Colony boys get familiar draw in first round

PALMER — As soon as Colony drew Thunder Mountain in the first round of the 4A state tournament last year, head coach Tom Berg and his staff quickly began to track down game tape of the Falcons. The Knights had not seen the Juneau team that year. And typical for a Southeast Conference team, the Falcons spent the last few weeks on Alaska’s eastern panhandle.

This year the Knights have once again been matched with Thunder Mountain in the first round, and will face the Falcons when the 4A state tournament opens March 20 at 8 a.m. at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. This time around, the search for game tape won’t be as frantic. The teams met in January, with Thunder Mountain taking the contest during the second day of the Alaska Prep Shootout at Dimond High School. Yes, it’s nice to face a team you’re familiar with, Berg said, but the Colony mentor was quick to mention how much can change in a matter of months.

“We played them eight weeks ago. That’s a long time to get better,” Berg said. “They were coming off some injuries. We still didn’t have (senior forward Antonio Bush) back. It’s nice to know the names and how you did, but at the same time, two different teams will be showing up there next Thursday.”

Colony beat Thunder Mountain in the first round last year.

Colony, the lone Valley team in the bracket and the runner-up from the Northern Lights Conference, is the No. 5 seed in the 4A boys bracket. Southeast Conference champ Thunder Mountain earned the No. 4 seed.

Seeding is based on the Winning Percentage Index, the formula used to rank Alaska 4A basketball programs.

Colony and Thunder Mountain share the top side of the bracket with top-seeded West Anchorage and eighth-seeded Kodiak in a battle of conference champions. West won the Cook Inlet. Kodiak upset Colony to win the NLC.

Mid-Alaska Conference champion Lathrop is the No. 2 seed and will face seventh-seeded East Anchorage on the bottom side of the bracket. East, which was upset by Eagle River during the CIC tournament, secured on of the bracket’s two at-large bids. CIC runner-up Service is the No. 3 seed and will play MAC runner-up West Valley, the No. 6 seed. The MAC is only awarded one automatic bid, and West Valley needed the other at-large bid to make it to state.

The consensus is the 2014 tournament is fairly wide open. Berg said he feels there are a handful of teams capable of winning it all.

The Colony Knights will also represent the Valley as the lone Mat-Su team in the girls’ bracket. The sixth-seeded Knights begin tourney play against third-seeded East Anchorage March 20 at 1:15 p.m. at the Sullivan. Colony finished as the NLC runner-up. East Anchorage upset previously undefeated West Anchorage to win the CIC title.

It will mark the first meeting of the year between East and Colony.

Second-seeded West Anchorage and seventh-seeded Soldotna share the bottom half of the bracket with Colony and East. West was the top team in the CIC throughout the season before the upset in the finals. Soldotna was the No. 2 seed in the NLC tournament, but was beat by Colony and Wasilla. Despite the losses, the Stars’ WPI was high enough to give them one of the at-large bids.

Top-seeded and undefeated Kodiak will open against eighth-seeded Dimond on the top half of the bracket. Dimond secured the final at-large bid.

Southeast champion Ketchikan, the No. 4 seed, meets MAC champion West Anchorage, the No. 5 seed, in the other game on the top side.

Noticeably absent from the bracket is three-time defending state champion Wasilla, which will miss the state tournament for the first time since 1999. After graduating five seniors from the squad that captured its third straight state title, longtime head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax was working with basically a brand new team. The Warriors enjoyed a good NLC tournament, starting with a win over Palmer. Wasilla nearly upset Kodiak in the semifinals and crushed Soldotna, a state tournament team, 69-27 in the NLC third-place game. After the win last Saturday, the Warriors were on the bubble, but Dimond finished just ahead of Wasilla in the WPI.

“We came out firing. It could be our last game of the season. If it is our last game, we’ve gone out the way we want to go,” Hebert-Truax said.

Houston boys advance

The Houston Hawks are headed to the state tournament for the first time since 2001, thanks to three straight wins in the Southcentral Conference Championships.

“It’s pretty exciting. It’s good for these guys. We have nine seniors. It’s a good way for them to go out,” Houston head coach Steve Henderson said.

Houston, the No. 3 seed from the Southcentral, will play conference rival and Southcentral Champion Anchorage Christian School in the first round, March 20.

For more on Houston’s first trip to the state tournament since 2001, see a special feature about Houston High boys basketball in the Friday edition of the Frontiersman.