Exciting finishes highlight rivalry games

WASILLA — Anton Chamblee called the final seconds Wednesday night one of the top moments of his basketball career. With the score tied at 47 in a game destined for overtime, the Colony junior point guard fought for possession underneath the Wasilla basket. With 1.8 seconds left in regulation, the whistle blew, a foul was called and Chamblee was sent to the free throw line.

Chamblee walked with his teammates to the other end of the floor, and calmly knocked down consecutive free throws to provide the go-ahead points to help Colony grab a 49-47 win over rival Wasilla at Wasilla High School.

"I just thought about hitting (the free throw)," Chamblee said of the moment after the win. "I've got to hit this."

Colony head coach Tom Berg said he had confidence in his junior point guard, as Chamblee approached the line during the final seconds of regulation.

"He's a good free throw shooter typically. He's our technical foul shooter most of the time," Berg said. "I was confident he'd make the free throws. You never really know how kids are going to react in that particular situation. If he's the kid we're sending to the line for technical fouls, he's the kid we want on the line."

Go-ahead points at the line is fitting for a contest that included 22 free throws for each team in the second half. Colony scored 14 of its 30 second-half points at the free throw line, while half of Wasilla's 30 second-half points came at the stripe.

"It was a choppy game," Berg said. "Neither of us were very good offensively."

Colony shot 40 percent in the game. Wasilla was held to 30 percent shooting.

The Knights also had rare offensive droughts in the game. An active Wasilla defense held Colony to only three field goals in the second and fourth quarters. Colony's first bucket of the second quarter, a Robert Sonnenberg three-pointer, came with 3:13 left in the first half. The Warriors also held Colony without a basket for the first three minutes of the third quarter.

"They played really well tonight," Berg said of the Warriors. "They did a good job of clogging the lane."

Isaac Houck gave Wasilla its first lead, with just less than four minutes left in the first quarter. The sophomore used a layup and free throw to complete the three-point play, and give the Warriors the 8-7 advantage. Wasilla led 12-11 after the first quarter, and Houck scored four points early in the second quarter to extend his team's advantage.

All of Colony's scoring in the second quarter came during the final 3:13 of the half. Sonnenberg hit the three to cut Wasilla's lead to 16-14. Bailey West followed with another three-pointer at the 2-minute mark. West added another basket late in the half to give Colony the 19-17 halftime lead.

Wasilla got big baskets at the beginning of both quarters in the second half, but Colony was able to finish late. As he did in the second, Houck scored four early points in the third quarter. Houck also hit a three-pointer at the 5:45 mark of the third that gave Wasilla a 26-22 advantage.

Colony capped the third on an 8-0 run. Harrison Menard used a layup to tie the score at 30 with 2:50 left. Chamblee hit a three-pointer with three seconds left in the third to extend Colony's lead to 36-30.

Colony ended the third with a run, but Wasilla started the fourth with a 10-2 run that gave the Warriors a 40-38 lead. Baham hit a three-pointer from the corner on the Warriors first possession of the quarter, and Houck knocked down a three at the 5:49 mark to tie the score a 38. A pair of Houck free throws gave the Warriors the 40-38 lead. The Warriors used free throws (two from Houck and two from Baham) to build a 46-42 with 1:49 left.

A Graham Dinkel bucket cut Wasilla's lead to 46-44 with 1:37, and West hit a deep three to tie the game at 47 with 58 seconds remaining.

West led the Knights with 20 points in the win. The junior was 4 of 9 from beyond the race. Chamblee added nine points and four assists.

Houck provided game-highs with 23 points and eight rebounds. he was 7 of 14 from the field and 7 of 7 from the line. Baham added 17 points, and was 7 of 10 from the free throw line.

Colony improved to 4-0 in Northern Lights Conference play with the win, and Wasilla dropped to 3-1 in conference with the loss.

The Knights are in Kodiak to face the Bears tonight and Saturday. Wasilla will next face Palmer on Feb. 13.

Like the boys' game, the girls' contest also included free throws late in regulation. Colony senior Ashley Turcotte drained a free throw with 0.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter to tie the game and force overtime, but Wasilla outscored the Knights 6-2 during the extra period to claim the 48-44 victory.

Leya DePriest and Kaylyn Kelly both had big buckets during overtime to help the Warriors claim the win, and improve to 4-0 in conference play.

Neither team led by more than two points at the end of each of the first three quarters, and Colony outscored Wasilla 12-10 during the fourth to force overtime.

The rivals traded the lead throughout the fourth quarter before Sarah Bonn hit a three-pointer with less than two minutes remaining in regulation to give Colony the 41-38 lead. Wasilla senior Cassidy Edwards went to the basket and cut the lead to 41-40 with 1:12 left. With 42 seconds remaining, Machia Toews drove the basel line to give Wasilla the 42-41 lead.

Turcotte drew a foul just before the final buzzer, and hit her second free throw attempt to force overtime.

DePriest led the Warriors with 16 points and 18 rebounds in the win. It's the second time in less than a week that DePriest has finished with 18 boards. She also reached that mark during a road win over Soldotna. DePriest is now averaging 19 points and 14 rebounds per NLC game this season.

Catherine Baham hit a pair of three-pointers and added eight points for Wasilla. Edwards chipped in six points and six rebounds.

Faith Farris finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. Turcotte added seven points and a team-high 13 rebounds.

Colony (3-1 in NLC play) hosts Kodiak tonight at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. Wasilla hosts Chugiak tonight at 7 p.m.

Colony boys 49, Wasilla 47

Wednesday, Wasilla High

Colony 11-8-17-13--49

Wasilla 12-5-13-17--47

Colony (49) — Looney 0 4-4 4, West 7 2-5 20, Chamblee 2 4-5 9, Menard 1 2-4 4, Dinkel 3 0-0 6, Sonnenberg 1 1-2 4, Lincoln 0 2-4 2; Totals: 14 15-24 49.

Wasilla (47) — Burns 1 2-2 4, Trotta-Mirigliano 0 1-2 1, Baham 4 7-10 17, Garnett 0 2-6 2, Houck 7 7-7 23; Totals: 12 19-27 47.

3-point field goals: Colony 6 (West 4), Wasilla 4 (Baham, Houck 2); Total fouls: Colony 20, Wasilla 17.

Wasilla girls 48, Colony 44 OT

Wednesday, Wasilla High

Colony (44) — Farris 4 2-2 10, Stephens 3 2-2 8, Clark 1 2-2 4, Turcotte 3 1-3 7, Brumbaugh 2 2-2 6, Kauffman 1 9-0 2, Bonn 3 0-0 7; Totals: 17 9-11 44.

Wasilla (48) — Kelly 2 0-1 5, Heath 2 0-0 4, Baham 3 0-0 8, Toews 1 4-4 6, Dinkel 1 1-2 3, DePriest 7 2-3 16; Totals: 19 7-12 48.

3-point field goals: Colony 1 (Bonn 1), Wasilla 3 (Baham 2); Totals: Colony 14, Wasilla 13.