Wolves end three-game slump at homecoming

Wrangell High School held its annual homecoming basketball games last weekend. The Wrangell Wolves went up against the Petersburg Vikings, after taking two losses to Metlakatla the previous weekend. While the first game went in the Vikings favor, Wrangell was able to end its string of losses last Saturday with an impressive win.

On Friday the game had a bit of a slow start. Both teams focused heavily on defense. The Wolves were able to score first, about two minutes and twenty seconds into the first quarter. After that, the points began to come in more regularly. Wrangell held a narrow lead until the beginning of the second quarter, where the Vikings finally started getting momentum.

The Wolves rallied in the third quarter and brought the score to a one-point difference at one point, 23 to 24, but could not overtake Petersburg. By the end of the fourth quarter, Wrangell had its third conference loss, 38 points to the Vikings' 58.

"As a team, we were kind of wondering what was going on," Coach Cody Angerman said about the loss. "We were looking for a way out of it [the losing streak]."

Angerman said that, on

Saturday, the Wolves came onto the court stronger

than on Friday. The team made a more concerted effort to take the lead and hold on to it, he said. Petersburg had the

lead by the end of the first quarter, but the second quarter saw Wrangell tying the

game at several points. The Wolves were able to take the lead by a single basket just before the first half ended, beating the buzzer with a two-pointer.

The second half of the game was very tense, for players and the audience. Several members of the public could be seen, and heard, growing agitated with the coaches and the referees. The Vikings regained the lead in the third quarter, but this was soon lost to Wrangell again.

Through the whole

fourth quarter, both teams stayed within only a few baskets of each other.

Thanks to some fouls by the Vikings, giving Wrangell some free throws, as well as some good baskets by the team, the Wolves were able to maintain a narrow lead. Wolves player Trevor Miller (No. 34) made 25 points that game, the most of the team.

The game ended with the Vikings making one last basket before the buzzer went off, but the victory went to Wrangell. The final score was 53 to 48.

"Hopefully we're back on track now, we can get our minds right and start winning games," Angerman said.