Petersburg boys rally back and win rescheduled matchup in quarterfinals of Alaska 2A basketball tournament
Mar. 17—Plenty of teenagers loathe having to get up early in the morning for school. But for most of the members of the Petersburg boys basketball team, early wake-up calls are standard.
The team's quarterfinal matchup with Hooper Bay in the opening round of the 2023 state 2A basketball tournament was originally slated to be played at 3:15 p.m. Thursday.
Due travel complications with Cordova that prevented the team from making it to town in enough time to play Metlakatla at 8 a.m., Petersburg was told Wednesday afternoon that their game was getting moved up to the first of the day.
The Vikings found themselves trailing by nearly double figures at halftime after getting outscored in each of the first two quarters but flipped the script on the Warriors in the second half on their way to a 58-55 come-from-behind victory.
"Most of these kids fish in the summertime, so getting up at eight o'clock in the morning to play a basketball game is nothing to them," Petersburg coach Rick Brock said. "They get up at 4 a.m. to start fishing."
Even with short notice, his players still weren't happy about having the game moved but realized they shared the same plight with their opponents.
"At first, I was a little bummed out that I had to get up at 6 a.m. to play the 8 a.m. game, but I was actually pretty excited because Hooper Bay was in the same position as us," senior Jack Engell said. "I fished this last summer, so I'm used to getting up this early and grind from sunrise."
In the early going, it appeared that the team was still in need of a wake-up call.
"I thought in the first half, we were getting all the looks we wanted to — we just weren't finishing at the rim," Brock said. "We kind of talked about how to finish. Our post inside did a great job, and we started taking some outside jumpers and (made) huge free throws down the stretch."
Engell was named Player of the Game for Petersburg — and deservingly so after he led the team with game-high 23 points, the last two of which came on a pair of clutch free throws to extend their lead by three points in the final minutes.
"All season long, he's just been a warrior for us, and he just plays from tip to horn," Brock said. "He's a handful inside, and he kind of struggled in the first half a little bit with his shots, and I thought he did a good job of getting his composure back in the second half and making some big baskets for us."
The Vikings lost in the first round of the state tournament in each of the last two years and were coming off back-to-back losses at their own regional tournament. With the win, they are confident that this year they can defy the odds and make a run.
"The whole season, we've had to have the grind mentality, and it really showed in this game," Engell said. "Me being a senior this year, I wanted to make sure that I can play as long as I can and hopefully make it to the championship game. I think we're only going to go up from here."
Next up for Petersburg is a daunting task in which they will have to try to dethrone reigning state champion Ninilchik, which blew out Unalakleet 97-55 in the second game of the day.
Girls
Metlakatla 52, Unalakleet 37
Second-seeded Metlakatla got off to a slow start but found its rhythm offensively and pulled away from seventh-seeded Unalakleet in the fourth quarter. After being tied 18-18 at halftime, the Chiefs outscored the Wolfpack in the second and allowed just five points in the final period. Metlakatla had just two players score in double figures and was led by Bree Chavez's 16 points followed by Kennedy Cook (10). Unalakleet also had just two players reach double digits in scoring, led by Aryanna Ivanoff's 16 points followed by Lizabeth Ivanoff (10).
Su-Valley 39, Chevak 17
Third-seeded Su-Valley came out on top in a low-scoring affair with sixth-seeded Chevak. The Rams forced a whopping 30 turnovers and didn't allow the Comets to reach double digits on the scoreboard until there was just over a minute left in the third quarter. Su-Valley had just two players score in double figures, led by Emma Kehoe's 16 points followed by Alana Barron (10). Chevak didn't have a single player reach double figures in scoring but had Kali Hill and Laney Green tie for the team lead with five points apiece.
Tikigaq 58, Craig 47
Reigning 2A state champion and top-seeded Tikigaq pulled away in the second half to dispatch of Craig and move into the semis. Jennifer Nash was the Harpooners leading scorer with 19 points. Teammate Jadyn Lane added 16. That helped Tikigaq overcome a tremendous effort by Craig's Alissa Durgan, who scored 29 points, over 60 percent of the team's total.
Glennallen 39, Haines 23
Fifth-seeded Glennallen took down fourth-seeded Haines in a low-scoring affair where points were hard to come by. The Panthers accounted for all six of the points scored in the first quarter but were outscored 13-3 in the second. Glennallen returned the favor after halftime and outscored the Glacier Bears 30-10, scoring 15 points in each of the final two quarters. Nearly 70 percent of Glennallen's offensive production on the night came from two players as the team was led in scoring by Cheyenne Fields' 15 points followed by CeAnika Palacios (12). Haines had just one player record double figures in scoring, Ari'el Godinez Long who totaled 10 points.
Boys
Ninilchik 97, Unalakleet 55
Reigning 2A state champion and top-seeded Ninilchik tipped off its title defense with a resounding win over eighth-seeded Unalakleet. After going back and forth in the early portion of the first period, the Wolverines pulled ahead and pulled away by nearly doubling the Wolfpack's point total in each of the first three periods. Ninilchik had four players score in double figures, led by Colvin Moore's 27 points and followed by Jaylin Scott (21) and Kade McCorison (20). Unalakleet's John Soderstrom accounted for over half of his team's total points with a game-high 31 points.
Tikigaq 64, Wrangell 51
Third-seeded Tikigaq came from behind to avoid an upset and defeat sixth-seeded Wrangell. The Harpooners trailed by nearly double digits at halftime after held to score four points in the second quarter. They exploded in the second half thanks to a huge effort by senior Joelian Lane who recorded over half of his team's point total with a game-high 36 points. The Wolves were led in scoring by Jacen Hay's 19 points.
Metlakatla 50, Cordova 33
Metlakatla used a strong second half to pull away from Cordova and move into the semis. Cordova led 18-16 at halftime, but Metlakatla outscored Cordova 34-15 in the second half. The Wolverines didn't have anyone reach double figures, and Metlakatla was led in scoring by Shayne Anderson's 17, while teammate Trinity Jackson added 12.
Girls
Thursday
Metlakatla 52, Unalakleet 37
Su-Valley 39, Chevak 17
Tikigaq 58, Craig 47
Glennallen 39, Haines 23
Semifinals
Metlakatla vs. Su-Valley, 3:15 p.m.
Tikigaq vs. Glennallen, 4:45 p.m.
Boys
Quarterfinals
Thursday
Petersburg 58, Hooper Bay 55
Ninilchik 97, Unalakleet 55
Tikigaq 64, Wrangell 51
Metlakatla 50, Cordova 33
Semifinals
Metlakatla vs. Tikigaq, 6:15 p.m.
Ninilchik vs. Petersburg, 7:45 p.m.
