Prep boys' basketball: Warriors handle scrappy Knights

Jan. 26, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - Wasilla's boys basketball team has been touted by many as one of the state's best all season long, and Tuesday night they showed why, rolling to a 60-42 win over

Colony.

Jesse Bean and Shane Green each scored a game-high 16 points for the Warriors, who never trailed in the contest.

Despite the lopsided score, Colony gave Wasilla all it could handle in what turned out to be a physical, hard-fought contest.

&#8220They're quick, scrappy and they don't give up,” Wasilla head coach Jason Marvel said following the game.

Marvel said he was happy the game was played at a high level of intensity, as he believes it will help the Warriors down the road.

&#8220That's only going to make us stronger as a team,” he said.

Colony kept things close with tough defense in the first quarter, limiting Bean to just two points. But the Warriors broke things open in the second with eight points each from Bean and Green to build a 33-15 lead at the half.

The Knights got to within 13 in the third quarter before Wasilla put the game out of reach with a 12-4 run to end the quarter.

Colony's strong play on defense never translated into baskets on the offensive end. Jaron Murphy was the only Colony player to score in double figures, finishing the game with 10 points. Ryan Coffman and Cody Huggins added six each for the Knights.

Wasilla dominated the game both inside and out. When Bean wasn't able to hit from the outside, Wasilla's big forwards were able to clean up the misses and convert on second-chance opportunities.

&#8220We did what we needed to do,” Bean said. &#8220We controlled the tempo of the game and controlled the boards.”

Forwards Logan Williams and Matt Stearman were mainly responsible for holding down the paint for Wasilla combining for 15 points offensively and several blocked or altered shots on defense.

Following the game, Colony coach Jeff Bowker said his team was simply outmatched by a superior team.

&#8220You could argue that they're one of the two or three best teams in the state,” Bowker said.

The game was played in front of a standing-room-only crowd that packed the Wasilla gym to watch the two rivals face off in their first meeting of the

season.

&#8220You don't have to get pumped up for a game like this,” Bean said.

As his team's most visible player, Bean was the target of persistent heckling from the Colony faithful all night long. But rather than let the crowd get to him, the reigning NLC Player of the Year said he simply used the raucous atmosphere to his advantage.

&#8220I love it,” he said. &#8220It makes the game more fun.”

Contact Matt Tunseth at

352-2265 or matt.tunseth@

frontiersman.com