Boys basketball takes 6th in emotional state tournament

On paper, the Wrangell High School boys basketball state bid was unexceptional. They dropped their opening game to Seward, bounced back in a win against Fairbanks charter school Effie Kokrine, and eventually settled for sixth after falling by three points to Susitna Valley at the tournament held in Anchorage on March 13-15.

But you'll need to keep shaking the Polaroid if you want to develop the full picture of Wrangell's performance.

Early Sunday morning, March 9, while the team was at the Southeast regional in Ketchikan, head coach Cody Angerman was informed that his father, Southeast high school basketball icon Fred Angerman Jr., had suddenly passed.

"It's been a tough week for us," Cody Angerman said. "It's not an excuse. It's just been real hard."

Wearing warmups emblazoned with "Fast Freddy" and his signature No. 12 on their backs, the Wolves did exactly what Fast Freddy would have done: They took the court, and they competed.

The boys' opening game of the tournament was a tough one on March 13. Wrangell, the tournament's No. 5 seed, matched up against No. 4 Seward. Seward took an early 25-8 lead, and though Wrangell responded with 15-0 run of their own, the early deficit was ultimately too wide a gap to bridge. The Wolves scored just three points in the fourth quarter and Wrangell fell 57-30.

"We're still here and we're still here to do the best we can," Angerman said. "We still want to show the reason why we came here to compete."

And compete, they did. On March 14, the Wolves faced Effie Kokrine for a spot in the fourth-place game the following day. The Wolves blew the Warriors out of the water, winning 76-40.

Despite a lopsided final score, the matchup included a close opening quarter. The game's first nine shots between the two teams all found the bottom of the net. Five of which were three-pointers.

A Jackson Powers three and a Daniel Harrison putback pushed the Wrangell lead to 22-16. But the Warriors weren't backing down and the two teams headed into the locker room at halftime with Wrangell up 26-24. In the opening half, Wrangell shot 50% from beyond the arc.

"We've done a lot of shooting lately and just working on some different offensive schemes to get them open looks," Angerman said. "We have a few things up our sleeve to get the guys open looks and get them the shots that we've been asking them to get."

Turns out when Angerman said he had a few things up his sleeve, he was referencing his pocket aces.

The third quarter opened with an 11-2 Wrangell run, eight of which came from Harrison. Harrison continued to dominate, and by the third quarter ended Wrangell's lead blossomed to 15 points, 49-34. Harrison, who was later named to the Division 2A All-State Tournament Team, was happy with his performance.

"It feels good," he said. "I think we definitely took our loss yesterday and learned from our mistakes. The first half they kept it close. They played tough and we just executed what we wanted."

But Harrison wasn't done, and neither were the Wolves. Angerman's signature defensive trap was on full display when Kyan Stead recorded his third steal of the game. A barrage of Wrangell scoring combined with a stymied defensive display in the fourth. Wrangell won the quarter 26-6. Harrison led the Wolves with 27 points and eight rebounds. Stead scored 17 and added seven boards.

On the tournament's final day, Wrangell faced their final battle: Susitna Valley for fourth place. Wrangell fell into an early deficit and trailed 23-9 after eight minutes of action. But the Wolves fought back in the second quarter with a strong defensive showing, holding Susitna Valley to just four points.

When the fourth quarter began, Wrangell led 41-39. From there, the score bounced back and forth. Wrangell continued to find scoring options, but the Rams kept lingering just behind them. Finally, the Rams took a 51-50 lead, before stretching it to 53-50 with 1:45 to play. Neither team scored again. Wrangell settled for sixth place.

Unalakleet won the state title by defeating Cordova in the championship.

For Wrangell's five seniors, the tournament concluded their high school playing careers.

"This game has meant everything to me," senior captain Lucas Schneider said. "I feel like my identity has been basketball. Throughout the summer, fall, winter it has always been basketball. In our games we just scrap it out and play basketball, be the best that we can be."

For Cody Angerman, the loss of his father ahead of the tournament added something else. After talking it over with family, Angerman decided that coaching the boys at the state tournament is exactly what his father would have wanted. And while he obviously hoped to win the whole thing, Angerman reminded his boys that his dad's legacy wasn't only about winning.

"My dad was not undefeated in high school, and neither are we," Angerman said. "Did I want to win? Yes. Not even for my dad, it's just the competitive nature he instilled in me."

"He was a competitor," Angerman reflected. "But he was humble about it. ... We make our game do the talking. Either way, win or lose, that's how I approach things."

Editing and additional reporting by Sentinel reporter Sam Pausman.