First-quarter run leads Knight boys over Moose

JEREMIAH BARTZ/ Sports Editor

PALMER - Tuesday night it was like the Palmer Moose were trapped inside a pressure cooker and the Colony Knights were stuck in fast forward - at least during the first quarter.

Colony - using its run and gun, sprint and steal, always moving gameplan - stormed out to an 18-4 lead and scored 24 first-quarter points. With a tight second half, the game was won with that first-quarter offensive surge.

"Our plan was to just get after them as much as we could and get the early lead," Colony senior Justin Schwartzbauer said. "We're working on that press; it helped a lot."

Schwartzbauer scored nine of his game-high 15 points in the first quarter.

Schwartzbauer and fellow senior Rhett Magner each hit three-pointers early in the first quarter, and the intense Knight defensive pressure led to easy buckets.

"We get everyone on the floor going 110 percent all of the time," Schwartzbauer said.

And that run and gun, sprint and steal, is expected to be the Colony Knights' style this seasson.

"It's going to be for this group," Colony head coach Jeff Bowker said. "We're not great shooters, but we're pretty quick. We're going to try to use that to our advantage, try to get as many easy baskets as we can."

Colony led 39-21 at halftime, and the two squads fought through a 2-2 third quarter.

Both teams had consistant opportunities in the third quarter, but were not able to convert.

Magner scored the lone bucket for Colony in the third, while Trent Berberich - on a rebound and put-back - scored the only points for Palmer in the third.

"I told my guys we got looks, [both teams], wide open looks," Bowker said. "The shots weren't falling for us, the shots weren't falling for them. There was no sense of urgency."

Colony and Palmer combined for just eight points in the first 12 minutes of the second half. Tanner Fullmer hit a jumper with just more than four minutes remaining in regulation. The Fullmer bucket helped kick-start the scoring. In the final four minutes of the game, the teams combined

for 24 points.

Juneau-Douglas

defeats Palmer

The Moose boys suffered a 74-37 loss to Juneau-Douglas at Palmer High School on Wednesday.

David Doerr led the Moose with 15 points.

Ketchikan tops Houston

The Ketchikan girls' earned a 45-20 win over Houston at Houston High School on Wednesday.

Rachel Stewart led the Hawks with eight points.