Warriors win pair at Colony High

WASILLA — Earlier this season, the Wasilla Warriors suffered a heartbreaking loss on their home floor to rival Colony. Nobody in Warrior red took the loss harder than Ryen Milliron.

Milliron, a senior guard working for the ball underneath his own basket, was called for a foul with the score tied during the final seconds of regulation. Colony junior Anton Chamblee hit the go-ahead free throws to give Colony the win.

It was a tough loss for Milliron and the Warriors. But on Tuesday, the senior had a chance to redeem himself, and he came up big for the Warriors. Milliron scored 17 points to lead Wasilla to a 54-50 win over the Knights at Colony High School.

“Before the game, I can honestly say, I wanted this one more than anything,” Milliron said after the win. “I wanted to come out, play hard, play like I know how, and kind of redeem myself, do it for the team.”

Milliron said the January loss to Colony certainly bothered him.

“It ate at me for a little bit, but my coach, teammates all had my back. (They) told me to move on from it,” Milliron said.

Tuesday, Milliron helped Wasilla rally from a double-digit deficit. He hit four three-pointers in the win, grabbed a late steal and helped ice the game, hitting 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch.

“He couldn’t have been any bigger for us tonight,” Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen said of Milliron. “As far as the way he felt after the last one, personally, individually taking the brunt of that one, it was huge for him to come out and have a great game.”

Millrun scored nine of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. Arguably his biggest shot of the game came with 2:30 left in regulation. Milliron hit a three-pointer that cut Colony’s lead to 48-47.

“The last three-ball he hit was enormous,” Engebretsen said. “The tide had started to turn the other direction a little bit. That gave us the confidence to keep going.”

Seconds later, Wasilla senior Alex Baham grabbed a steal and ran the floor for a lay-up that gave Wasilla the 49-48 lead. Koby Burns hit a pair of free throws to push Wasilla’s lead to three points, and Milliron made it a two-possession game with two more free throws.

Baham scored a game-high 18 points for the Wasilla.

Wasilla improved to 7-1 in Northern Lights Conference play despite trailing by 13 points early. Colony used an 18-point first quarter to take an 18-5 lead.

Chamblee scored eight points in the first quarter. Bailey West added a three-pointer. Tucker Looney scored five of his team’s first seven points of the game.

Wasilla moved back into the game with 13 second-quarter points, and held the Knights to only two filed goals in the third.

“There’s no 10-point play. We had to chip away,” Engebretsen said.

Engebretsen said his team’s ability to come from behind is an example of what he’s seen from his players throughout the season.

“It’s the same word I’ve used the entire time. One word that matches them perfect is resilient,” Engebretsen said. “This is just the most resilient group I’ve ever coached. We haven’t had the same lineup two days in a row.”

Tuesday, the Warriors were without sophomore starter Isaac Hock, who missed the game due to illness.

“They’ve done a great job being resilient, showing their resiliency,” Engebretsen said.

Chamblee and Bailey West combined to hit six three-pointers for the Knights, and scored 11 each. Tucker Looney and Robert Sonnenberg added nine each.

Colony dropped to 8-1 in the NLC with the loss. Both Wasilla and Colony are still in the hunt for the top seed in the upcoming NLC tournament. Wasilla is in Kodiak this weekend to play a pair of games against the Bears. Colony caps its regular season Saturday at Palmer.

Freshmen lead Wasilla girls to win

A pair of freshmen helped Wasilla spoil senior night at Colony High School.

Freshman Taylor Anderson scored 10 of her 12 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Warriors to 54-50 win over the Knights at Colony High.

Anderson knocked down a three-pointer early in the fourth quarter, and hit 5 of 6 free throws late for Wasilla. Colony took a slim 32-30 advantage over the Warriors into the fourth quarter, but Anderson hit the three to give Wasilla the lead.

Midway through the half, after a short Colony run, Natalia Heath hit another three-pointer for Wasilla to give the Warriors the 40-38. Anderson followed with a steal and a basket to push Wasilla’s lead to 44-40.

Freshman Azlynn Brandenburg added 10 for Wasilla. Junior Leya DePriest nearly missed another double-double, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Wasilla outscored Colony 21-13 in the fourth quarter.

Senior Faith Farris led Colony with 14 points. Senior Sarah Bonn added 10 points and five rebounds, and senior Ashley Turcotte added eight points.

Wasilla improved to 8-0 overall, and clinched the No. 1 seed in the upcoming NLC tournament. Colony dropped to 7-2. The Warriors host Kodiak tonight at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. Colony caps its regular season Saturday at Palmer.

Wasilla boys 54, Colony 50

Tuesday, Colony High

Wasilla 5-13-19-17—54

Colony 18-10-7-15–50

Wasilla (54) — Burns 0 2-4 2, C. Brown 4 1-3 10, Milliron 5 3-4 17, Mirgliano 0 2-2 2, Baham 8 2-3 18, Garnett 2 1-1 5; Totals: 19 11-17 54.

Colony (50) — Selmer 2 0-3 4, Looney 3 3-6 9, West 3 2-2 11, Chamblee 4 0-0 11, Menard 1 2-2 4, Sonnenberg 4 1-4 9, Lincoln 1 0-0 2; Totals: 15 6-15 50.

3-point field goals: Wasilla 6 (Milliron 4), Colony 6 (West, Shamble 3).

Wasilla girls 51, Colony 45

Tuesday, Colony High

Wasilla 13-7-10-21—51

Colony 13-8-11-13—45

Wasilla (51) — Heath 1 1-2 4, Baham 2 1-2 6, Brandenburg 4 2-2 10, Anderson 3 5-6 12, Dinkel 1 0-0 2, Edwards 2 3-4 7, DePriest 5 0-0 10; Totals: 18 12-18 51.

Colony (45) — Farris 6 2-2 14, Stephens 2 0-2 4, Clark 1 3-4 5, Turcotte 4 0-0 8, Kauffman 2 0-0 4, Bonn 4 1-1 10; Totals: 19 6-9 45.

3-point field goals: Wasilla 3 (3 tied with 1), Colony 1 (Bonn 1); Total fouls: Wasilla 9, Colony 15.