Colony boys headed back to NLC title game

SOLDOTNA — Hitting threes can be contagious, especially if you’re a Soldotna Stars squad known for knocking them down from long range.

After Soldotna senior Colton Young buried a buzzer-beater from just inside midcourt to end the third, and Stars shooters Austin Kruse and Josiah Martin nailed threes to start the fourth, contagious could have turned to longball epidemic.

But Colony, sporting the double-digit lead, buckled down and held on for a 58-45 win over the Soldotna Stars during the Northern Lights Conference Championships semifinals at Soldotna High Friday night.

“At home, without a question,” Colony head coach Tom Berg said of the potential of the Stars grabbing hold of a long run sparked by the threes. “They made some shots, they’re good shooters. Part of it is kind of the way you have to play when you’re down that many. They were going to take the first good three they got, and they made a couple. But when you take a lot of threes, there’s a lot of long rebounds.”

After the back-to-back threes, Colony still led by 13. Knights senior Nate Umbarger said Colony just needed to get back what they were accustomed to doing.

“Got to settle down, keep our heads, get our hands up on shooters, ride it out, get boards,” Umbarger said. “Stuff like that.”

The four-year Knight said staying mentally prepared is also key.

“We’ve gotten a lot better, from my sophomore year even, at keeping our heads,” Umbarger said.

After playing a tight first quarter, Colony rallied to take a 16-15 lead after the first eight minutes, the Knights allowed only nine total points in the second and third quarters combined.

Berg said, judging by that, the Knights knew Soldotna would come out firing in the fourth.

“They didn’t make as many shots in the second and third quarter, so you kind of expected them to,” Berg said. “Soldotna’s not going to play on their home floor and score 29 points. They’ll get up into the 40s, 50s. It’s only a matter of time.”

The Knights held Soldotna to 27 percent shooting in the game and 24 percent (6 of 25) from behind the arc. On the offensive end, Hunter Eisenhower paced the Knights with 18 points. Damien Fulp chipped in 13 points and Antonio Bush added 10.

Leading by just one at the end of the first, Colony began to create its cushion in the second. The Knights opened the quarter on a 10-0 run, which included three-pointers courtesy of Fulp and Eisenhower. Fulp grabbed a steal and netted the easy lay-in to cap the run.

The Knights enjoyed another run in the third, outscoring Soldotna 14-2 through much of the third. Three of SoHi’s five points came on the Young three-pointer at the buzzer.

With the win, Colony moves into the NLC title game for the second consecutive year. The Knights will meet rival Palmer Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Soldotna High. Palmer edged Kodiak in the other boys’ semifinal.

Umbarger said the Knights are looking forward to facing the Moose.

“It’s going to be a great game,” the senior said. “We’ve been rivals ever since the seventh grade. It’s been the same teams since the seventh grade. It’s going to be a dogfight.”

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

Colony 58, Soldotna 45

NLC boys semifinals

Friday, Soldotna

Colony 16-13-14-15—58

Soldotna 15-4-5-21—45

Colony (58) — Gray 3 1-1 9, Fulp 3 5-6 13, Menard 1 0-0 3, Umbarger 2 1-2 5, Bush 5 0-0 10, Eisenhower 5 6-6 18; Totals: 19 13-15 58.

Soldotna (45) — Penrod 2 3-5 7, Young 2 0-0 6, Conradi 1 0-0 2, Carber 5 5-9 16, Kruse 1 0-0 3, Martin 1 0-0 2, Fowler 3 1-2 9; Totals: 15 9-15 45.