The Haines Glacier Bears boys basketball team fell twice to the Metlakatla Chiefs after two breathless comebacks by the scrappy Haines squad.
“I don’t know that I’ve seen such a furious comeback in a long time,” said a Metlakatla announcer Tuesday evening after Haines, down by 20 points at the half, scored 52 points in the third and second quarters to narrow the Chiefs’ lead to two.
In the first half, Haines couldn’t get their shots to drop and only scored five points. The boys came out with a fury after the abysmal start, particularly senior Kirby Faverty who scored 35 points in the half.
Junior Mark Davis hit back-to-back three-point shots to close the spread to single digits.
The Chiefs, frazzled by the dizzying comeback, repeatedly turned the ball over, giving the Bears more and more opportunities.
“This is the definition of a meltdown right now,” the Metlakatla announcer said with minutes left in the game.
Haines was forced to foul the Chiefs to save time, which the Chiefs mostly failed to convert. With less than a minute left, Faverty narrowed the lead to two points after he was fouled and hit both free throws.
Met scored one at the line in a later possession. Haines had one chance to hit a three-pointer to tie the game. Faverty shot a long three, but the ball fell short. Haines fouled and the Chief sunk both shots with seconds left, holding on with a 62-57 win.
The Bears kept a better pace with the Chiefs Monday night, although they stayed down most of the night. Freshman Luke Davis helped the bears claw back after a steal and successful drive followed by a three-point shot which tied the game 52-52 with 17 seconds left in the final quarter.
Metlakatla’s Elijah Caspersen made a buzzer-beating drive to the hoop, giving the Chiefs a 54-52 win.
The boys are 2-2 against the Chiefs, beating them twice at home. The Bears’ season record is 9-5.
The lady Glacier Bears also lost twice to the Miss Chiefs.
On Monday, the Miss Chiefs took an early 15-4 lead in the first quarter. The Bears fought back harder in the second half, scoring 20 of their 30 points in the third and fourth quarters. Turnovers, however, plagued the Glacier Bears. They gave up the ball more than 20 times compared to a dozen Metlakatla turnovers. The Metlakatla squad kept the momentum going for a 50-30 win.
The Glacier Bears girls fell Tuesday, 35-64.
Head coach Coleman Stanford said he was happy with his team’s defensive play, but said the girls need to be more aggressive on offense. “We’re looking at attacking the basket on offense,” Stanford said. “Our defense is looking pretty good.”
The teams traveled to Craig for two more away games this week. They’ll play games in Wrangell and Petersburg the last week of February.