4-peat for Wasilla boys at NLC Championships

WASILLA — Braydon Kuiper has been there before. He’s climbed the ladder with a pair of scissors after a conference tournament, ready to help cut down the net.

But this time was different. This time the Wasilla senior was on his home floor, in the final home game of his high school career. And this time, Kuiper was cutting down the net after helping lead the Warriors to their fourth Northern Lights Conference title of his high school career.

So how did it feel?

“Better than the rest, definitely better than the rest,” Kuiper said after helping Wasilla earn a 68-46 win over rival Colony during the boys’ title game of the NLC Championships Saturday night. “It’s the same type of feeling, but at a new level.”

It’s four titles in four years for the four-year varsity starter, and caps a challenge set by Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen during Kuiper’s freshman season.

“I challenged Bray when he won it as a freshman. I said, ‘We’ve got a mission, three more, if you want it, we can make it happen,’” said Engebretsen, who was named NLC Coach of the Year following the tournament. “And he made it happen.”

Kuiper and fellow seniors Connor Devine, Dillon Ferro, Chris Capo and Tyler Hunt helped make it happen. Kuiper, Devine and Ferro playing significant roles within the program since their sophomore seasons.

“It’s a great feeling, our last game we ever play at Wasilla High,” said Devine, who was named the NLC Player of the Year. “We came into this game as seniors, we knew it would be the last game. We wanted to make it count and go out the right way.”

Engebretsen said clinching the four-peat speaks not only about the effort of his seniors, but all of those in the program.

“These kids worked their tails off. They didn’t come in just talented. God didn’t give them everything. They worked for everything, too,” Engebretsen said. “There’s some God-given talent in there, but these kids worked harder than anyone I know as far as gym time. Every practice has been at a championship level.”

Wasilla jumped out to an early lead, grabbing a 17-8 advantage in the first quarter. Devine scored seven of his game-high 25 points in the first. Junior Eric Roberts added four points.

“We wanted to let them know we came ready to play,” Devine said.

Colony played Wasilla tough during their regular season meetings, and the Knights were riding big tournament wins over Soldotna and Kenai. Ferro said the Warriors knew they had to be prepared against a tough Valley rival.

“We came out strong, ready to go,” Ferro said.

Devine nearly had another triple-double for the Warriors, notching 25 points, 14 rebounds and nine blocked shots. The 6-foot-10 senior post even had four assists and a three-pointer.

Roberts scored 14 for Wasilla, freshman Dane Kuiper added 13 points and six steals, while Braydon Kuiper chipped in 10 points.

Nathan Umbarger led Colony with 13 points and five rebounds. The junior post was also 3 of 4 from behind the arc.

Colony hit nine three-pointers in the game, including two each by Hunter Eisenhower and Jared Turner.

Both Wasilla and Colony now move onto the state tourney. Both earned the NLC’s automatic bids by playing the conference title game.

The Warriors celebrated Saturday, but the WHS head coach was quick to point toward the team’s the next goal.

“We’ve got one mission in mind now,” Engebretsen said. “And that’s get it done at the Sullivan.”

Wasilla 68, Colony 46

NLC title game

Saturday, Wasilla High

Colony 8-10-14-14—46

Wasilla 17-13-21-17—68

Colony (46) — Smith 2 0-0 5, Fulp 2 0-0 5, Turner 3 0-0 8, Umbarger 5 0-0 13, Peltier 1 0-0 2, Hightower 2 0-0 4, Eisenhower 3 1-2 9; Totals: 18 1-2 46.

Wasilla (68) — Ferro 2 0-0 4, B. Kuiper 4 2-5 10, D. Kuiper 5 3-4 13, McGregor 1 0-0 2, Devine 10 4-5 25, Roberts 6 2-4 14; Totals: 28 11-18 68.

Three-point field goals: Colony 9 (Umbarger 3), Wasilla 1 (Devine 1); Total fouls: Colony 15, Wasilla 7.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.