Playing before packed crowds at CHS Court, the Cordova Wolverines went undefeated to win the 38th Annual Cordova Tipoff on Jan. 16-18.
Utilizing aggressive full court pressure throughout the three-day round-robin classic, defense keyed their surprisingly lopsided 57-29 win over Unalaska in the opening round.
The two teams had met in the first round of Rally the Regions tournament in Anchorage two weeks earlier, with the Raiders taking CHS to overtime before losing 55-48.
This time Cordova held Unalaska to 9 points in the first quarter and 4 in the second, to lead 21-13 at intermission. Pressure “D” wore down the visitors in the second half, with Cordova outscoring Unalaska 36-16 in that stretch, including a 25-point fourth quarter.
CHS senior Kaiden Graves was lights out from long range, pouring in a game high 23 points. Fellow senior Christian Adams added 10. The Wolverines hit 5 three-pointers, and amazingly, shot only four free throws in the entire contest.
In the second round, a quick and scrappy Wasilla JV team challenged the Wolverines, handling the press fairly well, trailing 27-24 at halftime, and battling back from a 15-point deficit in the third quarter to lose by a 54-48 final.
Graves was again deadly from beyond the arc, pouring in five treys and finishing with a game high 22 points. Adams was the other part of Cordova’s high-powered senior duo, hitting for 13.
The small but speedy Scammon Bay Eagles, guided by legendary Coach Harvey Sundown, showed why they are a continual 2A power, using incredible long-range shooting to rally from a 10-point halftime deficit to close within 4 points in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s final before losing 70-54.
In an attempt to nullify Cordova’s low-post attack, Sundown had his squad play a 2-3 zone throughout most of the game. CHS countered with 6-foot-3-inch Christian Adams in the middle. The lanky senior repeatedly scored on 10-foot jumpers over the outstretched hands of smaller defenders for a total of 17 field goals on the way to a season high 35 points.
Scammon Bay stayed in the game with a total of 14 three-pointers, several from NBA range that had Cordova fans oohing in admiration.
Cordova’s Kaiden Graves was named Tournament MVP, and Christian Adams was selected to the eight-member All-Tournament Team.
Cordova is now 9-1 overall, with their only loss coming against Petersburg in the Rally the Regions championship game. The Wolverines next travel way up north to Pt. Hope, for their first appearance in the Rex Rock Tip-Off on Jan. 23-25.
The tournament is loaded, with 2A Metlakatla, 3A Barrow, and CHS joining defending 2A state champions Tikigaq (Pt. Hope) in three days of round-robin action.
Individual scoring
Game 1: Cordova: Pena 2, Graves 23, Dundas 8, Thorne 2, Adams 10, Bradford 5, Estes 7, Unalaska: Pereat 3, Esnbards 6, Guzman 4, Rindil 7, Mguyen 6, Lee 3. Game 2: Cordova: Pena 2, Graves 22, Dundas 6, Thorne 2, Adams 13, Carrillo 1, Bradford 2, Estes 6. Game 3: Graves 11, Dundas 7, Adams 35, Bradford 9, Estes 8. Scammon Bay: Titus 2, Sunddown 6, Smith 15, Rivers 15, Charlie 16.
