For the second consecutive weekend, a Haines basketball opponent forced the “mercy rule” into effect by taking a 40-point lead on the Glacier Bears’ home court.
(The mercy rule allows the game clock to run without stopping.)
The Wrangell boys pounded the Haines varsity, 57-18, on Saturday, the second game of their weekend series at Karl Ward Gymnasium.
“From what I’ve seen, they’ve really improved,” coach Steve Fossman said of the Wolves. Wrangell topped Haines by 15 points in one January contest.
Two freshmen led the Glacier Bears in scoring, as Hudson Sage had 6 points and Dalton Klinger added 5.
Wrangell also took Friday’s varsity game, 64-37. Senior Keegan Sundberg scored 11 points; Dalton Klinger, 6; seniors Kyle Klinger and Josh Stearns, 4; senior Jordan Badger, sophomore Jacob Stigen and freshman Dylan Swinton, 3; sophomore Dylan Palmieri, 2; and junior Matthew Green, 1. Senior Keanu Lynch missed the series with a broken finger.
The junior varsity boys entertained the home crowd with two close games against the Wolves. Junior Trevor Cox, making his home debut for the season, tallied 24 points, including the game-winning basket, in a 46-44 win on Friday. Cox is only eligible for JV play after transferring from Skagway.
The Wolves had more success on defense the following night, holding Cox to 2 points in a 47-43 Wrangell win. Other scoring for Haines included Dalton Klinger, 11; Stigen, 10; Green, 9; Sage, 7; and Palmieri, 4.
In girls’ basketball last weekend, turnovers stymied the Glacier Bears on their trip to Wrangell. The Haines varsity opened with a 51-24 loss.
“We had a crazy number of travels in that game,” said coach Greg Brittenham.
Top scorers for Haines were senior Natalia Taylor, 10; and junior Kayley Swinton, 9. Junior Destinee Cowart had a dozen rebounds.
The Glacier Bears narrowed the final margin of defeat to 42-30 in the second game.
Brittenham said the Wolves did not take control until the last few minutes. “I’m not a moral victory guy, but that is the best we’ve ever played.”
Swinton put together a dominating performance, with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Cowart also continued to be a force on the boards, snatching 13 rebounds. The team combined for 51 rebounds.
“We wanted to get a lot of shots up, and the girls took it to heart,” Brittenham said. “We were getting some offensive rebounds.”
Freshman Makayla Crager added 4 points; senior Paige Winge, junior Jenae Larson and freshman Tulsi Zahnow, 3; and Cowart, 2.
Wrangell also won the JV games, 38-28 and 29-25. Crager had 7 points and 8 rebounds in the first game, despite playing in only two quarters to save her for the varsity contest.
Sophomore Bozhi Sebens paced the team with 7 points in game two, while Crager and Zahnow contributed 6 each. Crager snatched 9 rebounds, again in two quarters of play.
The girls are off this weekend and then will head to the regional tournament in Ketchikan. The boys will host Metlakatla in a re-scheduled series, with game times set for 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday during breaks in the Dick Hotch Memorial Basketball Tournament schedule.
The weekend before the Wrangell series, the Haines boys played at Metlakatla, with the varsity losing 61-34 and 58-24. Badger led with 9 points in the first game, and Kyle Klinger matched that total in the second. Metlakatla also took the JV match-ups, 51-45 and 66-58, despite Cox pouring in 26 and 28 points, respectively.
Fossman said his team still is aiming to outrun its opponents. “We’re going to make a few changes in the fastbreak to get our number of shots up and our number of turnovers down.”
He said the Glacier Bears hope to pull off some late-season surprises at the regional competition.“Whatever happens at the tournament is what stands,” he said.