With physical defense and just enough timely shotmaking, the Haines Glacier Bears survived at the buzzer to win a Southeast region title.
The Glacier Bears came into the game underdogs against Petersburg, a team with whom they split the season series. Given two close prior matchups, it made sense that a third meeting between the teams would once again come down to the wire. But you wouldn’t have guessed it — nor would you have guessed Haines’ underdog status — through the first half Friday night.
After a slow start, Haines was the first team to start finding easy buckets, fueled by swarming team defense. Quick to send help on Petersburg’s forays into the paint, Haines forced a series of turnovers. Between the turnovers and rebounding by senior big man James Stickler, the Glacier Bears had plenty of opportunities to run, and run they did.
In the open floor, the game plan seemed to be to find senior point guard Colton Combs. Combs at full speed was the best offensive weapon in the game, including multiple finishes through two Petersburg defenders in the first half.
Combs’ hot start continued even in the halfcourt, where he carried the offense for long stretches. With a minute to go in the first quarter, Combs drained a three off the dribble, and then seconds later jumped in for a steal and quick layup, forcing a Petersburg timeout.
The momentum stayed with the Glacier Bears through the second quarter. As Haines continued to help aggressively and leave shooters open, Petersburg was unable to capitalize, missing a string of open three-point attempts.
Haines Defensive standouts included junior Brody Ferrin, who also chipped in much-needed secondary scoring, and senior JC Davis.
The Glacier Bears also got strong minutes off the bench from juniors Kyren Sweet and Wade Lloyd, with Lloyd cashing a timely three, a big block, and slowing down Petersburg senior point guard Noah Pawuk on defense.
As the half ticked on, the same gifts kept on giving. Near the half time buzzer, Combs, seemingly feeling his oats, walked into and drained a deep three well behind the line, giving Haines the 31-12 lead that they would take into the locker room.
But the Petersburg that returned for the second half looked like a different team.
On the offensive end, the Vikings were far more effective clearing space for their perimeter players. Pawuk, showing off his quickness, blew by Haines defenders multiple times. The cleaner offense by Petersburg paid huge dividends going the other way as well. With fewer turnovers and long rebounds to run off of, Haines began to get stuck in the muck. The first half remedy of Combs’ shotmaking dried up, thanks in large part to Petersburg senior Brayden Tucker.
Tucker’s smothering defense on the Haines guard, plus perimeter doubles from his teammates, held the Haines sparkplug scoreless for much of the half.
By the end of the third quarter, Petersburg clawed back to a 36-24 deficit.
It was more of the same into the fourth as the Glacier Bears saw their once massive lead evaporate. Petersburg’s Camden Johnson banked-in a three to cut the deficit to six with just under seven minutes to go — the first signs of Petersburg life from beyond the arc.
With Combs — who played all game, full speed on both ends — shut down, other Glacier Bears pitched in offense to keep the team afloat. A Kyren Sweet steal and score and a Stickler layup were some of the few Haines baskets, but Johnson and Pawuk continued to chip away at the Haines lead. Two high-pressure free throws from Petersburg senior Logan Tow made it 41-38 with a minute and a half to go.
In the end, the game was decided by a long final minute with a movie-script number of dramatic turns.
Inside the final minute, Ferrin made one of two free throws to push the Haines lead to four. Petersburg then attacked quickly to cut into the two-score deficit, missing but rebounding an initial three-point attempt. That led to a corner-three in which the Petersburg shooter was fouled by Combs.
Two made free throws left Haines with a two-point lead and the ball, 6.3 seconds between them and a title. Needing something improbable to stay alive, Petersburg answered the call, denying the Haines inbound pass to earn a five-second violation and the ball.
After inbounding the ball from the baseline, Petersburg had a layup to tie the game. But the attempt was denied under the rim by what looked to be a game-winning steal from Haines sophomore guard Isaac Jones.
In the ensuing rush for the loose ball, however, which Jones and his backcourt-partner Combs looked like they secured, Haines was called for a travel.
That gave Petersburg one last chance at a game-winner. A clean inbounds play left Pawuk, until then their most effective weapon, with an open, straight-away three, for the game. Pawuk’s shot was one of the most accurate Petersburg long-range attempts of the day, but it wasn’t accurate enough. As the buzzer sounded, the ball clanked off the front rim, giving Haines the win.
With one title in hand, the Glacier Bears are now in Anchorage as the third seed in the state 2A tournament. The Glacier Bears will play a first round game against #6 Tikigaq March 12.
