Glennallen flattens Haines in Class 2A game with heated point guard battle

Basketball is a guard-dominated sport these days, and that narrative held true in the second-seeded Glennallen Panthers’ 73-45 romp over the Haines Glacier Bears in the Class 2A state tournament Thursday at the Alaska Airlines Center.

Senior point guard Aidan Fields led his Panthers against the Glacier Bears and junior guard Mark Davis in a gritty matchup that saw the guards trade buckets and exert maximum effort on both sides of the floor.

They anchored their team’s offenses, methodically controlling the pace and hunting for the best shot available. Defensively, Fields and Davis were irritants — scrappy and hard-nosed.

Fields is coached by his dad, James Fields, the Class 2A Coach of the Year who said his son is a sparkplug.

″He’s critical," James Field said. "If you watch the game, when other guys aren’t shooting well, he’ll step up and do what he needs to do to make sure we stay in the game.”

Aidan, a first-team all state selection, led the Panthers with 24 points to go along with three rebounds, three assists and five steals.

“I just focused on the defensive end and let the offense take care of itself,” he said.

Davis didn’t let the Glacier Bears go down without a fight, notching a game-high 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting and adding two steals.

“(Davis) is a good player, he’s really physical, small and quick. It was a good matchup,” Aidan Fields said after battling with Davis for most of the game.

Glennallen, the state champion in 2014 and 2015, advances to Friday’s semifinals, which will feature teams that have all won state championships in the decade.

Defending champion Metlakatla squeaked past Unalakleet 46-45, 2016 champion Unalaska took down Hooper Bay 49-34, and four-time champion Tikigaq, winner of three straight titles from 2009-11, outlasted Cordova 81-73.

Haines stuck with Glennallen early, with both teams trading runs and Glennallen clinging to a six-point lead after the first quarter. However, Fields let loose in the second quarter, racking up a bevy of assists and scoring in bunches to help his team to a 38-20 halftime lead.

Devin Spears furnished 15 points and Trevor Alexander added 11 points and six rebounds for the Panthers. For Haines, Carson Crager joined Davis in double figures with 11 points.

Metlakatla 46, Unalakleet 45

The defending champion Chiefs survived a huge scare from Unalakleet and junior Aidan Ivanoff, a sharpshooter whose 32 points kept the Wolfpack in the game.

A strong defensive effort in the second quarter made the difference for Metlakatla, which outscored Unalakleet 14-2 to grab a 22-14 halftime lead. The Chiefs built a 36-26 lead through three quarters, allowing them to withstand a big fourth quarter for the Wolfpack.

Ivanoff shot 13 of 18 from the field, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Metlakatla flourished behind the double-figure scoring from three players — Conrad Hudson (16 points, 9 rebounds), Desmond King (11 points, 8 rebounds) and Coleton Hayward (11 points).

Tikigaq 81, Cordova 73

Fueled by four double-figure scorers, the Harpooners won the high-scoring contest by outgunning Cordova 23-15 in the decisive third quarter. The game was tied 41-41 at the half, and both teams scored 17 points in the fourth quarter.

Cordova’s loss came despite huge games from Kaiden Graves and Christian Adams. Graves poured in 32 points — he was an impressive 7 of 13 behind the arc — and Adams had a double-double with 20 point and 17 rebounds.

Tikigaq countered with Jalen Cannon’s 24 points, Kaliksun Kirk’s 22, Henry Kowunna’s 18 and Kaesyn Hill’s 12.

Unalaska 49, Hooper Bay 34

The top-seeded Raiders pulled away from Hooper Bay in the second half to win comfortably.

Trevor Wilson’s 15 points and eight rebounds led Unalaska, which stretched a six-point halftime lead by outscoring Hooper Bay 17-10 in the third quarter. Herwin Riodil added 12 points.

Hooper Bay displayed a balanced offense — Arnold Simon scored 10 points, Jaden Joe nine and Kevin Green eight.

ASAA March Madness Alaska

Thursday’s Results

Unalaska 49, Hooper Bay 34

Metlakatla 46, Unalakleet 45

Glennallen 73, Haines 45

Tikigaq 81, Cordova 73

Friday’s Games

Consolation

8 a.m. — Hooper Bay vs. Unalakleet

9:30 a.m. — Haines vs. Tikigaq

Semifinals

3:30 p.m. — Unalaska vs. Metlaklatla

5 p.m. — Glennallen vs. Cordova