Wasilla boys, girls advance to NLC title games, state tourney

Tristan Horton hit four three-pointers Friday evening. One of those was the biggest shot of the tourney, so far.

The Wasilla High junior buried a deep fallaway three as the shot clock expired with less than 20 seconds left in regulation to help cement a 60-54 win over the Colony Knights during the boys semifinal round of the Northern Lights Conference Championships at Wasilla High.

With the win, third-seeded Wasilla moved past second-seeded Colony into the finals, and earned an automatic bid to the ASAA 4A state tournament. The Warriors now face top-seeded Grace Christian in the NLC title game Saturday at 5 p.m. at WHS.

Horton provided the final answer to a handful of Colony’s attempts to grab a lead late. The Knights, who trailed by as many as nine in the final quarter, cut the Wasilla lead to a point three times late.

Colony’s Layton Lockard hit a three to cut Wasilla’s lead to 51-50. Wasilla’s Aidan Pharr hit a pair of free throws at the other end. A Charlie Gardner layup made it 53-52, but Pharr followed with two more free throws.

With a minute left, Colony’s Jackson Ainsworth used a basket to made it 55-54. Horton’s three-pointer made it a two-possession game with less than 20 seconds to go.

Pharr, who hit his final six free throws in the game, added two more with 8 seconds left.

Colony was down early — 15-10 after the first and 35-22 at halftime — but was able to grind back with 32 points in the second half. Lockard scored a dozen of his 14 in the final two quarters, including eight in the fourth.

Two of his threes were part of a 10-2 Colony run midway through the fourth. Ainsworth had 17 for Colony.

Horton also helped Wasilla build its early lead. He knocked down a trio of threes in the first two quarters, and had 11 points by halftime. Barak Wagle scored all eight of his points in the first half.

Pharr also scored 14 in the win. John Devine added a pair of threes and had nine points.

The Wasilla girls also punched their ticket to the state tournament, with a 56-36 victory over Soldotna in the semis. The Warriors, the No. 1 seed, meets third-seeded Mountain City Christian Saturday at 3:15 p.m. in the girls final.

Claire Bredberg, one of nine seniors on the squad, scored a dozen for Wasilla. Savannah Kroon and Mielee Merchant added 10 each.

The Warriors started the game on an 11-4 run and added 19 in the third quarter.

MCC upset second-seeded Colony 48-36 in the other girls semifinal earlier in the day. The Lions jumped to an early advantage, and led by as much as nine in the first quarter. Bella Shelley hit a pair of free throws to cut the MCC lead to 20-19 in the second.

MCC had a 24-21 lead at halftime, and stretched that to a dozen early in the fourth.

Both Colony squads will play for third Saturday. The Knights girls meet Soldotna at 11:45 a.m. The boys face SoHi at 1:30 p.m.

The Palmer girls finished fifth in the NLC with a 59-26 win over Kodiak Friday morning. The Palmer boys will play Mountain City Christian Saturday at 10 a.m.

Contact the Frontiersman at sports@frontiersman.com.