Knights score home sweep of Moose

PALMER — Colony stunned Palmer with an early run, and stormed to a 67-41 Northern Lights Conference win over the Moose Tuesday evening at Colony High School.

The Knights led 17-0 after the first quarter, didn’t allow a point until early in the second. Palmer’s first field goal came late in the first half.

“For this group to be successful, it’s really about the defensive end,” Colony head coach Tom Berg said after the win. “We have to rebound at a high level, we’ve got to try to keep them out of the paint. I thought we did a really good job of that early.”

Freshman Clayton Southwick provided the first points of the contest for the Moose. Southwick was fouled on a three-point attempt seven seconds into the second quarter, and hit all three attempts to put the Moose on the scoreboard. Southwick, who scored a team-high 12 and five of his team’s seven first-half points, also notched Palmer’s first field goal of the game. Southwick found the basket with 3 minutes, 31 seconds remaining in the first half.

“We kind of took them out of their stuff,” Berg said of the Moose. “They’ve got a couple of kids who can certainly get hot.”

Berg said the work of Robert Sonnenberg and Graham Dinkel inside was key.

“Robert and Graham did a terrific job on the glass,” Berg said.

Plus, the Knights continued to hit shots.

Bailey West scored six of his team-high 12 in the first quarter. Dinkel added four of his 10 during the first frame. Five different Knights factored into the scoring during the first eight minutes.

Sonnenberg scored nine of his 11 in the first half.

Colony led Palmer 40-7 after the first two quarters.

In addition to Southwick’s 12 points, Jarred Yanez added seven, while James Blake and Trey Witz added six each.

Palmer, which played both Thunder Mountain and South Anchorage very tough during the Elks Showdown last week, dropped to 2-6 overall and 0-1 in NLC play. Colony, which finished second in the Mt. McKinley Bank Holiday Classic at Monroe last week, improved to 3-1 against Alaska competition and 1-0 in conference play.

“We’re happy to get the win, but we’ve got three tough ones at the West tournament,” Berg said of the Alaska Airlines Classic, which started Thursday at West Anchorage High School.

Colony opened against Windermere Prep of Windermere, Florida, in the first round late Thursday. Results were not available prior to press time.

“It’s got to be what’s next for this group in January,” Berg said. “We have an unbelievable January. We went to Fairbanks, play in the West tournament, go to the (Kenai) Peninsula, go to Kodiak, and throw in a Palmer game and a Wasilla game in there. It’s a big month.”

Colony girls top Moose

The Colony girls used a strong run midway through the first half to earn a 57-34 win over Palmer Tuesday at Colony High School.

The Knights capped the first quarter with a 7-0 run and started the second quarter with a 7-2 advantage.

Colony, which outscored PHS 16-8 during the second quarter, led 29-16 at halftime.

Kiana Till scored four of her seven points during the first quarter to help Palmer post an early lead. Kaylee King fed a long pass down the floor to Katrina Sherman, and Sherman found the basket to give Palmer an 8-6 midway through the first quarter. But Colony would answer with the quarter-ending, seven-point run.

The Knights made consistent trips to the free throw line during the first quarter. Chase Stephens, Teyah Clark and Sarah Bonn were each 2 for 2 during the first eight minutes, and Sarah Brumbaugh was 1 for 2.

Faith Farris sparked the Knights in the second, scoring seven of her team’s 16 during the quarter.

Stephens scored a game-high 11 points during the win. Farris, Clark and Bonn added 10 each.

King led the Moose with eight points.

Colony boys 67, Palmer 41

Tuesday, Colony High

Palmer 0-7-12-22--41

Colony 17-23-14-14--67

Palmer (41) — Ramoth 1 0-1 2, Calderon 0 2-2 2, Debach 2 0-0 4, Hughes-Duffy 0 2-2 2, Witz 1 3-4 6, Southwick 4 3-3 12, Blake 2 2-3 6, Yanez 2 3-3 7; Totals: 12 15-18 41.

Colony (67) — Selmer 1 4-6 6, Looney 1 3-4 5, West 3 6-6 12, Chamblee 2 2-2 6, P. Martin 2 2-2 7, N. Martin 3 0-0 6, Dinkel 5 0-0 10, Nygard 1 0-0 2, Sonnenberg 4 3-4 18, Lincoln 0 2-4 2; Totals: 22 22-28 67.

3-point field goals: Palmer 1 (Witz 1), Colony 1 (P. Martin); Total fouls: Palmer 21, Colony 19

Colony girls 57, Palmer 34

Tuesday, Colony High

Palmer 8-8-9-9--34

Colony 13-16-18-10--57

Palmer (34) — Venzke 1 0-0 2, Bowman 3 0-0 7, King 4 0-0 8, Uschmann 2 0-0 4, Smylie 1 0-0 2, Till 3 0-1 7, Sherman 1 0-0 2, Bradford 1 0-0 2; Totals: 16 0-1 34.

Colony (57) — Farris

3-point field goals: Palmer 1 (Bowman 1), Total fouls: Palmer 17