Colony boys win NLC title, CHS girls finish second

The Colony Knights boys basketball squad earned the chance to cut down the nets Saturday night.

Colony won the Northern Lights Conference title with a 57-45 win over Anchorage Christian School at Kodiak High School.

The Knights capped the win with an 18-11 run in the fourth quarter. Jayce Underwood led Colony with 20 points in the win. Kash Luce added 18.

The top-seeded Knights beat host Kodiak 61-34 during the second day of the tourney, after earning a first-round bye on the six-team bracket. The Colony defense held Kodiak to single digits in scoring in three of the four quarters. Luce led Colony with 20 points. Blake Dinkel finished with 18 and Underwood added 11.

Defending state champion Anchorage Christian used an 86-49 win over Colony to grab the NLC girls title.

Third-seeded Colony beat second-seeded Wasilla 60-41 in the semifinals. Hallie Clark hit four three-pointers and scored a game-high 23. Ally Shelley added 13 and Emma Hopkins chipped in a dozen.

Mylee Anderson led Wasilla with 19. Livia Breshears and Layla Hays scored 10 each.

Colony opened its tourney with a 66-38 victory over host Colony. Clark scored a game-gh 25 points. Lainey Suaava added 14.

Wasilla, with its No. 2 seed, had a first-round bye. The Warriors also beat Soldotna 52-34 in the third-place game. Hays scored 15 for the Warriors. Mielee Merchant had 12.

The Colony boys and girls, and Wasilla girls advanced to the ASAA/First National Bank State Basketball Championships, which start March 22 at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.

Colony is seeded fifth in the boys bracket, and opens against fourth-seeded Monroe Catholic March 22 at 6:15 p.m.

Wasilla is the No. 2 seed and Colony is seeded third in the girls tournament. Wasilla opens with seventh-seeded Lathrop March 22 at 12:30 p.m. Colony plays sixth-seeded Juneau-Douglas March 22 at 6:45 p.m.

In other NLC action, Wasilla beat rival Palmer 71-41 in the first round of the boys tournament. Parker Kroon led Wasilla with 29 points. Owen Beaudry added a dozen. Nolan Garner led Palmer with 14.

Wasilla also beat Kodiak 69-38 in the third-place game. Soldotna beat Palmer 55-44. Isaac Evans scored nine.

The Soldotna girls beat Palmer 37-33. Theresa Arreda scored 13 for the Moose.

Contact the Frontiersman at sports@frontiersman.com.