A pair of Wrangell Wolves players stretch and reach to try blocking a pass from alumni team member Brett Abrahamson in the annual game at the school gym on Dec. 28.
Basketball players get older, but it doesn't seem to hinder their performance.
High school alumni competed against the current squad of Wrangell Wolves in an annual exhibition game Dec. 28, giving them a lesson in how to play the game. In the end, the high schoolers fell to the out-of-schoolers, 60-39.
Robbie Marshall, the high school assistant coach, played for the alumni team and scored the first basket. That was followed up by the second basket by teammate Jean-Luc Lewis.
Junior Jason Hay took the ball down the court and answered with a basket, putting the Wolves on the board. Tyson Messmer followed suit by tying up the game and was immediately fouled.
The two teams fought hard, and by the end of the first quarter the alumni team led 18-13.
In the beginning of the second quarter, senior Ryan Rooney was fouled but missed his two free throw attempts. Though the younger team stayed hot, free throws seemed to elude them for much of the game.
Senior Daniel Harrison sunk the ball in one turn at the net. Lewis then drove the ball back into scoring territory, only to have Harrison steal it and sink another shot. It was Harrison who brought the Wolves within five points, only to have Marshall score and end the second quarter with a seven-point alumni lead, 29-22.
The alumni team appeared to slow down a bit in the third quarter, which the Wolves took advantage to grab the lead 30-29 with only 3:31 left to play. A fouled alumni player sunk both free throw attempts, overtaking the Wolves, 31-30. Marshall took the ball from there, threw it to teammate Brett Abrahamson, who in turned landed a shot to end the third quarter, 33-30.
In the fourth quarter, the action grew more intense as the Wolves tried to shore up the scores. It wasn't enough to keep the alumni team from continually scoring, eventually winning the game with a score of 60 to 39.
"I think they'll have a good season, for sure," said alumni team member Trevor Miller, who graduated in 2020. He was impressed with how the young squad played.
Head coach Cody Angerman treated the game like any competition, pulling his squad in at various times throughout the game.
"We were good for about three-and-a-half quarters. I'm happy for the first time we stepped on the court," Angerman said. "I think the first six or seven shots we took, we hit the rim, but after that we started inching a little closer and closer to the net."
By this point in the season, he said the team has usually had the opportunity to scrimmage four or five times before regular season play. The pandemic has kept that from happening, so any competition was appreciated.
The first game of the season will be on Jan. 15 in Wrangell against Haines for both boys and girls teams. The girls' alumni game was postponed due to a lack of players until Jan. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in the high school gym.
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