It was another disappointing weekend for the Wrangell Wolves boys basketball team, which lost games on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 23-24, in Metlakatla.

The boys lost by 31 points on Friday and 22 points on Saturday.

But on a more positive note, the Wrangell junior varsity boys won both their games against Metlakatla on Friday and Saturday.

The varsity boys, now 0-6 on the year, will try to grab their first wins of the season when they travel for a game against Klawock on Thursday, Jan. 29, followed by games against Craig on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 30-31.

Friday night, the varsity boys started with a full-court press, attempting to set the tone from the beginning. Team captain Aadyn Gillen said their game plan was to “shut them down defensively … especially with a new press we practiced this week.”

Shots just weren’t falling for the Wolves, however, and they had just seven points in the first quarter to 16 for the Chiefs.

The seven points came from a layup and two free throws from Everett Meissner, another layup from Ben Houser and a free throw from Gillen.

The Wolves had doubled their score to 14 by halftime, with all of the points in the second quarter scored by senior captain Jackson Powers.

After the half, Powers was again the only Wolf to score, and it was a lone three-pointer. While Wrangell was struggling, Metlakatla kept pushing. The score was 42-17 going into the final quarter.

The boys upped the intensity with Powers earning another two points, his brother Cooper Powers coming in and scoring four for the Wolves, Kasey Whitaker with a jump shot, Everett Meissner with a free throw and Carter Howell with a layup to add to the score.

However, despite their final push, the Chiefs still came out on top. Metlakatla’s Rocco Lindsey stood out, earning 21 of their 60 points that night in their 60-29 win over Wrangell.

Saturday night, the Wrangell Wolves started from even further behind, with Metlakatla ahead at the end of the first quarter 20-9. Wrangell’s points came from two three-pointers by Michael Cook and one from Houser.

In the second quarter, Metlakatla earned 16 points to Wrangell's five; a jump shot from Gillen, a free throw from Houser and a layup from Jackson Powers. Shots just weren’t falling for the Wolves like they were for the Chiefs, and despite their effort Wrangell just couldn’t keep up.

Things were looking up when both Gillen and Meissner earned two points for the Wolves, but when Meissner went down with an ankle injury halfway through the quarter, the Wolves scored only one more point before the final quarter of the day.

It was 43-19 going into the final stretch, and like the day before, the boys pushed as hard as they could. Freshman Kai Wigg had five points, Whitaker with four, Cooper Powers three, and both Jackson Powers and Aadyn Gillen with two. In spite of the efforts, the Wolves lost 57-35 on Saturday.