Colony rebounds from semifinal loss, scores third

ANCHORAGE — Jaron Murphy’s two free throws with 5.7 seconds left put some icing on a bittersweet third-place dessert for the Colony Knights Saturday morning at Sullivan Arena.

Last year’s state runners-up and the tournament’s top seed, the Knights had to overcome not only the hot-shooting Kenai Kardinals, but the memories of Friday night’s crushing loss to the South Anchorage Wolverines.

Ultimately the Knights overcame both with a 42-38 win over the Kards.

No Colony player scored in double figures, but nine different Knights got into the scoring column. Murphy led the way with nine points, Doug Gray had eight, Josh Moseley scored seven, Grant Niver had five, Matt Stearman had four, Antone Zagars had three and Cody Huggins, John Palmer and Chris Scott scored two each.

“That shows we’re really well balanced,” sophomore guard John Palmer said after the win.

Cory Toombs scored a game-high 21 points for Kenai, which was unable to capitalize on five straight missed free throws by the Knights in the final 1:08 of the game.

“We just didn’t execute and get a good shot,” Kenai coach Jim Beeson said.

Niver was responsible for four of the missed free throws, while Moseley failed on a one-and-one opportunity.

But Murphy ended his Colony career with the final two points of the Knights’ season.

Palmer said it was difficult for Colony to rebound Saturday after seeing the team’s dream of winning a state title dashed Friday night. But the sophomore guard said Colony’s older players — seven Knights suited up for the final time Saturday — decided third place was worth fighting for.

“It was all for the seniors,” Palmer said.

Niver and Stearman each grabbed six rebounds for Colony, which held a a 38-26 edge on the glass.

“When you’ve got seniors whose one goal was playing in the 8 o’clock game, it’s a real challenge. It just comes down to if you want to play it or not,” Bowker said.

Bowker said the tournament’s third-place result was less important than the learning experience his team will take away from a season that saw the Knights won 20 consecutive games, win a Northern Lights Conference title and advance to the state semifinals for the second straight year.

“The difference between winners and champions is winners will lose at some point. Champions will lose and will learn from from their failures,” Bowker said. “We lost this one, but it didn’t break up the camaraderie in the locker room. They’re friends for life. These guys will be forever buddies.”

The game was the third meeting between the two teams and second in four games for both squads, which also met in the Northern Lights Conference final, a 55-50 Colony win. The Knights also beat the Kardinals during the regular season.

A close affair throughout, the game featured seven ties and six lead changes. Toombs was a difference-maker for the Kardinals, sinking three of his five three-point attempts, the final one prompting Bowker to urge his players not to give the Kenai senior even the slightest bit of space on the outside.

“You can’t hesitate! That’s Toombs. He makes those shots,” Bowker screamed.

But while Toombs was getting it done for Kenai, the rest of the Kardinals struggled to get going in the 10:40 a.m. game. Only four players scored in the game for Kenai, though seven logged at least 12 minutes of playing time.

Nate Byrd had nine points, Nate Saltzgiver scored seven and Josh Lazaro added one.

Colony opened the game on an 11-3 run, but Kenai responded with an 11-0 charge of their own after referees switched basketballs due to complaints from players about a lack of air pressure late in the opening quarter.

The change benefited the Kardinals, which outscored Colony 17-9 with the new ball.

The Kardinals went up 20-18 on a three-pointer by Toombs with less than a minute to go in the second quarter before Cody Huggins tied things up with a short jumper to end the half.

Toombs led all players with 11 points in the first half, while Gray had six for the Knights, which missed eight of their last nine shots after opening the game by making five of their first six.

The teams traded the lead three times in the third quarter, with Matt Stearman’s put-back tying the game up at 31 heading into the final quarter.

Toombs put Kenai in front briefly with his final three of the game, but the Knights responded with seven straight points, going ahead for good on a Palmer’s only field goal of the game with 6:15 left to go as Kenai failed to get a hoop over the game’s final seven minutes.

Bowker said he’s proud of his team’s season and tournament despite the fact Colony fell a game shy of its goal of playing for a state title for the second year in a row.

“We’re not the state champions. We’re not. But I told them, ‘You’ll learn from this and you’ll succeed wherever you go.’”

KNIGHTS 42, KARDINALS 38

4A third-place game

Saturday, Sullivan Arena

Colony 11 9 11 11 — 42

Kenai 9 11 11 7 — 38

Colony (42) — Zagars 1 1-1 3, Huggins 1 0-0 2, J. Murphy 3 3-4 9, Palmer 1 0-0 2, Scott 1 0-0 2, Niver 2 0-4 5, Gray 2 4-6 8, Moseley 3 1-5 7, Stearman 2 0-0 4. Totals: 16 9-20 42.

Kenai (38) — Saltzgiver 2 2-2 7, Byrd 2 5-6 9, Toombs 7 4-6 21, Lazaro 0 1-2 1. Totals: 11 12-16 38.

Three-point field goals — Colony 1 (Niver), Kenai 4 (Toombs 3, Saltzgiver). Total fouls — Colony 15, Kenai 17. Fouled out — none.