Third place: Colony boys 42, Kenai 38 FINAL

Colony bounced back to claim third place Saturday morning at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.

No Colony player scored in double figures, but nine different Knights scored in the win.

"That shows we're really well balanced," sophomore guard John Palmer said after the win.

Cory Toombs scored a game-high 21 points for Kenai, which was unable to capitalize on five straight missed free throws by the Knights in the final 1:08 of the game.

"We just didn't execute and get a good shot," Kenai coach Jim Beeson said.

Grant Niver and Matt Stearman each grabbed six rebounds for Colony, which held a a 38-26 edge on the glass.

Colony opened the game on an 11-3 run, but Kenai responded with an 11-0 charge of their own after referees switched basketballs due to complaints from players about a lack of air pressure late in the opening quarter.

The change benefitted the Kardinals, which outscored Colony 17-9 with the new ball.

The Kardinals went up 20-18 on a three-pointer by Cory Toombs with less than a minute to go in the second quarter before Cody Huggins tied things up with a short jumper to end the half.

Toombs led all players with 11 points in the first half, while Doug Gray scored six for the Knights, which missed eight of their last nine shots after opening the game by making five of their first six.

The teams traded the lead three times in the third quarter, with Matt Stearman's put-back tying the game up at 31 heading into the fourth.