Big shots lift, then sink Knights in loss to Kodiak

PALMER — Set up at the top of the arc, Colony’s Bailey West knocked down three-pointers on back-to-back possessions early in the third quarter to give the Knights the double-digit lead. But as quickly as West was able to push Colony’s advantage to 10, Kodiak was able to erase the deficit.

Kodiak used a third-quarter run and outlasted the Knights in the fourth to score a 63-61 Northern Lights Conference victory over the Knights at Colony High Friday night.

“I need to do a better job of getting our guys to make sure that we got those stops, or at least make it harder (for them),” Colony head coach Tom Berg said after the loss.

Kodiak’s Austin Frick hit a key three-pointer to answer Colony’s work from behind the arc, and Alec Canete-Hall scored half of his game-high 24 points in the third quarter.

Canete-Hall helped preserve the win by hitting 3 of 4 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Berg said giving Kodiak good looks at the basket and opportunities at the free throw in the second half was key in the game.

“When you give a good team free throws and wide open jump shots, at best you’re going to be in a dogfight,” Berg said. “That’s what happened today.”

With the help of the West three-pointers, Colony started the third quarter with a 10-1 run. Frick answered the run with a three-pointer, and Canete-Hall used a five-point run of his own to cut Colony’s lead to 49-47.

Canate-Hall hit a jump shot late in the third to bring the Bears within one, and knocked down a floater in the lane during the final seconds of the third to give Kodiak the 52-51 lead, the Bears’ first advantage of the quarter.

Kodiak pushed its lead to as many as five points in the fourth quarter. Colony jumped back on top with layups by Graham Dinkel and Antonio Bush.

Canete-Hall hit a pair of free throws with 2:14 left to give Kodiak the 58-57 lead. Billy Alcaide hit arguably the biggest shot of the game, a three-pointer with 1:12 left to give Kodiak the 61-57 advantage.

West drove to the basket for the Knights to make it a 62-61 game with 15 seconds left. After a Kodiak free throw, which gave the Bears the 63-61 lead, Colony had a final attempt with eight seconds remaining, but the layup attempt went off the side of the rim.

The loss was Colony’s first in NLC play this season.

“We knew going in Kodiak was good. They’ve got good players and they play confidently. We’ve got a lot of respect for them,” Berg said.

They capped the two-game regular season series on Saturday at Colony High. Results were not available before press time.

Kodiak 63, Colony 61

Friday, Colony High School

Kodiak 15-20-17-11—63

Colony 12-24-15-10—61

Kodiak (63) — Mangalus 2 0-0 4, Frick 4 0-0 11, Alcaide 3 1-2 10, A. Canete-Hall 8 6-11 24, T. Canete-Hall 1 0-0 2, Garcia 3 0-1 6; Totals: 23 9-18 63.

Colony (61) — West 7 0-0 18, Chamblee 2 2-2 7, Fulp 4 5-5 14, Dinkel 6 2-2 14, Sonnenberg 1 0-0 2, Bush 3 0-0 8; Totals: 23 9-9 61.

3-point field goals: Kodiak 8 (Frick, Alcaide 3); Colony 6 (West 4), Total fouls: Kodiak 13, Colony 16.

3A champs top

Colony, Wasilla

PALMER — Jalon McCullough sparked a 17-4 third-quarter run that helped Monroe Catholic grab a 49-33 nonconference win over Colony at Colony High Thursday.

McCullough scored 10 of his game-high 26 points in the third to help Monroe push a six-point halftime lead to a 19-point advantage.

McCullough hit a game-high five three-pointers in the win, and two in that third period. Damien Fulp led Colony with 15 points.

Monroe scored a 68-37 win over Wasilla on Friday. Monroe, the defending 3A state champions, improved to 16-0 with the wins over the Valley teams. The Rams also extended their winning streak to 36 games.

Monroe Catholic 49,

Colony 33

Thursday, Wasilla High

Monroe 12-12-17-8—49

Colony 11-7-4-11—33

Monroe (49) — McCullough 7 2-2 26, Bynum 3 0-0 7, Erickson 5 0-0 10, Wells 2 0-0 5, Nickerson 4 0-0 6; Totals: 20 2-3 49.

Colony (33) — West 0 3-4 3, Chamblee 1 0-0 2, Fulp 4 6-10 15, Nygard 1 0-0 2, Sonnenberg 2 0-0 4, Bush 3 1-2 7; Totals: 11 10-16 33.

3-point field goals: Monroe 7 (McCullough 5), Colony 1 (Fulp 1); Total fouls: Monroe 14, Colony 11.