Knights sweep Moose

WASILLA — A first-half run helped the Colony girls avoid an 0-4 start.

The Knights scored 11 straight points and never trailed during the final three quarters of a 54-44 Northern Lights Conference win over Palmer Tuesday night at Wasilla High School.

Palmer led 5-1 early, before the Knights used the run to jump to an 12-5 lead. Kali Bull hit a pair of threes during Colony’s 13-point second quarter and used a team-high 10 points to help the Knights improve to 1-3 in the NLC.

Colony, which has not missed the state tournament since 2007, started the season 0-3 in conferences. Wasilla beat Colony last week, and Soldotna swept the Knights in a pair of games at SoHi over the weekend. Soldotna’s win over Colony last Friday was its first over the Knights in five seasons.

Chloe Simpson also hit a pair of big threes for the Knights in the second half. Hannah Duguid added a three-pointer during Colony’s 15-point third quarter.

The Colony defense held the Moose to single digits in scoring in each of the first three quarters. Palmer scored 23 of its 44 points in the fourth. Abriana Busbey led the Moose with a game-high 22 points. Busbey hit a trio of threes, and was 7 of 11 at the free throw line.

Both the Colony girls and boys played their fourth NLC game in seven days. That’s half of Colony’s NLC schedule in 2018-19.

The Colony boys used a monster third quarter to get past the Moose. The Knights outscored Palmer 22-5 in the 65-49 win. Colony senior Sullivan Menard scored 10 of his game-high 20 in the third.

Colony, which led 29-24 at halftime, opened the third on a 9-0 run. Menard lifted the crowd with a dunk early in the third and followed with a three-point play. Colton Spencer capped the run with a steal and a basket. Palmer’s Jacob Titus gave the Moose their first points of the second half with a three-pointer with 5:37 left in the third.

Colony’s night also featured buzzer-beating three-pointers in each of the first three quarters of the game. Forward Wyatt Baker hoisted a three in the final second of the first to give Colony a 16-15 lead. Spencer launched one of his four three-pointers just before the first-half horn. Menard hit a shot from beyond the arc at the end of the third.

In addition to Menard’s 20, Spencer added 16 and Patrick McMahon chipped in 13. Brothers Lavar and Ronny Marshall combined to score 33 of Palmer’s 49 points. Ronny Marshall scored 11 of his team-high 17 in the first half. Lavar Marshall added 16.

The games were played at Wasilla High, but Colony was the home team on the scoreboard. The Colony High gymnasium is still closed due to structural damage sustained during the Nov. 30, 2018, earthquake.

Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.