Colony boys show drive in win

WASILLA — Joe Gray can hit the three. The Colony senior has proved that throughout the first half of the 2012-13 season.

But the crafty Colony guard appears to have something else in his arsenal. Gray drove to the basket on separate occasions to grab key buckets during the early stretch of the Knights’ 17-5 fourth-quarter run during a 60-48 come-from-behind win over the Wasilla Warriors at Wasilla High School Tuesday.

“It’s definitely something he can do,” Colony senior Hunter Eisenhower said. “He is a great shooter. I feel like he gets the defense thinking he’s going to shoot it, and he gives that fake and he goes around. He’s definitely quick.”

Gray did knock down a trio of threes in the game, including two in the first quarter. But it’s his willingness to find the open lane that seemed to help Colony, a team that once trailed by a dozen, grab the 12-point victory over Wasilla.

Early in the fourth, Gray found an open seam to cut Wasilla’s advantage to 43-42. After Tanner Menard drained a pair of free throws at the 7:03 mark of the fourth to give the Knights their first lead since the first quarter, Gray once again drove to the basket to extend Colony’s advantage to 46-43. A nice move to the basket by Antonio Bush pushed Colony’s lead to five points, and the Knights would not trail again.

“I think for Joe, obviously he’s a very skilled basketball player. As he’s gotten older, gotten stronger, he’s been able to pick those spots,” Colony head coach Tom Berg said of Gray’s drive to the basket. “He’s never been the type of player who can go amongst the trees. But he’s starting to figure out what he can do when he finds that little crease. That’s when his skill set really comes out.”

Gray finished with a game-high 17 points.

“He’s been huge,” Eisenhower said. “The first game of the year he stepped up and hit shots. He’s never had an off day.”

Damien Fulp added 16 and Eisenhower chipped in 15 points in the victory, which pushed first-place Colony to 3-0 in Northern Lights Conference play. Nathan Umbarger added eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Super sophomore Dane Kuiper led Wasilla with 16 points, but Colony held Kuiper without a field goal in the second half.

“He’s terrific. He’s such an exceptional talent,” Berg said of Kuiper. “He tries really hard. Every team in the league is going to try to make life hard on him. You’re not going to stop Dane from scoring, but you’ve got to stop Dane from scoring 30 points.”

Eisenhower and Tanner Menard provided the bulk of the defense against Kuiper, who recently provided the game-tying 17-foot jumper and game-winning free throw during a key Wasilla win over NLC rival Soldotna.

“He’s an amazing player. I’ve got to give my best to slow him down,” Eisenhower said of Kuiper. “Wasilla’s a great team. I’m excited to play them another two times, if we get to play them in regions.”

WHS girls stop

Warriors

WASILLA — In girls’ action, Wasilla trailed early, but allowed only three points during the final three quarters and scored a 45-17 win over rival Colony.

Colony, sparked by a pair of Izzy Tweed first-quarter three-pointers, held the 14-11 advantage after the first eight minutes, but managed only a field goal and a free throw during the final 24 minutes of play.

Kyla Dinkel led Wasilla with 13 points and 11 rebounds in the game. Alexis Imoe added 11 points.

Alysha Devine was the defensive standout for Wasilla with nine rebounds and five steals.

Colony boys coast

past Juneau

PALMER — Damien Fulp and Joe Gray each hit three-pointers during a 16-6 third-quarter Colony run to help the Knights score a 55-34 nonconference in over Juneau-Douglas Wednesday at Colony High School.

Fulp hit a trio of three-pointers in the game, and scored a game-high 14 points in the win. Gray knocked down a pair from behind the arc and added 10.

Colony led 25-21 at the half, but scored 30 points in the final two quarters.

Colony boys 55, Juneau 34

Wednesday, Colony High

Juneau 9-11-6-8—34

Colony 17-8-16-14—55

Juneau (34) — Brinson 5 2-2 13, Pusich 3 0-0 6, Ainsworth 1 2-2 5, Empson 1 1-5 3, Lehnhart 1 1-4 3, Maake 1 0-0 2, Klein 1 0-0 2; Totals: 13 6-13 34.

Colony (55) — Compton 0 2-2 2, West 1 1-2 5, Gray 3 2-2 10, Fulp 5 1-2 14, Menard 1 0-0 2, Umbarger 2 4-6 8, Udomporn 1 0-1 2, Huffman 1 0-0 2, Bush 1 0-2 2, Eisenhower 4 1-2 9; Totals: 19 11-19 55.

Colony boys 60, Wasilla 48

Tuesday, Wasilla High

Colony 16-6-18-20—60

Wasilla 19-11-13-5—48

Colony (60) — Gray 6 -2 17, Fulp 6 2-3 16, Menard 0 2-2 2, Umbarger 1 6-6 8, Bush 1 0-0 2, Eisenhower 6 1-1 15; Totals: 20 13-16 60.

Wasilla (48) — Brown 3 1-2 8, Krueger 1 0-0 2, Kuiper 4 6-9 16, McGregor 2 4-6 8, Dawkins 2 0-0 4, Hanson 5 0-0 10; Totals: 17 11-17 48.

Wasilla girls 45, Colony 17

Tuesday, Wasilla High

Colony 14-0-2-1—17

Wasilla 11-7-14-13—45

Colony (17) — Klapperich 0 2-2 2, Farris 2 0-0 4, Tweed 2 0-4 6, Turcotte 1 0 -2 2, Brumbaugh 0 1-2 1, Solano 1 0-2 2; Totals: 6 3-14 17.

Wasilla (45) — Ford 3 0-0 7, Imoe 3 2-2 11, Devine 1 2-2 4, Toews 1 2-2 4, Hutchins 2 2-2 6, Dinkle 5 3-4 13; Totals: 16 11-16 45.