Daniel Harrison plays strong under the basket in action against Metlakatla in Southeast tournament play Saturday in Sitka. Wrangell's Trevyn Gillen (No. 22) stands ready to assist. Wrangell won the game to take second in Southeast and advance to state.
Despite a rocky start at the regional tournament, the Wrangell boys varsity basketball team defeated Metlakatla in their final game Saturday to take second place in Southeast, earning a spot at the Division II state tournament.
Head coach Cody Angerman felt that one goal for the team all season was to work toward being at their best at regionals. "I think that as the season went on, we got better," he said.
Entering the tournament in Sitka as the No. 3 seed, the Wolves lost their first game on Wednesday, March 6, to the No. 2 seed, the Petersburg Vikings. After a close game that was tied at halftime, the Vikings overtook the Wolves in the second half and won 54-43. Junior Daniel Harrison was the top scorer for Wrangell with 26 points, while junior Kyan Stead scored 10.
The Wolves then had to win every game to stay in the tournament. Angerman told his team to treat that first loss as a warm-up and focus on the next game.
In their game Thursday against the Craig Panthers, Wrangell answered the challenge, winning 75-47. Harrison contributed to Wrangell's early lead but got into foul trouble later in the game, and Stead picked up the slack to become the top scorer with 23 points, while Harrison had 19 points. Sophomore Boomchain Loucks contributed 13 points.
On Friday, Wrangell took on the Haines Glacier Bears. Initially a tight game that had Haines in the lead at halftime, the Wolves bounced back and overtook them. Haines battled to narrow the lead, but Harrison and Stead took advantage of free throws late in the game to put Wrangell further ahead. At the final buzzer, Wrangell won, 60-49. Harrison was top scorer with 25; Stead had 11 points.
In their final game on Saturday, Wrangell found themselves up against the top-ranked Metlakatla Chiefs, who lost their previous game to Petersburg, the eventual tournament champ.
"It felt like a must-win," Angerman said.
The Wolves played one of their best games all season. Wrangell's defense and baskets put them ahead at halftime, 34-27. But with 26.5 seconds remaining, the Chiefs were behind by only 3 points. However, a couple of costly turnovers by Metlakatla gave Wrangell the opportunity to go to the free throw line and extend their lead, winning 64-60 and taking second place in the tournament and a trip to state.
Harrison was the top scorer Saturday with 35 points, including 14 free throws. Stead was the ultimate utility player at 18 points (with 8 free throws), 8 rebounds, 7 steals and 5 assists.
Loucks, whom Angerman said never seemed to tire, scored 10 points and had 5 steals within the first six minutes of Saturday's game.
Other players who provided great defense and shots during all the regional tournament games included senior Keegan Hanson, juniors Trevyn Gillen and Lucas Schneider. "Everybody just showed up to play," Angerman said.
Because of their overall stats, Metlakatla will also compete at state, joining Wrangell and Southeast winner Petersburg.
Wrangell's first game at the state tournament in Anchorage will be against the Cordova Wolverines on Thursday, March 14. "We played them at state last year," Angerman said. "I feel like they're a pretty scrappy team and they play hard. It's going to be a dogfight, for sure, but I feel like we're ready for it."
At the awards ceremony after the Southeast tournament, Hanson won an award for All-Academic, and Brody Knecht and Hanson won Good Sport awards. Harrison and Stead earned spots on the All-Conference Team.
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