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The Mt. Edgecumbe High School Braves lost a pair of tough games to conference-leading Haines at B.J. McGillis Gymnasium over the weekend.
Both games were tied at the half and missed foul shots were the difference Saturday night, as the Glacier Bears took a 59-57 win on Japonski Island.
On Friday, with the score 27-27, Haines took control of the game in the third quarter, pushing the tempo as senior guard Kyle Fossman found his stroke and the Glacier Bears went ahead for good.
Haines took a 50-42 lead at the end of the third quarter and held on for a 66-54 win. Fossman ended up with 30 points for Haines, while Kyle Rush had 20 and Easton Hagwood added 12.
Sean Melovidov led Mt. Edgecumbe with 19 points and John Peterson, the Braves' freshman point guard, scored 18. Daniel Peters chipped in 8 for the Braves.
It was clear from the opening tip Friday that MEHS coach Archie Young wanted to slow down the pace of the game. The Braves were very deliberate in the first half, and Mt. Edgecumbe kept Haines in check through the first two quarters. But the Glacier Bears asserted themselves in the third quarter, scoring in transition to put the game away.
On Saturday night, the Braves managed to keep the game close. As was the case on Friday, Mt. Edgecumbe played zone defense for the most part and worked to get good looks at the basket on offense. This time, the game was tied 28-28 at the half and Haines led 44-43 after three quarters. Mt. Edgecumbe fed the ball to center Daniel Peters all night and the senior delivered with 25 points. Peterson added 12 and Robert Kruger had 9 for the Braves.
Haines took the lead in the fourth and iced the game at the foul line. Tyler Swinton hit two jump shots to start the fourth quarter for Haines; the Glacier Bears led 48-43, and hung on for a 59-57 win. Fossman had 37 points for Haines, while Rush and Hagwood never got going offensively. Haines played man-to-man the entire night, and Rush managed to hold Mt. Edgecumbe's lead scorer, Melovidov, in check. After the two wins over Edgecumbe, Haines is 6-0 in the conference and 7-2 overall.
The Glacier Bears have wins over Craig and Metlakatla, as well as 4A Thunder Mountain. Fossman, one of the best players in the state, has signed a letter of intent to play at the University of Alaska Anchorage next year. In Swinton, Rush and Hagwood, Fossman has a decent supporting cast as Haines looks to capture a Region V title and make a run at the state tournament.
Fossman led Haines to the 3A state title in 2008 as a sophomore, but the Glacier Bears did not advance out of the region last year.
The Braves will dive headlong into the conference schedule the next few weeks. After crossing the O'Connell Bridge to play Sitka tonight, the Braves will travel to Petersburg Jan. 29-30 for two games, before hosting Wrangell, Sitka and Craig in February. After the losses to Haines, Mt. Edgecumbe is 4-6 overall and 1-3 in the conference.