Warriors survive early Colony run, score win

PALMER — During the first eight minutes of play Tuesday night, the Colony Knights looked ready to shoot down the defending Northern Lights Conference champions.

The Knights hit the court firing, with nine field goals and 24 points in the first quarter. But Wasilla stuck around, and the Warriors used a big second-half effort to score a 69-50 win over the Knights at Colony High on Tuesday.

“We knew they were going to come out gunning,” Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen said. “They had a good game plan ready for us; attack, see if they can draw fouls, knock down shots early. They had the right game plan.”

Hunter Eisenhower and Nate Umbarger each had six points during the first, and Jared Turner added five. The Knights hit nine shots, three from behind the arc, in the first. But nearly half of Colony’s points and more than half of the Knights’ field goals came in the first quarter.

“They started off really hot, they were shooting the ball really well,” Wasilla senior Connor Devine said. “We were just like, keeping playing defense, stay calm. We had to just weather the run, come out in the second half knowing we buckle down on defense, focus, take care of the ball, we’ll be fine.”

Wasilla held the Knights to only seven points in the second quarter to force a 31-31 tie at halftime, and the Warriors took over the game with a 21-5 third-quarter run.

Junior Eric Roberts sparked that run, burying a three-pointer from deep in the corner on the opening possession of the second half.

“It was big,” Devine said of the bucket. “After that, it all felt good for us. It was a big turning point.”

Robert scored five of his 10 points in the third.

Wasilla held Eisenhower, Colony’s leading scorer, scoreless in the second and third quarters. The junior did add six in the fourth.

“Hunter’s a good player. He’s going to score, going to get points,” Engebretsen said. “It’s just a matter of making adjustments to what he’s doing game by game. We’ve got a bunch of weapons, fortunately, we can throw at him defensively.”

Devine led the Warriors with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight blocked shots. The South Dakota State recruit was a rebound and two blocks short of his third straight triple-double. Senior Braydon Kuiper scored 18 for the Warriors, and freshman Dane Kuiper had 16.

Dane Kuiper also brought fans to their feet with a pair of slam dunks in the second half.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him at twitter.com/matsu_sports.

Wasilla 69, Colony 50

Tuesday, Colony High

Wasilla 18-13-21-17—69

Colony 24-7-5-14—50

Colony (50) — Smith 3 0-0 8, Fulp 2 0-0 6, Tuner 2 4-4 10, Umbarger 3 2-2 8, Campbell 0 1-2 1, Peltier 1 0-1 3, Hightower 1 0-0 2, Eisenhower 4 4-4 12; Totals: 16 11-14 50.

Wasilla (69) — Ferro 1 0-0 2, B. Kuiper 7 4-4 16, D. Kuiper 6 4-4 16, McGregor 1 0-0 2, Devine 7 5-6 20, Roberts 4 1-1 10; Totals: 26 15-16 69.

Three-point field goals: Wasilla 2 (Devine, Roberts 1); Colony; Total fouls: Wasilla 13.