Colony comes back to remain unbeaten in conference play

PALMER — Tanner Menard is Colony’s defensive stopper. But Friday night, the Colony guard stepped up and hit a big shot on the offensive end to help stop Palmer’s attempt to knock off the undefeated Knights.

Menard hit a late three-pointer to push Colony’s lead to a pair of possessions, and the Knights held on for a 56-48 win over the Moose at Palmer High.

Menard, Joe Gray and Damien Fulp each drained three-pointers during a 21-point fourth quarter the Knights used to improve to 9-0 in Northern Lights Conference play.

With Colony trailing through three quarters, Gray hit a three-pointer just inside the fourth to cut into the Moose advantage. Fulp hit a three-pointer that gave Colony at 43-42 lead, but it was Menard’s three that iced the game.

After the win, Menard said his role on the team doesn’t always leave him with a pile of chances on the offensive end, but he’ll try to take advantage of an opportunity if given.

“I usually have very few opportunities. If the opportunity presents itself, I’m always willing to shoot one, I guess,” Menard said.

And the opportunity did present itself, as Colony clung to a three-point lead with less than three minutes left in regulation.

“Honestly, I wasn’t quite thinking the whole time. I caught the ball on the wing, and felt I was open. I felt I’ve got to let this one go,” Menard said.

In addition to the big shot, Menard continued to stand out defensively, helping Colony slow down a potent Palmer offense.

“We definitely have got a whole lot of skilled players. I know my role is to guard their best player and try to keep him from scoring a whole lot of points,” Menard said. “It’s a role I’ve embraced for sure, and it’s a role I’ve accepted to help this team try to win games. I want to do whatever it takes.”

Led by Menard on the defensive end, Colony allowed only seven Palmer points during the final eight minutes. Colony head coach Tom Berg said Menard is certainly key to the Knights’ success.

“You’re not going to find a better kid than Tanner Menard. On our team he’s really our sixth starter, and the guys feel that way about him,” Berg said. “He does anything and everything we ask. Go guard a bigger kid than you, (he says) ‘OK.’ Go guard the point guard, ‘OK.’ Hey Tanner, we’ve got a funky lineup, go play in the post a few possessions while I give a guy a break, ‘OK.’”

Fulp scored eight of his team-high 18 points in the fourth to also help the Knights earn the win. Fulp finished with four threes in the game.

Palmer used a 20-point second quarter to take a 30-27 lead into the break, and held a 41-36 advantage through three quarters.

Brian Selmer led the Moose with 18 points. Selmer and fellow senior Connor Looney combined for 11 points in the second quarter, and Selmer completed the rare four-point play midway through the second to give the Moose a seven-point lead.

Selmer buried a three-pointer, drew a foul and hit the ensuing free throw to push Palmer’s lead to 23-16.

Colony used an 11-2 run to take a 27-25 advantage, but Looney drained a three-pointer to give the lead right back to Palmer before halftime.

Palmer dropped to 6-3 in NLC play, but has locked up the No. 2 seed in the upcoming NLC tournament.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeramiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Colony 56, Palmer 48

Friday, Palmer High School

Colony 11-16-9-21—56

Palmer 10-20-11-7—48

Colony (56) — Gray 2 5-6 10, Fulp 4 6-10 18, Meanrd 1 0-0 3, Umbarger 4 2-2 10, Huffman 1 0-2 2, Eisenhower 4 1-2 9; Totals: 16 14-22 56.

Palmer (48) — Ramoth 2 0-0 4, Looney 3 3-4 10, Mayer 1 0-0 3, Christiansen 1 0-0 2, Nisbett 2 3-4 7, Selmer 6 4-5 18, Niekamp 2 0-0 4; Totals: 17 10-13 48.