halftime advantage, and extended it en route to a 68-25 victory.
The Buccaneers held Cordova to single digit scoring in each of the four quarters, forced 18 turnovers, committed a paltry 3 personal fouls for the game, and held the Wolverines to 28% shooting from the field. James Letendre and Logan Heckathorn each successfully drew an offensive foul.
Offensively, the Bucs shot over 50% from the floor – including 7 of 12 from behind the arc (led by Logan Heckathorn and Jimmy Chavez with 2 apiece). Of the 30 converted field goal attempts, 18 of them were categorized as Assists – led by Bennett Hinkle with 8.
The Buccaneers outrebounded the Wolverines 31-11, led by Ike Watson with 12 rebounds. Logan Heckathorn led the Bucs with 24 points (on 11-of-15 shooting), followed by Bennett Hinkle (13) and Jalen Freeman (11). The Buccaneers only shot 3 free throws during the contest, with Hayden Howard responsible for the lone converted free throw.
Friday, February 15th: Valdez 47, Dimond 55
Friday’s semi-final game saw the host Buccaneers take on the current #1 ranked 4A Dimond Lynx. The Buccaneers came out determined to not only defend their home court, but to justify the decision to place the Lynx on the Valdez side of the bracket. The Bucs played one of their most complete halves of the season and took a 32-24 lead into the locker room at halftime. However, the battle-tested Lynx climbed their way back in the second half, outscoring the Bucs 31-15 to hand them a hard-fought 47-55 loss.
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The Buccaneers out-rebounded the Lynx 23-19, but committed 15 turnovers while only forcing Dimond into 8 of their own. Logan Heckathorn led the Bucs in scoring with 17 (7-of-10 from the floor, and 2-for-2 from the free throw line), followed by Bennett Hinkle and Ike Watson (9 apiece), and Jalen Freeman (8). Logan Heckathorn also registered 5 assists, and successfully drew an offensive foul, while Bennett Hinkle successfully drew two offensive fouls.
Saturday, February 16th: Valdez 58, Barrow 44
Friday night’s loss placed the Buccaneers into the 3rd place game on Saturday afternoon, against a familiar foe in the Barrow Whalers. Entering into Saturday’s contest, the Buccaneers sported a 3-0 record against the Whalers [ACS Tournament, Dimond Tournament, and most recently at the Barrow Invitational Tournament].
The Bucs started off strong again on Saturday, jumping out to a 20-8 first quarter lead and a 31-14 halftime advantage. There was no let-up in the 3rd quarter as the Bucs outscored the Whalers 16-14 in that stanza, en route to a 58-44 victory to claim 3rd place at the 42nd Valdez Elks Tournament.
The Buccaneers once again out-rebounded their opponent (31-19), and shot an effective percentage from the 3-point line (7-of-12). Logan Heckathorn led the Buccaneers with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Bennett Hinkle and Jalen Freeman each scored 15 points, while also contributing 5 assists and 5 rebounds, respectively. Ike Watson grabbed 9 rebounds and successfully drew an offensive charge.
Notes:
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The Buccaneers claimed 3rd place in a tournament loaded with quality teams
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The Buccaneers led the 8-team field in overall 3-point percentage for the tournament, going 17-of-38 (45%)
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The Buccaneers outrebounded their opponents 85-49 during the tournament
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38 of the 73 converted field goal attempts came via an assist
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Logan Heckathorn, Bennett Hinkle, and Jalen Freeman were nominated onto the Valdez Elks Tournament All-Tournament team
All that remains for the Buccaneers of this 2018-2019 regular season is Aurora Conference road contests. Thursday (February 21st) the Buccaneers travel to Delta Junction to take on the Huskies on Thursday night. On Friday and Saturday (February 22nd and 23rd) the Bucs will play the Hutchison Hawks in Fairbanks.
