Colony boys rally to beat Grace Christian

In a rare Monday night tilt, the Colony Knights knocked off one of the top teams in the state.

Jackson Ainsworth scored a dozen of his game-high 20 points in the fourth to lead the Colony boys to a 69-64 victory over Grace Christian at Colony High School.

Ainsworth was 8-of-8 from the free throw line, 6-of-6 in the fourth, to help the Knights top Grace, the state’s second-ranked 4A team according to ASAA’s RPI system. The Knights are ranked fifth.

Colony also tightened the gap at the top of the Northern Lights Conference standings. Grace dropped to 8-2 in conference play, and is now tied with Wasilla. The Knights are just behind at 7-2.

Colony used a 45-point second half to surge back into the game after trailing 32-24 at the break. The Knights scored 21 on the third and closed the game on a 24-16 run.

Taydon Karpow used a rebound and putback to tie the score at 45 late in the third and another basket early in the fourth to give the Knights a 47-45 advantage. A Trent Lockard three pushed Colony’s lead to 54-50 after Grace cut it to a point.

Grace Christian used a three-pointer to pull back to a point deficit at the 1:55 mark.

An Ainsworth floater in the lane at the 1:20 mark and eight free throws down the stretch cemented it for the Knights. Colony was 11-of-11 from the line in the fourth.

Layton Lockard added 15 points in the victory. Charlie Gardner chipped in 10.

The Colony girls beat Grace 68-46 earlier in the evening. Taylor Passard led the Knights with a dozen. Emily DeHart finished with nine, Morgan Ainsworth chipped in 10 and Emma Bailey and Bri Parrent added nine each.

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