Wasilla boys dominate, repeat as champs

WASILLA — The Warriors are back on the warpath.

The Wasilla boys claimed their second straight Northern Lights Conference title with an overpowering second half, crushing Colony 69-52 behind a complete performance on both ends of the floor.

“We’ve known we were going to have to work for this since last year, and we accomplished our goal as far as regions goes,” said Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen, who was named the conference’s coach of the year following the tournament. “Our guys have a lot of faith and they believe in each other.”

The win gave Wasilla its seventh NLC title in 11 years.

“We’ve had this goal since last year,” said senior guard Cody Pfeifer, who pumped in a game-high 29 points for Wasilla. “It feels incredible.”

Pfeifer scored 15 of his points in the first quarter, but the Knights hung tough as Colony’s Scott Herman tied a back-and-forth half at 30-30 with a silky midrange jump shot just before the buzzer to send Colony into the locker room with perhaps the slightest edge in momentum.

Or perhaps not. The Warriors controlled the third quarter, equaling their biggest lead of the game on an acrobatic “and-one” finish and ensuing free throw by Pfeifer to make it 45-37 late in the quarter.

Wasilla pushed its lead to 11 points in the fourth before John Palmer hit a deep three to end a 7-0 Warriors run, making it 54-46 as Bowker called timeout with 5:17 to go.

The momentary stoppage did little to slow down Wasilla, which pushed its lead to 12 points midway through the fourth when Pfeifer again attacked the basket, slapping the backboard emphatically after his lay-up made it 58-46 with four minutes to go.

Colony managed just a single field goal after Pfeifer’s bucket, as Wasilla capped a dominant second half by outscoring the Knights 24-12 in the fourth. Pfeifer ended the game by tossing the ball high into the air, capping a player of the game performance with a flourish.

Drew Ford finished with 17 points for Wasilla, while Braydon Kuiper added 11 and Connor Devine had eight.

Herman scored 19 to lead the Knights, but Palmer — named the NLC’s Most Outstanding Player following the game — was held to just nine, as Colony got just one player in double figures.

Pfeifer said the difference in the game was defense.

“Our defense gave us the momentum, and we just kept it going,” he said.

Colony head coach Jeff Bowker said the reason for Wasilla’s win was as simple as they come.

“They were better than us in all facets of the game,” Bowker said.

Obviously not satisfied with a runner-up finish, Bowker said his squad must put four quarters of basketball together to compete with teams like Wasilla.

“We’ve got to be more consistent,” he said.

As for the Warriors, they’ve now checked off one of their season goals, but Engebretsen said his team has even loftier heights in mind.

“We’re not happy just getting to the state tournament or playing at the Sullivan Arena,” he said. “We’re going there to win games.”

WASILLA 69, COLONY 52

Wasilla 19 11 15 24 – 69

Colony 17 13 10 12 – 52

WASILLA (69) – Quanga 1 0-0 2, Mock 1 0-2 2, Kuiper 5 0-0 11, Pfeifer 10 8-9 29, Devine 4 0-2 8, ford 7 1-3 17. Totals – 28 10-17 69.

COLONY (52) – Eisenhower 1 2-2 4, Turner 3 0-0 8, Palmer 3 2-2 9, Herman 6 4-6 19, Niver 2 0-0 4, Ray 2 0-1 4, Summers 2 0-0 4. Totals – 19 8-11 52.

3-point field goals – Wasilla 2 (Ford, Kuiper), Colony 6 (Herman 3, Turner 2, Palmer). Fouled out – Herman. Total fouls – Wasilla 17, Colony 18.

2010 All-Northern

Lights Conference

Boys’ player of the year: John Palmer, Colony

Boys’ coach of the year: Unavailable as of press time, name not supplied by host school

Boys’ first team:

Braydon Kuiper- Wasilla; Christian Odom- Palmer; Scott Herman- Colony; Conner Devine- Wasilla; Ralphael Matatauia- Kodiak; Sean Niekamp- Palmer; Blaine Carver- Sohi; Cody Pfeifer- Wasilla; Boomer Blossom- Sohi; John Palmer.

Boys’ second team:

Devon Kennelty- Homer; Luke Garvey- Homer; Micheal Pate- Homer; AJ Hull- Kenai; Billy Kiefer- Kenai; Tyler Spalding- Kenai; Brian Fangonila- Kodiak; Zach Watkins- Kodiak; Kyle Titus- Palmer; Albert White- Skyview; Drew Ford- Wasilla

Boys’ honorable mention:

Bo Reilly- Kenai; Corey Mock- Wasilla.