By Don Nash
CVN Sports Columnist
The Haines boys kept alive hopes for a Glacier Bear state championship
at last week’s regional tourney, beating Craig and playing like men against a
Wrangell team that looked big, strong and deep.
Sophomore Kyle Fossman and junior Amadeo Cornacchione went on a rampage
against the Wolves, outscoring Wrangell 27-8 in the second quarter on the way to the 79-67
victory Thursday.
A dinner and auction are planned 6 p.m. Friday at the school cafeteria
to raise money for travel expenses.
The Bears started wobbly against Wrangell, falling behind 4-0 two
minutes into play before battling back to trail 18-16 at the end of the first period.
Fossman and Orion Falvey’s three-pointers opened up the inside game.
Falvey’s trey at the seven-minute mark in the second quarter put
Haines up, 20-18, and in the last minute of the half, Ryan Olsen and Chandler Kemp made
layups on sharp passes from Fossman, who was double-teamed.
With Haines leading 43-26 at the start of the second half, Fossman sank
a three-pointer to give the Bears a 20-point cushion. The Wolves slowly eroded that lead
and with just 3:18 left to play were down only six points.
The fouling strategy of the Wolves put the Bears at the line 17 times
in the final period. Falvey, Fossman and Cornachhione converted 12 of 17 to hold the
Wolves at bay. Haines scorers: Fossman 36, Falvey 16, Cornacchione 13, James Hart and
Olsen, 6 each, and Kemp, 2.
Coach Steve Fossman kept to the six-man rotation but had Olsen start in
place of Kemp in the game.
Friday’s 3A Southeast title against Petersburg was everything we
expected. Trailing the whole contest, the closest Haines came was 24-26 with two minutes
left in the second quarter.
Missing shots continuously and watching the ball roll and bounce into
Viking hands, the boys kept battling but couldn’t close Petersburg’s 10 to
15-point cushion. The Bears chose some desperate shots and struggled at the free throw
line, making only 18 of 31.
Falvey seemed reluctant to shoot and Fossman didn’t make the
tough, in-your-face baskets of the Wrangell game. Cornacchione got many inside looks but
Vikings Jordon Birchell and Cameron Severson defended well, causing hurried shots and
blocking or partially blocking others. Guard play by Vikings Cody Smith and Jon Mazella
proved the main difference. They combined for 44 points and took care of the ball against
the Bears’ press.
The Vikings went on a 16-0 run early in the fourth period, which closed
the deal. The Bears showed depth and strength of character by staying close against the
defending state champions and giving themselves the chance to win. Final score, 74-62.
Haines scorers: Fossman, 28, Cornacchione, 12 with 20 rebounds, Falvey,
9, Hart, 7, and Olsen, 6. Coach Fossman said he thought that the team was a little tired
playing three days in a row.
The Glacier Bear boys started the tourney with a 77-67 win over Craig
Wednesday. Falvey opened the game with a strong drive to the hoop and Kyle Fossman
followed with back-to-back threes.
The Bears led 18-10 at the end of the first period and Falvey and
Cornacchione scored all 18 of Haines’ second-quarter points to stay just ahead of
Craig’s Matt Carpenter and Jeff Whicker, who poured in 23. Carpenter had four
long-range threes and seven in the game.
Craig kept the score close to the point of worry for the Haines fans.
Cornacchione dominated the boards at both ends, and in one, two-minute span hauled in six
rebounds and scored seven. With 2:13 left in the third, Falvey completed a three-point
play to give Haines its largest lead of the game, 55-43.
With the minutes ticking away to the final buzzer, Craig was forced to
foul. Fossman negated that strategy, sinking 10 of 13 and finishing the game 14 of 17.
Scoring: Fossman, 28, Cornacchione, 22, Falvey, 21, Olsen, 4 and Hart, 2.
Although not scoring much, Hart, Olsen and Kemp held the big men of
Craig to a combined 13 points and helped Haines win the rebounding battle. Cornacchione
was so tuned in to the game he didn’t notice his father Angelo entering the gym with
three minutes left in the game. The exchange student’s dad had just arrived from
Italy.
Playing the whole game for the Bears was Fossman, Cornacchione, Falvey
and Hart. Kemp started and Olsen came off the bench to play more minutes.
In the crossover game against 4A Sitka Saturday, coach Fossman proved
true to his word, substituting Easton Hagwood into the game for son Kyle with 4:50 left in
the first period. The Wolves didn’t want to lose to the Glacier Bears, but coach
Fossman didn’t want to win bad enough to play his six-man rotation after promising
his bench playing time.
Richard Bachman, Kyle Rush, Forest Podsiki and Payson Schnabel also got
significant playing time. It was a fun game to watch. With nothing on the line and a
chance to coach his less experienced players, Coach Fossman rotated one or two in at a
time and looked pleased with their play.
Sitka held a 10-point lead when Fossmen went back to his starters with
a minute left in the third quarter. Haines pulled to within two when Kyle Fossman found
Olsen for an easy layup with 5:19 remaining. After three Fossman free throws, Sitka went
on a 9-0 run, leading 61-51.
Cornacchione converted on a free throw to end Sitka’s run at three
minutes remaining and then Fossman took over and scored 10 points in the last 1:46 of the
game. With Haines trailing by two, Fossman made three of three free throws to put Haines
up with 9.5 seconds to play, 68-67.
Sitka took a hurried shot at the other end and Cornacchione came down
with the rebound and was fouled. He made two of two and Haines won, 70-67. Haines scorers:
Cornacchione, 26, Fossman, 25, Falvey, 8, Olsen, 6, Hart, 4, and Rush, 1.
For the tournament, Fossman made 83 percent of his free throws and made
11 threes. Falvey was 17 of 26, 65 percent from the charity stripe, with nine threes.
Cornacchione made 28 of 50 fouls and hauled in 56 rebounds. Olsen had 21 boards and played
solid defense.
The all-conference selections for the boys were my picks of last week:
Fossman, Falvey and Cornacchione. Falvey and Kemp were named for academic excellence and
Kemp and Podsiki made the Great Sport team.
At state, the Haines boys face Grace Christian Thursday, March 20 at
the University of Alaska-Anchorage. Petersburg will play Heritage Christian, whose only
loss to a 3A team came on Sunday when they were upset by guess who? Grace Christian!
With a win, Haines will play the winner of a Bethel – Eielson
matchup Friday at 6:50 pm in the Sullivan Arena. So they have great matchups and it could
very well be an all-Southeast state championship.
