The No. 4-seeded Seward boys defeated No. 2 Metlakatla 52-49 on Saturday to earn third place at the Class 3A boys state tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.

Seward head coach Al Plan said the victory took some of the sting out out losing 44-42 to No. 1 Unalakleet in the final seconds of Friday’s semifinal. Unalakleet topped No. 3 Cordova 40-36 for the state title.

Against Metlakatla, Seward led 14-12 after the first quarter, but trailed 27-23 at the half and 38-26 after three quarters.

“They could have just folded up the tent in the fourth quarter when we’re down 16 and said, ‘It was a good season. It’s all right. We lost a tough game. No big deal,’” Plan said. “They found a way back.

“Don’t tell me these back bracket games don’t mean anything. That meant something to those guys today.”

Plan said Emerson Cross hit a layup to put the Seahawks up by two in the final minute, then Cross hit 1 of 2 from the line for a 52-49 lead with 8 seconds left.

Plan called timeout and set the defense. The night before, with the game tied at 42 against Unalakleet, Plan decided on man-to-man defense and the Wolfpack scored to win the game.

This time Plan went with a 1-3-1 zone from three-quarters court.

“I was like, ‘Hey, I just replayed this in my head for about three hours last night. So let’s try it differently this time,’” Plan said.

Plan said his players were able to force a desperation 3-pointer from the corner.

“I feel like the guys were just playing their best basketball at the right time,” Plan said. “We won regions, then we played three really good games here at the state tournament.”

Plan said the only bad part is saying goodbye to seniors Talon Lemme, Jack Lindquist, Noah Price and Van Shank.

The coach said the four are excellent kids. He’s enjoyed watching them grow over four years.

“This is one of the closest teams I’ve ever had, just as far as on the court, off the court,” he said. “Just a great group of guys, great group of leaders. I’m really going to miss all those guys.

“This has been such a fun year because of their cohesiveness as a group and the energy that they bring. They’re goofy, they’re funny, and they just have fun together.”

Plan said Seward only brought back three with varsity experience after a run to the Class 3A state tourney last year, and the team still came together for a conference title and third in the state.

Lemme paced the Seahawks with 17 points, while Shank and Cross each had 11. Also, Mason Elhard had 8 and Lindquist had 5.

For Metlakatla, Carter Marsden had 18, Brody Booth had 16, Frank Guthrie had 6, Gianni Scudero-Hayward had 3, and Troy Russell, Cruz Lindsey and Rocco Lindsey had 2.

Class 2A boys all-tournament

Austin Barnard, Susitna Valley; Brody Booth, Metlakatla; Chico Jacob, Cordova; Daniel Harrison, Wrangell; Isaac Smith, Unalakleet; John Itliong, Cordova; Jonas Carroll Jr., Effie Kokrine; Miles Osmond, Susitna Valley; Paxson Commack, Unalakleet; Talon Lemme, Seward.