Wolves exit Region V tourney early

The Wrangell High School boys' varsity basketball team went out of the Region V 2A tournament on straight losses March 5 and 6.

The Wolves dropped the opener to the Craig Panthers 49-26 March 5. Thursday's 53-49 loss to the Haines Glacier Bears was much closer, with the teams trading the lead late into the fourth quarter.

Craig put on a relatively even effort, with no one player standing head and shoulders above the rest, said Coach Ray Stokes.

"On their part, they just had a whole bunch of people that scored a little bit," he said. "Nobody really hurt us in particular offensively, and I thought defensively we did okay."

The young Wolves' developing offense didn't mature in time for the tournament, Ray Stokes said.

"The same thing that's been haunting us all year long," he said. "We shot extremely poor on the first game."

"I'm sure we shot under 20 percent for the game," Ray Stokes added.

In the Haines game, the Wolves were unable to find a solution for talented guard and former 4A player Devin Light. Nor, for that matter, was second-place seed Craig.

"He (Light) made them twice as good as what they were," he said. "Obviously, I think he's their best player, and then it took a kid off the court that wasn't so good."

The Wolves led at the end of the first quarter, were down by a point at the end of the second, and had tied the game at 39 all at the end of the third before the Glacier Bears pulled away.

"The difference is that Haines caught Craig when they wanted to, and we didn't," Ray Stokes added.

Offensive production ramped up in the second game, but other factors contributed to the eventual loss, Ray Stokes said.

"We did a little bit better scoring, but what hurt us there was defensively we didn't get back and they got some easy baskets on us, and then we had some turnovers," he said. "We just didn't have anything that looked particularly good."

"We were still in the ball game," Ray Stokes added. "It was kind of disappointing."

Junior Mikey Ottesen lead the Wolves offense March 5 with eight points on three two-point field goals and two-for-four from the free-throw line. Sophomore Blake Stokes and senior Robbie Marshall tied for second with five points each. Stokes shot two field goals, one from beyond the arc, while Marshall sank two two-point shots and went one-for-two from the line.

The Panthers put on a team effort to deal the Wolves their first tournament loss since the Dec. 29 finish to the Clarke Cochrane Tournament in Ketchikan. Junior Keyan Bird led the Craig offense with 11 points on two three-pointers, a field goal and three-for-five from the line. Lewis Owen trailed with three three-point shots for nine points, and sophomore Kelsey Trojan shot eight on two field goals and four-for-six.

The Wolves managed a more prolific offense in Friday's match-up. Marshall and Blake Stokes tied atop the score sheets with 11 points each. Blake Stokes shot four field goals, including three three-pointers. Marshall sank four field goals and three-for-four from the line. Junior Mason Dingwall followed with eight points on four field goals to round out the top three.

Light was the Haines' offensive tent pole, scoring 21 points on nine field goals and three-for-five from the line. Senior Justin Swinton trailed with 17 points on two field goals and seven-for-nine from the line. Keegan Sundberg rounded out the top three Haines' scorers with eight points on three field goals and two-for-four from the line.

First-place seed Metlakatla eventually won the tournament, followed by Haines, who upset Craig to head to Anchorage.

The losses conclude the season for the Wolves, but the team retains most starters and experience ahead of next year's season.

"I think we'll be better next year," Ray Stokes said. "I think we're going to miss (Marshall) and his size, and we'll get smaller even yet."

"Hopefully, another year's maturity, these guys will be juniors, most of 'em, and they'll be better prepared for varsity basketball," he added.