Petersburg’s high school basketball players had a packed schedule at home last week, playing against two different teams in four days.
The varsity Vikings won their first two games with the Haines Glacier Bears. But the home team lost their momentum in the second half of the tournament, when Sitka’s Mt. Edgecumbe Braves swept them off their feet.
The Lady Vikings only went up against Haines and lost both of their games to the Lady Glacier Bears.
Petersburg’s basketball players hit the ground running last Wednesday night, playing their best games of the week. The varsity Vikings soundly defeated the visiting Haines Glacier Bears 62-to-31.
Rick Brock, who coaches Petersburg’s boys teams, said he was glad to see his players score evenly and hold up a strong line of defense throughout the first game.
“They’re a young team, but they really play well together,” said Brock. “So, I felt our half-court defense really set ourselves up for scoring on the offensive, and we got to transition quite a bit. We also got production from a lot of different players — and that’s one of the important things for us.”
The Vikings took home another victory on Thursday, but it was a close call. They won their second game against Haines 37-to-36. Brock said it was hard for his players to bounce back after their big win the previous night.
“It’s hard to win two games, especially if you win by a big margin,” said Brock. “That second game, Haines was very aggressive. They didn’t allow us to get out and transition, their half-court defense was better, and we just struggled to put the ball in the basket. We made a couple of turnovers, but we were able to hold our end and come out with a small victory.”
But by Friday, Brock said his players had just about run out of steam. The Mt. Edgecumbe Braves — visiting from Sitka — won the third game 83-to-57. And then Sitka won again on Saturday, 70-to-49. Nevertheless, Brock is satisfied with how his players held up against the Braves, who are undefeated this season.
“So they jumped on us and we never recovered,” said Brock. “But, you know, I still was happy with the way that we played. The guys seemed pleased with at least their competitive level and that they were positive with each other and positive with themselves.”
Like their counterparts, the Lady Vikings’ first game was also their strongest of the week — even though they ended three points behind the Lady Glacier Bears. Haines had an early lead, and the Lady Vikings had to fight back the rest of the way. Petersburg’s girls were dead-even with Haines in the third quarter, and even outscored them in the second and final quarters. But Coach Matt Pawuk said it was a hole just too deep for his team to climb out of.
“I was proud of the girls for how hard they played,” said Pawuk. “[It] ended up being a three point game, and that’s really all you can ask for — is just being in the game when the final horn sounds. And that’s a good team — they’re the number two team and Southeast.”
The Lady Vikings lost that game 27-to-30. And the following night, the proverbial hole for them to climb out of was even deeper. Pauwk said they just couldn’t keep up when the fleet-footed Lady Glacier Bears recovered their energy the second night.
“We had a heck of a time stopping them,” said Pawuk. “They’re a very fast team, they got out a lot of fast break points. It’s just one of those nights where we just didn’t have it.”
The Lady Vikings lost their last game 22-to-46. But Pawuk said he doesn’t think that last game is indicative of how his players will perform this week, or in regionals.
The Vikings will play another bout of home games against the Craig Panthers this week, ending on Petersburg’s Senior Weekend. The Vikings’ performance will determine their placement in the upcoming regional tournament. If the Lady Vikings win both of their games against Craig, they could make it into the third seed. The varsity Vikings are slated for second seed, and they’re set to play the Wrangell Wolves for their first game in regionals.
