Eagles fly past Knights

April 5, 2005

JEREMIAH BARTZ/ Frontiersman sports editor

ANCHORAGE - Colony earned an opportunity to play the 4A state title game for just the second time in the history of its boys basketball program. But in a game of opportunities, the Colony Knights failed to capitalize on the easy chances and ultimately fell short of a chance to win its first state championship.

The Knights fell to West Anchorage 72-47, and the Eagles claimed their second consecutive First National Bank Alaska Schools Activities Association 4A state championship.

Colony was able to stay with the heavily favored Eagles for much of the first half despite shooting only 37 percent from the field. West led Colony by just nine points after one quarter and outscored the Knights just 19-15 in the second. Colony had success running its offense and found the open man, but had difficulty converting.

"We had some great open looks at the basket. We just couldn't finish them," Colony senior Justin Schwartzbauer said. "Against a team like that you got to hit (your shots)."

Meanwhile West did finish, hitting half (17 of 34) of their field goals in the first half. The Eagles, led by speedy guards Jordan Jamestown and Deray Wilson and Ramon Harris - a man-child in the middle, sprinted the ball down the floor and found quick, but quality looks at the basket.

"They fed off their speed and athletic as they are, we knew they were going to come after us," Schwartz-bauer said.

Though West can be compared to a track team on the hardwood, Colony still ran with the Eagles. But shot selection and shooting percentage separated the two high school powers.

"We're an athletic team, too, and we like to press. We knew we could go with them a little bit," Schwartzbauer said.

Even while Colony ran with the Eagles, Schwartzbauer said he and his teammates still felt challenged keeping up with the intense speed of the game.

"I was feeling rushed. I'm sure our whole team was feeling rushed," Schwartz-bauer said. "I'm sure that's why we were missing those easy layups."

And when the Eagle starters were not running and doing damage, their bench was.

"They're bench was just too deep. They had too many weapons," Schwartzbauer said.

West had nine players with nine or more minutes in the contest and all saw action even when West did not hold a big lead.

Colony did walk off the court after a 25-point loss, but Schwartzbauer said his team can relish being there.

"It's great here. It was a dream at the beginning of the season, and now it actually happened," Schwartz-buaer said. "It's just a great experience for us to play in front of the whole state of Alaska."

The title game was televised on KTUU, the NBC affiliate in Anchorage, and ARTS, the Alaska rural television station.

"To make it as far as we did, it's a trip for us," Schwartzbauer said. "We had a lot of heart, and that carried us further and further in the state tournament."

Though the game was played in West's hometown, the Sullivan Arena did have a Valley feel as Colony green and black blanketed entire sections of seats in the facility. The Colony High School band kept fans peppy, even at the midnight hour, and the Knight fans -painted and proud - celebrated even in defeat.

Cade Dickey, one of the Knights' five senior starters, led his squad with 15 points and hit 5-of-8 shots from the field. Dickey was named the player of the game for Colony and the defensive player of the game for the title

match.

The Knights' run to the state championship game included a 21-7 record and the Northern Lights Conference championship.