State hoops: Colony boys upset Juneau

March 23, 2007

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

ANCHORAGE - The Colony Knights know all about the upset.

Early in the season, the 4A Knights were upset by 2A Point Hope.

And then later in the season, Colony posted a few upsets of its own - most notably a double-overtime win over favored Soldotna in the semifinals of the Northern Lights Conference Tournament.

But on Thursday, the Knights scored the biggest upset of all, a 54-51 win over Juneau-Douglas in the first round of the ASAA First National Bank 4A State Basketball Championships.

Junior Doug Gray hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 24 seconds left in regulation, and senior Ryan Coffman hit a pair of free throws with eight seconds remaining to allow the seventh-seeded Knights to knock off the second-seeded Crimson Bears.

Gray, who scored 10 of his game-high 17 points in the final frame, drained two free throws with 39 seconds left to cut Juneau's lead to 51-49.

On the ensuing possession, Colony juniors Grant Niver and Jaron Murphy trapped Juneau's Nico Saldivar and forced the Crimson Bear point guard to fumble the ball out of bounds.

That turnover gave Colony one more chance to take the lead.

And Gray took advantage of the opportunity, draining the shot from beyond the arc.

&#8220He's been clutch in every single game we've played,” Niver said. &#8220Every close game we've won, Doug has put a big shot in.”

Gray said he just has confidence in his shot. Winning the state tournament's three-point contest the night before helped out too, he said.

Led by 6-foot-9 and Division I bound forward Will Egolf, Juneau was hailed by many as the pick to win the 2006-07 title. And, at least for a moment, the favored Bears looked as if they'd be moving forward, toward that title game.

With a 45-33 lead, Juneau held a sizable advantage after three quarters. But the underdog Knights used a 21-6 run in the final quarter to erase that 12-point fourth-quarter deficit.

&#8220We're 11th in the WPI,” Colony junior Grant Niver said, referring to his team's ranking in the state win percentage index. &#8220Nobody really expected us to do anything.”

While Colony has spent most of the season off the radar, Juneau has spent much of the year off the mainland. Before Thursday, the Bears had not faced an opponent from Southcentral Alaska since late January, settling for competition from the southeastern panhandle of the state.

But while most teams, not named Ketchikan, have not seen the Southeast Conference champions in months, Juneau's size was often the talk of the Alaska basketball community. Juneau sports a roster with eight players 6-feet or taller, and four athletes 6-4 or bigger.

Colony has just three players who stand taller than 6-feet, with its tallest being the 6-3 Niver.

&#8220People know they have Egolf and the other big guys,” Gray said. &#8220Us, we're a bunch of guards who hustle.”

The hustling Knights forced 24 turnovers with their intense and continuous pressure.

&#8220Everybody told us to pressure Juneau,” Niver said. &#8220We were flying up and down the court, trying to make plays.”

And that pressure was the difference in the mind of Colony head coach Jeff Bowker.

&#8220I've been saying this all season. We don't have height, we don't have a ton of great shooters, we have guys who just play hard,” Bowker said. &#8220These guys played unbelievably hard.”

Bowker said if things get kind of &#8220helter skelter” it proves to be better for the Knights. Colony forced the 24 turnovers, and scored 20 points off turnovers.

Bowker credited Niver and forwards Ryan Coffman and Josh Moseley for their work against Juneau's big men.

&#8220They did absolutely a terrific job,” Bowker said. &#8220Even Murphy, he was guarding (Cameron) Cook who's 6-4. He's giving up six inches.”

With the win, Colony advances to the state semifinals for the third straight season. Today, the Knights face East Anchorage at 6:50 p.m. at the Sullivan Arena.

East moved into the semifinals with a 75-45 thrashing of Mid-Alaska Conference champion Lathrop.

Random shots … Colony finished the contest 15-of-17 from the free-throw line, while Juneau was 0-for-6. Gray was 7-of-7 from the line, and Coffman was 4-for-4 … Despite their size advantage the Bears held just a 36-31 advantage in rebounds over the Knights … Coffman and Moseley each grabbed a team-high six rebounds …Egolf, who will attend Bradley University next year, recorded nine boards.

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