Glacier Bears win first games of the basketball season
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Eric Gillham drives to the basket during the Glacier Bears game against Thunder Mountain at home. Lori Giddings photo.
The Glacier Bears swept the series against Juneau's Thunder Mountain junior varsity on Dec. 17-18. The Bears won the first game 48-40 and the second game 69-43.
The Bears started the first game strong after junior Eric Gillham won the tipoff. Junior Luke Davis then set up a play that helped senior Zander Willard drill a three-pointer. The Bears outscored TM 12-7 in the first quarter. Gillham scored seven of the team's points.
The Bears entered halftime with a five-point lead after a buzzer beater from Gillham.
The Bears outscored TM 16-12 in the third quarter. With a close score in the fourth quarter, TM began to foul the Bears with one-minute left in the game. After being fouled, Gillham made both of his free throws to extend their lead to 48-37. Gillham carried the team to an eight-point victory after scoring 25 points.
"That first night with 25 felt amazing," said Gillham. "My plan was to just be aggressive on every opportunity for a score, whether it was a layup, three, or fast break. I had lots of makes and lots of misses and the key was just to have the mentality that the shot was going in every time. I thought 'if I miss a shot, who cares," and then I got it out of my mind and moved onto the next play."
On the second night, the Bears outscored TM 11-8 during the first quarter after freshmen Phoenix Swaner made a layup with three seconds left in the quarter.
The Bears dominated the second quarter with three pointers and fast breaks. Willard started the quarter with back-to-back threes. Sophomore Kayden Beck maintained this momentum with a fast break layup. The Bears led 40-19 going into halftime.
TM started the third quarter with a full-court press as they tried to make a comeback. TM scored five points as the Bears adjusted to the pressure. The Bears broke the press and ended the third quarter with a 23-point lead.
With a large lead over TM, Haines Coach Don Nash alternated his bench players into the game. With 4:25 left in the fourth quarter, TM fumbled the ball to sophomore Douglas Adams. Adams then passed to Gillham, who darted down the court for a fast break. Gillham gathered the ball around the free throw line and dunked it. The gym erupted into cheers and Gillham's teammates celebrated with him as they ran back to play defense.
"I had quite a few chances (to dunk) in the first and second night," said Gillham. "The main thing was just making sure I had a good grip, good stride, and being safe with getting points on the board. The first few chances just didn't feel right, so I waited for the right one and then slammed it."
The Bears won the game 69-43. Each player scored points for the team. Zander Willard, the only senior on the team, said he's excited for the rest of the season. "So far I feel as though our season has gone a lot smoother than I thought it would," said Willard. "We have two brand new coaches and I thought it would take us a while to get used to how they run practices, but we adapted to it right away and everything has gone well. I'm amazed at how well we are working together and I can't wait to see what we are like once we are all running at one-hundred percent."
The Glacier Bears will take on the Petersburg Vikings at home Jan. 7-8. These will be the first conference games of the season and will contribute to Haines' record and seeding for the Region V Tournament. All community members are able to attend with a face covering. The games will also be live-streamed via the Haines School YouTube channel.
