The Wrangell Wolves beat the Craig Panthers 61-50 to qualify for the state tournament. (Courtesy of Katrina Ottesen)
The Wrangell Wolves are headed to the state basketball tournament after winning two of three games at the Southeast Region V 2A tournament in Ketchikan last weekend.
The Wrangell High School boys’ team beat Craig 61-50 to earn the second berth to state behind 2A champion Metlakatla.
It has been about 10 years since the Wolves last won a spot at the state tournament.
Wolves Coach Ray Stokes said he is proud of his team and the progress they have made throughout the season.
“I think a lot of people didn’t give us much of a chance. And they’ve gotten better and progressively better,” Stokes said. “And right now they’re a team that, I think, is really kind of dangerous and has a chance. Who knows what could happen at the state level once you get there?”
The Wolves lost their first game Thursday to the Metlakatla Chiefs after holding the lead through the first half. Wrangell bounced back to beat Haines on Friday and Craig on Saturday.
Stokes said he knew the game against Craig would be a challenge.
Wrangell students Bryce Gerald and Blake Stokes won the All-Tournament Award at the 2A Region V tournament in Ketchikan. (Courtesy of Jack Carney)
“They kind of create some problems for us with match-ups. They’re pretty quick and penetrate a lot and got us in foul trouble in the past. So we made some adjustments to that defensively and totally confused them on that. And the boys played a great game and were able to qualify for state by beating them quite handily,” Stokes said.
The Wolves play their first game of the state tournament in Anchorage next Monday evening against the Glennallen Panthers.
The Lady Wolves beat Haines at the region tournament and lost to Metlakatla and Craig.
