OT games highlight first day of NLC tourney

WASILLA — A pair of overtime games highlighted the first day of the Northern Lights Conference Championships basketball tournament at Wasilla High School.

Both of those overtime games came on the same side of the boys bracket. Kenai came from behind to beat Palmer 56-51 in extra time and Colony followed with a 62-53 overtime victory over Soldotna.

Palmer led 33-19 at halftime, but Kenai outscored the Moose 18-4 during the fourth quarter and overtime. Bo Reilly led the Kards with 22 points and AJ Hull added 20.

Connor Looney scored a game-high 30 for Palmer.

Colony used key defensive plays by senior Jared Turner down the stretch to outlast Soldotna 62-53.

Turner recorded two steals and a rebound during Colony’s 14-5 run through the four-minute overtime.

The Stars, sparked by a 19-7 first quarter, led until the midway point of the fourth quarter. Colony senior Tim Smith gave his team its first lead since the first, grabbing a rebound and going coast-to-coast for the layup with 3:50 left in the fourth. That gave Colony the 41-40 lead.

The Knights led into the final seconds of the game, but Evan Withrow hit a deep three from the right side for the Stars to tie the game at 48 and force overtime.

Withrow led the Stars with 19.

Hunter Eisenhower scored a game-high 21 for Colony.

Those games create a Colony-Kenai semifinal Friday at 4:45 p.m. at Wasilla High. Palmer and Soldotna meet in the consolation semifinal at 9:45 a.m. The loser is eliminated from the tournament.

Wasilla and Kodiak will meet in the other semifinal after both squads recorded lopsided first-round wins.

There is an all-Valley semifinal on the girls side of the bracket. Defending NLC champion Colony will meet defending state champion Wasilla Friday at 6:30 p.m. in the girls’ semis.

Colony edged Kenai 30-27, thanks in part to freshman Faith Farris’ 14 points.

Wasilla cruised past Skyview 72-13.

Soldotna, the top seed from the NLC South, beat Palmer 52-36 in first-round action.

Palmer meets Homer Friday at 8 a.m. in the consolation semifinals. SoHi faces Kodiak in the semifinals.

Colony boys 62, Soldotna 53 OT

NLC quarterfinals

Thursday, Wasilla High

Soldotna 19-5-12-12-5—53

Colony 7-11-15-15-14—62

Soldotna (53) — T. Fowler 1 0-0 3, Young 2 0-2 6, Carver 4 1-3 11, Withrow 9 0-0 19, Bosick 6 2-2 14, Withrow 9 0-0 19, Bosick 6 2-2 14; Totals: 22 3-7 53.

Colony (62) — Smith 3 2-3 8, Fulp 6 1-1 14, Turner 2 1-2 5, Umbarger 2 2-2 6, Peltier 1 0-0 3, Hightower 2 12- 5, Eisenhower 7 6-8 21; Totals: 23 13-16 62.

Three-point field goals: Soldotna 6 (Young, Carver), Colony 3 (3 tied with 1); Total fouls: Soldotna 16, Colony 8.

Kenai boys 56, Palmer 51

NLC quarterfinals

Thursday, Wasilla High

Kenai 9-10-19-9-9—56

Palmer 17-16-10-4-4—51

Kenai (56) — Hull 6 7-10 20, Reilly 8 4-5 22, Spalding 1 0-2 2, Hayes 5 2-4 12; Totals: 20 13-22 56.

Palmer (51) — Looney 10 7-9 30, Straight 1 0-0 3, Buresh 4 3-4 11, Niekamp 2 0-0 4, Mayer 1 0-0 2; Totals: 18 11-15 51.

Three-point field goals: Kenai 3 (Reilly 2), Palmer 4 (Looney 3); Total fouls: Kenai 13, Palmer 18.

Wasilla girls 72, Skyview 13

NLC quarterfinals

Thursday, Wasilla High

Skyview 2-8-0-3—13

Wasilla 15-23-15-19—72

Skyview (13) — Ahlers 2 0-0 4, Reynolds 1 0-0 3, Pearson 2 0-0 4; Totals: 6 0-0 13.

Wasilla (72) — Hutchins 8 2-2 19, Imoe 3 0-0 6, Koso 5 1-2 14, Brumbaugh 5 0-0 9, Devine 4 0-0 8, Garcia 2 0-0 4, Burke 1 1-2 3; Totals: 31 6-8 72.

Three-point field goals: Skyview 1 (Malatesta 1), Wasilla 4 (Koso 3); Total fouls: Skyview 8, Wasilla 7.

Soldotna girls 52, Palmer 36

NLC quarterfinals

Thursday, Wasilla High

Soldotna 12-12-20-7—52

Palmer 5-5-10-16—36

Soldotna (52) — Benson 0 3-4 3, Litchfield 6 1-2 13, Wong 1 1-2 3, Kervleit 4 2-4 10, Westerman 3 0-0 6, Skjold 7 3-3 17, 21 10-15 52.

Palmer (36) — Simmerman 1 3-3 6, Scott 2 1-2 5, Blake 6 2-3 14, Whitfield 1 4-4 6, Straight 0 1-2 1, Brandenburg 1 2-4 4; Totals: 11 11-18 36.

Three-point field goals: Soldotna 0, Palmer 3 (Blake 2), Total fouls: Soldotna 15, Palmer 14.

Colony girls 30, Kenai 27

NLC quarterfinals

Thursday, Wasilla High

Kenai 6-3-9-9—27

Colony 5-4-14-7—30

Kenai (27) — Beeson 3 3-8 9, Kiefer 3 0-0 6, Taylor 1 0-0 3, Tieaskie 0 1-2 1, Wensley 4 0-0 8; Totals: 11 4-11 27.

Colony (30) — Klapperich 1 0-1 2, Farris 5 4-6 14, Tweed 2 0-0 4, Nelson 1 0-0 2, Stefanksi 3 2-2 8; Totals: 12 6-9 30.

Three-point field goals: Kenai 1 (Taylor 1), Colony 0; Total fouls: Kenai 13, Colony 13.