Hornets drop Blackhawks in home opener
The Colby Hornets moved from the football field to the basketball court last week, and proved their sting is just as lethal on the court as it was on the field.
The Hornets held their season and home opener on Friday, welcoming Eastern Cloverbelt rival Owen-Withee to town. The Blackhawks came in with two games under their belt, and with several players standing 6’3’ or better. Against that height, Colby knew rebounding would be key in deciding the outcome.
“We knew they were going to be tall, and we knew they could rebound,” junior guard Mateo Lopez said. “So we had to box out and just be physical, and we did that today.”
The teams were almost dead even after one half, with Colby hanging onto a 24-22 margin thanks to triples from Kaden Wiese, Richard Streveler and Tevin Rue.
The Blackhawks relied on Roy Stinson, Logan Amacher and Carter Klabon for offense, and all three finished in double figures. Colby and Owen-Withee traded buckets in the opening minutes of the second, and a corner three from Wiese made it 30-27 with 15:32 remaining.
Colby used ball movement and crisp passing to find open shooters and maintain their lead.
“We knew we had to swing the ball fast and move it around quick, and that’s what we did tonight,” Lopez said. “That got our guys open for threes and they knocked them down when we needed them too.”
Streveler swished a pair of threes, and his offense guided the Hornets. Streveler scored a game high 26 points. Wiese pumped in three treys in the second half to finish with 17, but Colby’s problem wasn’t offense, but their defense.
The Hornets were making shots, but struggled to get stops and to clear the boards, and it was even at 38-38 with 9:40 to play. That’s when Colby’s defense fi- nally stepped up. The Hornets did a better job boxing out and forcing fouls from Owen-Withee, shooting 18 free throws.
None was better than Streveler, and he converted nine of eleven attempts to help the Hornets pull away for a 60-48 victory.
“Feels great, first conference win of the season. It won’t be the last,” Lopez declared afterwards.
Lopez added eight points in the victory, and Tevin Rue scored three. Brandon Voelker, Brody Decker and Caden Healy scored two points apiece. Healy grabbed a team high 11 rebounds.
Athens, 82-70
Colby got off to a 7-0 start in the first two minutes of their non-conference road game with Athens on Monday, but a cold snap midway through the first half allowed the Bluejays back in the game.
The Hornets got good looks, or made quick moves in the paint, but the shots refused to fall, and the ‘Jays rallied to end the first half on a 27-9 tear to take a 43-27 lead at the break.
“We were just doing everything slow motion compared to Friday night,” head coach Jimmy Flink said. “We picked up the pace a little bit in the second half where we shot in a flow, but the start of the game was a very slow pace for us.”
Colby opened up the second half exactly like the first, on a 7-0 run that brought it back to a single digit deficit at 43-34.
The ‘Jays didn’t panic, and their pose allowed them to weather runs from Colby. Kaden Wiese and Joe Streveler knocked down big threes to pull Colby within six points at 73-67 with 1:36 to play, but Athens took air out of the ball, forcing Colby to foul, and then salted the game away with free throws.
Cooper Diedrich and Aiden Janke led Athens with 21 and 22 points, while Richard Streveler scored a team high 21 for Colby. Brandon Voelker was in double figures with 11 points, and Tevin Rue added nine points.
