Wolves demolish Haines in two-game series

After a heartbreaking string of losses to a number of Southeast teams, the Wolves overcame major adversity and a lack of previous defensive play to take Haines in four straight games both on the road and at home over the past two weekends.

The home rally, as some might call it, began last Friday night as Wrangell cruised through turbulent waters to arrive at a 56-46 final score against the Glacier Bears. The team led nearly the entire game and was eclipsed only once in the third period when Haines led by two points.

After that, the Wolves surged – and it was all a matter of being academic.

“We tried to get the ball inside a lot more to (Ryan) Reeves and I feel like that gave us an advantage,” head coach Ray Stokes said. “I think our aggressive defense and offense helped us turn the corner just a little bit. We started moving our feet better in the second half as well. Their foul trouble got us a few points too.”

Reeves said that even though both teams played with fire all night, the Glacier Bears thawed in the second half and gave the Wolves a run for the money.

“You definitely saw more aggressive play from Haines in the second half after they made some adjustments,” Reeves said. “So, we’re going to be even more aggressive tomorrow and hopefully get another win.”

True to Reeves’ words, that’s exactly what the Wolves did on Saturday night by taking home a 45-42 win during senior appreciation night.

In what was an even more aggressive matchup, the Wolves staved off a run at the game by Haines, with Reeves and Jacob Marshall both in double digits with 20 and 14 points respectively. Marshall was blistering from beyond the arc as he added a pair of three-pointers.

Freshman Bryce Gerald came back into the game late after Reeves earned his fifth foul and a trip to the bench. Although Gerald was scoreless during the game, his intense defense helped keep the Wolves ahead in the final minutes leading to the win.

After the game, he said the team came together and made the win happen.

“It was tough because we were trying to keep hold of the ball,” Gerald said. “But, we worked at making the right choices and we got through it when they started making those fouls. We also kept our determination defensively tonight. They had some good steals, but we kept right after them.”

Wrangell has swept Haines all season, beating them during the Little Norway Tournament in Petersburg earlier in their schedule as well.

The Wolves will travel to Metlakatla this weekend and Craig on Feb. 15-16.