NLC basketball: Moose upset Knights, move on to face Warriors in the title game

The Palmer Moose boys basketball squad earned the big upset of the region tournament.

The fourth-seeded Moose outlasted top-ranked Colony 49-44 during the semifinal round of the Northern Lights Conference Championships Friday after at Soldotna High School.

Lukas Owens hit a pair of three-pointers, scoring all six of his points in the fourth quarter, to help the Moose get by the Knights and move into a region final against rival Wasilla. The Warriors beat host SoHi 64-53 in the other semi. Palmer and Wasilla will play for the NLC title Saturday at 6:45 p.m. Both teams have earned an automatic bid to the ASAA 4A state tournament, which starts March 20 at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.

Palmer, 0-2 against Colony during the regular season, outscored Colony 18-14 in the fourth quarter. The Moose were held to only four points in the second quarter, but used a 17-10 third-quarter run to take a 31-30 lead.

Levi Rolston and Nolan Garner scored a dozen each to lead Palmer. Blake Dinkel and Eli Whitworth led the Knights with 11 points each.

Wasilla jumped to an early lead and kept the momentum en route to the 64-53 win over the Stars.

The Warriors led by three after the first quarter and extended their advantage with a 19-5 second-quarter run.

Gavin Morris led Wasilla with a game-high 18 points in the win. Eleven of those points came during the second quarter. Noah Kroon added 14. Ledger Lusk finished with 10.

Colony will play Soldotna in the third-place game Saturday at 11:45 a.m.

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