Hoops Report: Johnson reaches 1K; McMahon matches scoring high; Southwick strong in SFA debut; Brown to coach in OTE

Kaeleb Johnson

Back on the basketball court for the first time in more than a year, Kaeleb Jonson of Anchorage has dusted off his jumper to blow away the competition.

The junior starter has landed at Vancouver Island University, where he is averaging a team-high 18.8 points in six games in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association.

Johnson scored 29 and 20 points in back-to-back wins over the weekend against Okanagan on the strength of 13-for-20 3-point shooting.

Vancouver Island is 6-0 with the Alaskan on the court and 3-4 when he’s not.

Johnson (East High) leads the Pacific Western Athletic Association in 3-pointers (25), ranks second in points (113) and fourth in free-throw percentage (.857).

His fast start has propelled the 6-foot-3 guard into the 1,000-point club after scoring 923 points at Spokane Community College in the NWAC.

With 1,036 career points, he ranks 48th on Alaska’s all-time college scoring list after moving past former West High standout Deray Wilson, who had 1,035 at Adams State and Northeastern JC from 2007 to 2012.

Patrick McMahon

At Montana State University, Palmer’s Patrick McMahon was marvelous in the season opener.

The 6-foot-7 junior forward came off the bench to score 14 points in 20 minutes in a 103-63 victory over Northwest Indian College in Bozeman.

McMahon (Colony High) made 6-of-8 shots to match his career high. This was the fourth time he’s reached double figures in 37 games, with three of them coming in the last 13 games.

There was another Alaskan on the court as Sam Marqueda-Lamebull laced ‘em up for NWIC. He logged 10 minutes and did not score on this day but in 2019, the former Bartlett standout scored 41 points in a game for the college team.

At Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas, another Palmer product tipped off his season at the NCAA Division I level.

Junior transfer Clayton Southwick stood tall in his debut with an 8-point, 5-rebound effort in 13 minutes off the bench in a 96-68 win over North American in the Lone Star State.

Chemistry in motion 👏#AxeEm x #RaiseTheAxe x #PressU pic.twitter.com/p3EVCgnuB7

— SFA Men’s Basketball (@SFA_MBB) November 6, 2023

Southwick (Palmer High) comes to SFA as a proven commodity after furnishing 645 points and 361 rebounds at Snow College, where he was Second Team All-Conference in the Senic West.

Moving to the pro level, Anchorage’s Jesse Brown is set to coach the Diamond Droves of Overtime Elite when the league tips off next month.

Brown, a former UAA player who has a background as an assistant coach for both the Seawolves and UAF Nanooks, will be the team’s associate head coach.

He grew up in Anchorage but graduated high school in Washington before returning to play for the Seawolves from 2001 to 2004. He was a defensive specialist who helped UAA reach the NCAA tournament as a senior.

Jesse Brown

As a coach, Brown was part of Greg Sparling’s staff at UAF that won the GNAC championship and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 2022.

Last season he coached in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference.

The OTE is in its third season and has now featured an Alaskan each season after two-year vet Kok Yat of Anchorage moved up to the G League.