Defense leads Colony boys to home win

PALMER — On a night when the basket was not a friendly place for either team, the Colony Knights escaped with a 47-30 over the Soldotna Stars Friday.

Antonio Bush collected a loose ball in the fourth quarter and rushed up the court to the basket for the Knights. Instead of shooting, Brown passed. Damien Fulp also passed. When the ball stopped, Joe Gray toed the three-point line, raised and fired. A sigh of relief came over the face of Colony head coach Tom Berg as the shot fell through the net.

“I kind of felt like the lid came off the basket,” Berg said.

The smaller Soldotna Stars lineup dominated the boards, and Colony’s leading scorer went nearly three quarters between made baskets, but the depth of the Knights lineup led them to victory over a gritty Soldotna squad.

The Knights led the Stars 12-3 after the first quarter, but from the start it was evident the game would be a tough one to win for the Knights.

Three quarters later, Gray hit one of his three three-pointers. A few possessions later, Hunter Eisenhower stood 70-some feet away from the basket with Stars guard Colton Young in his face. Eisenhower crossed over, leaving Young on the ground. Eisenhower drove the length of the court, leaped just inside the free throw line, extended past the defense and kissed the ball off the glass to score two of his six fourth-quarter points. It was his first basket since hitting a buzzer beater to end the first quarter.

Not backing down from a fight, Soldotna came out in a full court press in the second quarter. Fulp, a junior point guard, scored on a baseline jumper, but that would be about all the offense the Knights could muster. Soldotna outscored the Knights 10-6 in the quarter and Colony lead 18-13 at halftime.

Fulp was key to the Knights success. He took the bulk of the responsibility handling the ball through the Soldotna press. No matter who defended Fulp or what defense he was tasked with attacking, Fulp moved the ball successfully around the Soldotna defense. The problem was not getting shots, but making them.

Soldotna did not have the height of the Knights, but dominated the offensive glass.

“I thought our kids worked hard for position,” Soldotna head coach Matt Johnson said.

But the Stars had the same shooting troubles as the Knights. Without the height to score down low, the Stars used their patient offense to get open looks. But most Soldotna baskets came on broken plays after one or two offensive rebounds.

“I think it causes a little more chaos. Their pressure causes turnovers, but the turnovers weren’t horrific. But it did cause dysfunction in our offense,” Berg said.

Colony’s leading scorer on the season, Eisenhower, was a nonfactor for much of the game. In that absence, Fulp had to create open shots for himself. The speedy guard knifed through the defense for runners in the lane and faded to the baseline for jump shots. Fulp finished with a team-high 12 points for the Knights.

“I’ve got a lot of weapons,” said Berg of his team’s depth. Even without his team’s leading scorer, Colony was not left helpless.

Gray hit two of his three three-pointers in the fourth quarter, which seemed to ease the shooting woes for the Knights.

“He’s a luxury every coach wishes he could have,” Berg said of Gray. “I’ve got five or six of those guys. They’re good basketball players, and if you leave them open they’re going to make you pay.”

Cory Carver scored 15 for the Stars.

Colony 47, Soldotna 30

Friday, Colony High

Soldotna 3-10-7-10—30

Colony 12-6-11-18—47

Soldotna (30) — Penrod 2 0-0 5, Young 0 1-2 1, Carver 5 2-4 15, Martin 1 0-0 2, McElroy 2 0-1 4.

Colony (47) — Gray 3 0-0 9, Fulp 4 4-4 12, Umbarger 3 1-2 7, Nygard 1 0-0 3, Bush 3 0-2 6, Eisenhower 5 0-0 10.