Wolves win one, drop one against Metlakatla

The Wolves downed Region V power Metlakatla Friday night but were unable to repeat on the Chiefs Saturday.

The Wrangell High School boys' varsity basketball team put double digits on the board for three quarters Friday night, and won the opener handily, 31-49. They were outscored every quarter but the first and lost the closer 54-37.

"It was nice to get a win, especially against the king of the conference, I guess," said head coach Ray Stokes. "We did it pretty handily, but then we unfortunately had to play again Saturday."

"Friday night against Met we played about as good as we have played all year," Stokes added. "Saturday night they came out and changed their defense a little bit, and that's one thing we struggle with ... if people change things up on us, we sometimes struggle a little bit."

The Wolves managed to contain the inside, holding Metlakatla senior Tristan Alexander to just 15 points the entire weekend, Stokes said.

"The big kid didn't affect us any, and other than that we did pretty well," Stokes said.

Wrangell was also without several starters Saturday in part because of injuries, Stokes said. Junior Mikey Ottesen, a critical inside man, fouled out. Junior Blake Stokes played Saturday's game through the flu. Mason Dingwall injured his eye Friday.

The win brings their season record to 4-6 on the season, and muddies the waters for the regional tournament in March. None of the four Region V teams is undefeated. Wrangell has beaten every other team in the region at least once. Haines, the only regional team that Wrangell hasn't lost to, has beat Craig, against whom the Wolves are 1-3 on the season. In the four-school 1A division, seeding is largely a formality, since no byes are available. The Wolves currently sit in third place behind first-place Metlakatla and second-place Craig.

"We have beaten everybody at least once," Stokes said. "Craig's beaten everybody at least once."

Nor will Haines, whom the Wolves thumped twice at home Jan. 24 and 25, field the same team they did for those meets. A recent infusion of 4A level talent from Anchorage could change the terms of engagement.

Almost half of Friday's points came from senior Robbie Marshall, honored at a (happily) tearful appreciation ceremony before Saturday night's game, and who played his last home game in a Wolves jersey Saturday night.

"Robbie's going to be hard for us to replace next year," Stokes said. "He's done a lot for us as a basketball player and a big part of our team."

Marshall led the Wolves offense Friday night with 22 points on seven field goals (two from behind the line) and six-for-eight from the field. Blake Stokes and Aaron Howell trailed with eight points each. Blake Stokes shot two field goals in the first and added three-for-four from the line in the fourth. Howell added three second-quarter field goals and two-for-three from the free-throw line in the fourth.

The Chiefs failed to put field a single player in the double digits Friday night. Seniors Tristan Winter and Tristan Alexander tied atop the Metlakatla scoreboards with nine points each. Winter sank three field goals and shot three-for-four from the line. Alexander added four field goals and one-for-five.

Marshall put up repeat double-digit scores, adding 14 points Saturday on four field goals (three from behind the arc) and three-for-six from the line. Blake Stokes followed with nine points, all from the field, all from behind the arc.

Metlakatla senior Drew Yliniemi came to life Saturday night, putting up 26 points on eight field goals. The majority came from beyond the three point line. Yliniemi also sank four free-throws in the fourth quarter. He was followed by Winter, who tallied 14 points on five two-point field goals and four-for-five from the line.

Junior Varsity

The junior varsity team also split games this weekend against the JV Chiefs. They lost Friday 54-17, but pulled out a Saturday stunner and won 33-32.

Freshman Dawson Miller led the Wolves' scorers with seven points on two field goals and three-for-five from the line. Freshman Trent Stokes followed with four points on a field goal and two-for-five from the line.

The JV Chiefs managed three scorers in double digits. Collin Williams led with 18 points on four two-point field goals, a three-pointer and seven-for-eight from the free-throw line. He was followed by freshman James Henderson with 12 points on five field goals – one a 3-point shot – and one-for-two from the line.

Trent Stokes lead the Wolves Saturday night with 16 points on six field goals and one-for-four from the line. Freshman Sam Armstrong followed with eight points on three field goals and one-for-two from the line.

Williams repeated his stand atop the JV Chiefs' scorers with 11 points Saturday on five field goals, including one three-point shot. Freshman James Henderson followed with 3 three-pointers for a total of nine points.

The Wolves conclude regular season play this weekend on the road against Haines.