State hoops: Wasilla boys get best of all-Valley final

March 25, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH/ Frontiersman

ANCHORAGE -Wasilla completed a season-long march to the state title Saturday night, defeating crosstown rival Colony 50-41 at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.

On paper, the No. 1-ranked Warriors were the team to beat, but had their hands full with the Knights, whose unexpected run to the state finals was the talk of the tourney going into Saturday night's contest.

Wasilla breezed through the regular season undefeated in Northern Lights Conference play before winning the NLC tournament in a thriller over the Knights two weeks ago.

The win allowed the Warriors to match the school's girls' team, which earlier in the night defeated Juneau-Douglas to win their first title since 1982.

It was only the third time in state history a class 4A school has claimed both championships, a feat made extra-special because it came at the hands of Wasilla's biggest rival.

Wasilla coach Jason Marvel was nearly speechless following his team's emotional victory.

&#8220I can't explain it,” Marvel said following the game. &#8220This is something no one will ever forget.”

The Warriors and Knights obviously have one of the most spirited regular-season rivalries in the state. But that has also extended to the postseason. In addition to countless meetings in NLC tourney play, these two Valley squads seem to have a tendency to meet each other in the state's big dance.

Two years ago, the Knights knocked off the Warriors in the first round of the large-schools state championships.

&#8220It's sweet justice,” Marvel said.

The game was one for the record books in many ways.

First it was the first all-Valley final in the history of the 4A boys tournament. And it was also the first time a Valley team captured large-schools state boys title.

Until this season, Wasilla, Palmer and Colony were a combined 0-5 in state title game play.

Wasilla's win was also the second state title for the NLC. Kodiak was the first to do it, beating East Anchorage in 2001.

Wasilla exploited its size advantage early on in the game, getting eight points in the paint in the first quarter to take a 13-4 lead.

Northern Lights Conference Player of the Year Jesse Bean capped the period by dropping a picture-perfect floating jumper from behind the three-point line as time expired.

The Warriors then built a 12-point lead midway through the second, threatening to run away with the title. Wasilla's defense held Colony to only 23 percent shooting in the first half, but the Knights cut the Wasilla lead to seven with a Grant Niver three as the buzzer sounded.

Niver and Ryan Coffman each had six points in the half to lead the Knights, while Shane Green paced Wasilla with six to go along with three rebounds.

Wasilla took a 10-point lead into the fourth behind the strength of four more points down low from Green, who played much bigger than his 6-foot-2 frame.

&#8220Shane Green was a big difference,” Marvel said of his junior forward.

Colony hung around, however, keeping things close with a couple clutch baskets by guard Antone Zagars.

The Knights stayed hot going into the final period, going on an 8-1 run between the end of the third and beginning of the fourth. Colony got as close as four points with 29 seconds remaining, but the Warriors made five free throws down the stretch to give them their first state boys basketball state title.

Wasilla's defense held Doug Gray - Colony's offensive star through the first two games of the tournament - to only three points on the night.

Green said the key to Wasilla's win was the fact that the Warriors came out prepared to match Colony's intensity, which had been the Knights'' calling card during the postseason.

&#8220We knew we had to come out and play hard in order to win,” Green said.

Coach Marvel also credited the defense of senior guard Jeremiah Collins with shutting down Gray, who scored 23 points Friday night against East to lead Colony into the finals.

&#8220Jeremiah did a great job on him, and took him out of his game,” Marvel said.

Despite facing off in a fierce individual battle, Collins and Gray showed there was no bad blood between the two Mat-Su basketball stars, warmly embracing one another after the game.

Colony coach Jeff Bowker couldn't hide his disappointment following the loss, saying he thought his team had the talent to win it all.

&#8220I'm not into moral victories,” Bowker said.

Wasilla never trailed, and Bowker said he didn't feel like the Knights played up to their potential in the final game, allowing the Warriors to dictate the run of play throughout.

&#8220They were quicker than us, jumped higher and made more shots,” Bowker said. &#8220They played better than us.”

Colony's lone senior, forward Ryan Coffman, said Colony didn't come to state to finish second.

&#8220We came into this game thinking we were going to be state champions,” Coffman said.

Instead, it was Wasilla which took home the crown, and Green said a more fitting ending couldn't have been written.

&#8220To be the first from the Valley and to do it over Colony is amazing,” Green said.

The win not only allowed the Warriors to cap a dominant season, but also sent All-State guard Jesse Bean out with the state title he's dreamed of since he was a child.

And the UAF-bound senior had the chance to cap Wasilla's state title by scoring the final two points of the game.

&#8220It's what I've worked for all my life,” he said.