Colony boys use consecutive wins to score top seed in NLC tourney

PALMER — The Colony Knights enjoyed an offensive showcase on one night, survived a defensive slugfest the next and capped their regular season with back-to-back wins over their biggest rivals.

A day after pouring in 80 points during a win over Palmer, Colony notched a gritty 43-36 victory over Wasilla Saturday night at Colony High School. With the wins, Colony clinched the top seed in the Northern Lights Conference Championships, which start Thursday at Soldotna High School.

Colony head coach Tom Berg said proving they can win in different ways is key for his Knights especially, as Colony looks toward the postseason.

“I’ve coached plenty of teams where there is only one or two ways to really be successful,” Berg said. “That’s not this team.”

Berg said his 2018-19 squad is versatile and can adapt to different styles of play. Saturday, the Knights were tasked facing defending state champion Wasilla, which is known most for its play on the defensive side of the floor.

The Knights also stood out defensively.

Colony held Wasilla scoreless for the first four minutes of each of the first two quarters, and about the first seven minutes of the third.

“We have had really good stretches on defense this year,” Berg said.

That’s been part of the overall improvement of the team, he said.

“Now, we feel like we are playing 22, 24, 26 minutes of good defense,” Berg said, noting that number was probably about 12 to 16 early in the season. “We’ve got three weeks to try to be locked in on defense all night long. If we do that, we’re going to be a tough out.”

Colony trailed 19-13 at halftime, held to only two field goals and five total points in the second quarter. The Knights responded with a 17-4 third-quarter run.

“The third quarter, that’s a normal offensive quarter for us,” Berg said. “The patience we showed, the shots we got.”

Colony’s Sullivan Menard hit a three-pointer with 5:43 left in the third to tie the score at 19. Patrick McMahon followed with a pair of free throws to give the Knights the 21-19 lead. That was part of Colony’s 17-point run. Wasilla was held scoreless in the third until a Donny Lawhead basked with 28 seconds left in the frame.

Colony led by seven at the beginning of the fourth, but Wasilla fought back. Wasilla’s Luke Devine drained a three from the right side with 3:23 left in regulation to tie the score at 33. Wasilla’s Daniel Headdings hit another three with 1:27 left to cut Colony’s lead to 37-36, but Menard and Colton Spencer combined to hit four free throws in the final 34 seconds to cap the game for the Knights.

“They’re going to make shots. Good teams are going to make plays,” Berg said of Wasilla’s late rally.

Berg said his team’s resiliency and ability to get to the free throw line allowed Colony to hold on a grab the win.

McMahon led Colony with 14 points in the win. Spencer added eight for the Knights. Headdings led Wasilla with 13.

With the win, Colony locked up the No. 1 seed in the NLC tourney and will face either Kodiak or Palmer Friday at 6 p.m. in Soldotna. Wasilla is the No. 2 seed and faces host Soldotna Friday at 2:30 p.m. Fourth-seeded Kodiak and fifth-seeded Palmer play Thursday at 6 p.m. The winners of the semifinal matches on Friday earn automatic bids to the state tournament.

Wasilla girls get past Colony

Wasilla used defensive stands in the second and fourth quarters to post a 41-29 win over Colony Saturday.

Wasilla held the Knights to a pair in the second and four points in fourth as the Warriors improved to 6-2 in NLC play. Colony dropped to 4-4.

Cheyenne Green led Wasilla with a dozen points and Bella Hays pulled down a dozen rebounds. Olivia Davies finished with eight. Haylee Duguid led Colony with eight.

The Valley rivals will meet again during the second day of the NLC Championships in Soldotna, Friday at 4:15 p.m. Wasilla is the No. 2 seed and Colony is seeded third. Soldotna, 8-0 in conference during the regular season, is the No. 1 seed, and will play the winner of Kodiak-Palmer matchup. The fourth-seeded Bears and fifth-seeded Moose face off Thursday at 7:45 p.m.

Colony boys top Palmer

Patrick McMahon highlighted a Colony boys win, slamming four dunks, including a pair of alley-oops, during a 80-55 win over Palmer Friday night.

McMahon scored a game-best 26 in the win. Spencer Menard and Colton Spencer added 15 each. Wyatt Baker chipped in a dozen. Jacob Titus led Palmer with 13. Ethan Helm added 11.

Colony started the game on a 10-0 run.

Sophomore leads Colony girls past Palmer

With a late third-quarter run that stretched into the fourth, the Palmer Moose had a shot at the rally. And then came the shooting of Hannah Duguid.

The Colony sophomore drilled seven three-pointers and helped the Knights hold on and grab a 59-48 girls’ basketball victory over the Moose Friday night at Palmer High School.

Duguid hit three of her threes early in the fourth after Palmer erased a double-digit deficit. The Moose closed the third quarter on a 10-1 run, and tied the score at 41 with a Sophia Benshetler bucket and an Abriana Busbey steal and layup. Duguid answered by hitting a pair of three’s in less than a minute span to push Colony’s lead back to six.

Duguid finished with a game-high 25 points in the win. Tori Schwantes added 16. Ten of those points came in the second half.

Palmer led 16-14 after the first quarter, but Duguid helped Colony pull ahead in the second. Duguid hit a trio of three-pointers during Colony’s 16-point second quarter. Maggie Spencer also hit a three-pointer in the second.

Abriana Busbey led Palmer with 14 points. Catherine Ushmann added a dozen.

Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.