The Cordova Wolverines had to settle for second place in the Rex Rock Tipoff at Pt. Hope, finishing the three-day round-robin tournament with wins over Metlakatla and SuValley sandwiched around a loss to the defending State 2A champs Tikigaq (Pt. Hope).
In a high-scoring shootout on Jan. 24, Tikigaq topped CHS 95-81. It was the first visit by Cordova to the home of the Harpooners, who edged the Wolverines 59-58 in last year’s Cordova Tipoff, and also tagged CHS with a 81-73 loss in the opening round of the State 2A tournament last year.
Tikigaq is famous for its sharpshooting from long range, yet it was Cordova that dominated from beyond the arc, pouring in 13 three-pointers versus only 5 treys by the Harpooners on their home court.
Tikigaq was running and gunning from the outset, leading 31-15 at the quarter and 58-30 at halftime. CHS actually outscored the Harpooners in the second half by a 51-37 margin, but that was not enough to make up for the 28-point halftime deficit.
Kaiden Graves topped Cordova with 33 points, while Christian Adams added 19. Kaesyn Hill and Jalen Cannon topped Tikigaq with 27 and 23 points respectively.
In the opening round of the tournament on Jan. 23, Cordova edged Metlakatla 61-53 in overtime. Cordova trailed 29-15 at halftime, but battled back to tie the score 49-49 in the second half, forcing the extra period.
Christian Adams came up with a huge game, finishing with 36 points, including 9 in overtime. Adams and Keegan Estes were the only Wolverines to score in the first half, with 9 points from Adams and a pair of three pointers from Estes.
Cordova cruised by SuValley 63-49 in the third round on Saturday, January 25. Graves was hitting from long range, with 21 of his game high 31 points coming from beyond the arc. Trevor Dundas chipped in 13, and Rus Bradford added 12.
It was the third win in a row over SuValley for the Wolverines, who swept a pair of conference road games versus the Rams in early January.
Cordova’s Christian Adams and Kaiden Graves were named to the All-Tournament team.
Tikigaq went undefeated to come in first place.
The Wolverines are now 10-2 overall and will have a week off before a long trip for a pair of games versus conference foe Effie Kokrine at Fairbanks on February 10-11, followed by three games in the Valdez tournament on February 13-16.
Individual scoring
Game 1: Cordova: Graves 3, Dundas 6, Adams 36, Bradford 3, Estes 10, Pena 3. Metlakatla: Hayward 11, Milne 8, Casperson 6, Henderson 8, Orlando 10, Buxton 5, Booth 3. Game 2: Cordova: Graves 33, Dundas 15, Adams 19, Bradford 2, Estes 4, Pena 2, Carrillo 6. Tikigaq: Cannon 23, Hill 27, Kouana, H. 17, Frankson 2, Oenga 11, Kouana, A. 9, Lane 3. Game 3: Cordova: Graves 31, Dundas 13, Bradford 12, Estes 5, Pena 2. SuValley: Jolley, C. 13, Pinard, R. 5, Simeon 3, Jolley, B. 4, PKehoe 14, Goodman 2, Luxford 8.
