Palmer wins in the paint

PALMER -- Friday's battle of the Palmer squads turned out to be a battle of styles.

The small, yet swift, Colony Knights favor a contest that can be likened to a track meet, while the larger Palmer Moose take their time, while taking their shots.

After racing to a 12-10 lead out of the chutes, Palmer settled into its game using its height inside, wearing down the Knights in a 52-44 win at Palmer High School.

The Moose were like Windex on Friday, cleaning the boards. Rebounds proved to be key for Palmer, as the squad kept the action inside.

"We got our butts kicked in the paint tonight," Colony head coach Jeff Bowker said.

"We really tried to go with our strengths tonight, our size and athleticism inside," Palmer head coach Brandon Blake said. "We didn't want to get into an up and down game with them."

The Moose patiently worked the ball around the perimeter and eased the ball inside throughout the game. Center Kurtis Devon led the Moose with 16 points and 11 rebounds and forward Stanley Ratcliff posted 13 points and 10 rebounds.

"Right way we wanted to pound the ball inside," Devon said.

"We pulled back, and slowed things down," Blake said. "We really have to be disciplined when we are in the half-court."

Nearly all of Palmer's points were scored inside with the exception of a pair of key Jesse Prins three-pointers, and two Devon buckets from the top of the key. Palmer's points were scored off or near the glass.

"We just ran through our plays," Devon said.

When the Knights did have possession, they tried to use their legs and outside shot to change the momentum of the game. Colony failed to put together anything consistent on offense, hitting less than 30 percent of its attempts in the contest.

Colony junior Rhett Magner believed the squad couldn't hit their shots when their legs were tired.

"Not enough people are in shape and it showed," Magner said. "Obviously we are not that big and our emphasis is to get up and run."

Palmer's presence in the paint allowed the squad to collect the errant Colony shots on the defensive side of the floor, but the Moose used their ability to control the rebounds to give their offense extra opportunities. Bowker said it was the seconds and third opportunities on offense that were to the Moose in the contest.

"I bet that was the margin, at least," Bowker said.