Grace Christian’s Brayden Clarkson (left) and Ashton Clarkson helped lead the Grizzlies to a victory over Bettye Davis East on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Photo by Stephanie Burgoon)

The reigning Division I state champion Bettye Davis East Anchorage boys basketball team opened its third straight title-defending campaign on a sour note Tuesday night at home thanks in large part to a pair of brothers from Grace Christian.

Ashton and Brayden Clarkson helped the Grizzlies jump out to an early lead over the Thunderbirds and hold off a late rally in a 65-58 road win. The brothers combined for 40 points, doing the bulk of their damage from behind the arc to pull off the impressive upset.

“We came into this game so confident knowing who we were,” Ashton said. “We just trusted each other, trusted the coaching and played our game.”

The senior guard narrowly edged out his brother for the team lead in scoring with 21 points. Brayden, a junior, had 19 points.

“They’re just dynamic scorers,” Grizzlies head coach Jason Boerger said. “Ashton is a three-year starter for me and Brayden, this is kind of his first year being full-time but Brayden’s been electric all offseason and I’ve seen this coming from him. Ashton coming back from an injury, it’s just great to see him continue to be able to be out there on the court, be healthy and contribute in such a big way.”

Both brothers recorded nearly a third of their total points in the first quarter alone: They were responsible for 15 of Grace Christian’s 19 points as the Grizzlies led 19-9.

“It was big but our teammates were feeding us,” Ashton said.

He matched the Thunderbirds’ total in the first quarter with a trio of long balls, and his brother knocked down two 3-pointers of his own.

“They were just finding us every time we were open, skips, kickouts, everything was just great,” Brayden said.

The Grizzlies had doubled up the Thunderbirds on the scoreboard by halftime, leading 34-17. But their hosts showed true championship mettle by not folding and chipping away the deficit until it was under double digits in the final minutes.

“East is a great program with a great coach in Chuck Martin, and it was basically a really big game for us knowing how good they’ve been over the years and how many times we’ve lost to them,” Boerger said. “It just felt really good to come into their gym and it’s their first game and I’m glad we were able to shoot well enough to (win) tonight.”

Unlike the Thunderbirds, who were taking the court together against another team for the first time since last year’s state tournament, the Grizzlies opened the season over the weekend on their home court at the Grace Grizzly Classic.

They won all three of their games, and Boerger feels like his team greatly benefited from getting those wins under their belt before taking on such a big test in East.

“It’s such a big advantage to already have a few games under your belt and I felt like we were tested well this weekend and had an opportunity to grow as a team and figure some stuff out about us,” he said. “We have a long way to go as far as where we want to be but it’s been a really great start to the year so far.”

The closest East got was within four points with less than three minutes left to play.

“Last year, we played in so many close games coming up from 3A and we kind of knew what to do,” Ashton said. “We’ve been in these situations before, so we knew how to play in this close game.”

Grace Christian held strong and got the buckets needed to close it out with the brothers accounting for 10 of the team’s 18 points in the final eight minutes.

“We kinda lost it there for a few minutes, but we brought it back together and kept our composure,” Brayden said. “We just had to finish the race together.”

Their strong brotherly connection extends to the court, where instincts play a big role.

“We’ve been playing together for quite a while so we kind of know where we are,” Ashton said. “We tend to bicker some off the court because we’re brothers. But on the court, we play well together.”

Sending a clear messageGrace Christian’s Ashton Clarkson pulls up for a jump shot during a game against Bettye Davis East on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Photo by Stephanie Burgoon)

Seeing themselves ranked anywhere but at the top in preseason polls feels like a slight to the players who are determined to show that they can be contenders in Alaska’s top division once again.

“This (win) is big for us,” Ashton said. “We just keep going up. We’re not dwelling on it and just keep practicing hard.”

Growing up, the Clarksons watched program legends such as Tobin Karlberg and cousins Luke and Sloan Lentfer. The Clarksons played with the Lentfers as underclassmen, as the Grizzlies produced dominant seasons that resulted in state titles at the 3A level. Now they have their eyes set on winning the program’s first-ever title at 4A.

“If they want to beat us, they’ve got to give us their best shot,” Brayden said. “That’s all there is to it.”

The Grizzlies will go into hibernation for the next couple of weeks before they take the court again for the Dimond Prep Shootout in January.

“We can’t come into any game complacent,” Brayden said. “We have to come into every game and give it our best shot.”

Boerger knows that the East team they played to close out 2025 won’t be the same one they could face down the road. His team got out to a hot start last season, their first at the 4A level after being a perennial powerhouse at 3A.

They were even the No. 1 seed at the 2025 ASAA state tournament before falling in the semifinals.

“We’d like to finish stronger than we did last year,” Boerger said. “I don’t think any of us were satisfied with how the season ended last year.”