Knights in title game

April 3, 2005

JEREMIAH BARTZ/Frontiersman Sports Editor

ANCHORAGE - Colony head coach Jeff Bowker says he has a bunch of football players playing basketball. Not necessarily great basketball players, just great athletes who know how to win and always seem to find a way how to win.

Those football players on the basketball court some how found a way to win again, slipping past Valley rival Wasilla 42-41 in the semifinal round of the 2005 4A First National Bank Alaska Schools Activities Association state championships at the Sullivan Arena on Friday.

"It is our offseason sport," Colony senior Justin Schwartzbauer said, one of four Knight starters who have already signed a National Letter of Intent to play college football next season. "We do it to keep in shape, but I guess we are pretty all right if we are going to the state championship game."

The Knights notched just their second appearance in the state basketball title game, their first since 1997, but a times - especially late - it looked like Warrior red would be flooding the Sullivan Arena late Saturday night rather than Colony green. Wasilla out-shot Colony in the second half, held possession of the ball for long stretches of time and killed the Knights on the boards, but Colony still found a way to win.

With 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Knights trailing 41-39, Schwartzbauer rolled a shot off the glass and into the basket to tie the score and drew a Wasilla foul. Schwartzbauer hit the game-winning free throw and earned his squad a date with defending state champion West Anchorage in the title game.

Though Wasilla was able to control the tempo of the game for much of the contest, Colony used several quick spurts to do its damage.

With the Knights trailing by five points early in the third period, Magner - who was yet to score in the game, swiped two passes and drained two three-pointers with a 15 second span to spark a Knights 8-0 run. Schwartzbauer capped the run with a steal and easy lay-up.

Wasilla, led by the inside presence of Luke Schafer, muscled its way back to a 41-39 with just more than three minutes remaining in regulation. The Warriors stood strong on the offensive end, patiently waiting for their opportunity and draining nearly all the time off the clock.

"We were just trying to get a quick turnover - a quick shot, something to get the ball back and get the two points," Schwartzbauer said. "They missed their free throws and that helped out a lot.

Wasilla hit just one of five attempts from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.

Once the Knights got an opportunity at the offensive end they took advantage of it. After a missed Warrior free throw, Cunningham grabbed a rebound at his own end and found a slashing Schwartzbauer, who notched the game-winning three-point

play.

Schwartzbauer led the Knights with 14 points and three steals in the game. Schafer paced the Warriors with 12 points and eight rebounds. The senior grabbed seven offensive rebounds.

Colony's win over Wasilla was its third in four meetings this season.

Editor's note: Due to the late start of the 4A boys state title game, results were unavailable prior to press time. See the Tuesday edition of the Frontiersman for complete results of Colony's battle with West Anchorage.