Warriors survive

WASILLA — When his Wasilla Warriors walked off the court with a 13-point halftime lead over the rival Colony Knights, Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen knew the game was far from over.

“When we went into the locker room, I told them, they’re not going to roll over,” Engebretsen said. “You’re going to have to play.”

Engebretsen was right.

Wasilla withstood a late Colony push to earn a 60-48 win over the Knights at Wasilla High School on Tuesday.

Colony captains John Palmer and Chris Scott scored eight of their team’s 14 third-quarter points and the Knights defense forced a number of Wasilla turnovers during the third to help the defending Northern Lights Conference champions get back into the contest.

“We kind of took a step back and relaxed way too early,” Engebretsen said. “They started chewing back into it. Fortunately we were able to still make plays here and there when we needed to.”

Wasilla captain Adrese LaVern scored 11 of his game-high 20 during the final eight minutes to help Wasilla seal the win and improve to a NLC-best 4-0 in conference play.

LaVern’s 11 fourth-quarter points helped put the kibosh on a Colony attack that cut Wasilla’s lead to just five in, early in the fourth quarter.

Palmer nailed a jumper early in the quarter to cut Wasilla’s lead to five points and the 42-37 advantage, but LaVern answered by drawing a foul and sinking two of his four free throws in the period.

The Warriors also got a few key offensive rebounds and put-backs midway through the quarter to extend the lead.

Warrior big man John Knowles used his 6-foot-7 frame to muscle the rebound and lay-in to give Wasilla the 46-39 lead, and on the following possession freshman Braydon Kuiper snatched the ball on the offensive boards and put it back into the basket to give the Warriors the nine-point advantage.

Cody Pfeifer also took advantage of the second opportunity, thanks to an offensive rebound, to give the Warriors a 13-point lead later in the quarter.

Engebretsen said he didn’t panic when Colony cut his team’s lead to five. He knew Colony would make a run and wanted his team to benefit from the early-season lesson.

“They’re going to make the run at some point,” Engebretsen said. “It’s just a matter of battling through. You’re got to weather their run so you can make a run of your own.”

Forward Bryce Jacobson led Colony with 19 points in the loss. Palmer added 11.

Pfeifer added 13 points to LaVern’s game-high of 20.

Arguably no coach in the state has a better idea of what the Colony basketball program is capable of, than Engebretsen, who was formerly a longtime assistant to Colony head coach Jeff Bowker.

“He’s never going to let his guys give up,” Engebretsen, who is in his second year as head coach of the Warriors, said. “I think very highly of that guy. They’re never going to give up.”

Colony is the reigning conference champion, but lost seven seniors to graduation. Wasilla missed the state tourney last year after winning a 4A title in 2007.

Wasilla 60, Colony 48

Tuesday, Wasilla

Colony 8-9-14-17—48

Wasilla 14-16-10-20—60

Colony (48) — Gray 1 0-0 2, Palmer 3 3-4 11, Scott 3 1-2 8, Jacobson 5 9-11 19, Murphy 3 0-0 6, Summers 1 0- 2; Totals: 16 12-19 48.

Wasilla (60) — Schierman 1 0-0 2, Kroon 3 0-2 7, Kuiper 3 0-0 6, LaVern 7 4-4 20, Orr 4 0-1 8, Pfeifer 5 3-6 13, Knowles 2 0-0 4; Totals: 25 7-13 60.