The Cordova boys finished second in tense 2A Interior Conference playoffs at home on March 7-9.
After cruising past SuValley 63-40 in the first round on Thursday, March 7, Cordova lost to Glennallen by three points, 42-39, in the battle for first place on March 8; and then squeaked past Nenana by four points, 59-55, in the crucial battle for second place on March 9.
The second-place finish earned Cordova a berth in the State 2A tournament in Anchorage on March 14-16.
Cordova and SuValley were knotted at 10 after one quarter in their first game of the playoff, but CHS outscored the Rams 24-6 in the next eight minutes en route to an easy win. Kaiden Graves led CHS with 23 points, including 5 threes.
The Cordova-Glennallen matchup was tight from start to finish. Cordova led 14-11 at the quarter and trailed 25-23 at halftime. Cordova scored 6 points in the third quarter, Glennallen 5, giving the Panthers a 30-29 lead with one stanza left.
Each team managed five field goals in the fourth quarter; Glennallen converted on two of five free throws, while Cordova went zero for three from the charity stripe, giving Glennallen a 42-39 victory.
Graves again led Cordova, this time with 15; talented Panther playmaker Aiden Fields led Glennallen with 16.
Nenana squeaked by Effie Kokrine 58-54 in an early 10:30 a.m. game Saturday morning, before suiting up to play Cordova three hours later, starting at 3 p.m. Despite playing only one reserve for just part of the first quarter, the Lynx gave CHS a challenge, and ironically, lost by a 59-55 final, which was almost identical to the score from just hours before.
Three-point shots are a big part of Cordova’s offense, and they weren’t falling in the first period. CHS missed all six attempts from beyond the arc, and Nenana led 13-8. Cordova hit three treys in the second stanza and outscored the Lynx 16-12 to trail 25-24 at halftime.
The third quarter proved to be decisive, as CHS outdid Nenana 19-13, to take the lead, 43-38. Wolverine Christian Adams, who finished with 19 points, had eight points in that stanza, while Evan Gatton, who finished with 15 points, added a pair of treys.
Nenana, led by the Standifer brothers Josiah and Devin, who combined for 34 points total, actually outscored CHS 17-16 in the last period, but the Wolverines held on to win.
Cordova’s Kaiden Graves, Christian Adams, and Evan Gatton were named to the All-Conference Team.
Individual scoring:
Game 1: Cordova: Graves 23, Gatton 5, Bailey 7, Adams 9, Carrillo 2, Bradford 10, Estes 7. SuValley: Hauton 2, Jolley 11, Drover 12, Pinard 6, Goodman 2, Kehoe 5, Snyder 2. Game 2: Cordova: Graves 15, Gatton 3, Bailey 2, Adams 10, Bradford 7, Estes 2. Glennallen: Jones 4, Weimer 4, Fields, A. 16, Fields, J. 2, Spears 4, Alexander 12. Game 3: Cordova: Pena 5, Graves 13, Gatton 15, Frohnapfel 3, Adams 19, Carrillo 3, Estes 1. Nenana: Standifer, J. 15, Standifer, D. 21, Akaran 10, Stone 3, Amktoohk 6.
