Colby wins cross-town contest

Hornets still in hunt for Cloverbelt

The Colby Hornets remain in the hunt for the Eastern Cloverbelt title. Just one loss separates them from Neillsville and Columbus Catholic, with the Dons and Warriors the only undefeated teams in league play.

The Hornets took care of business against Spencer to move to 5-1 in conference play on Friday. Now, only Neillsville, with six wins, can boast more victories than Colby when it comes to the Eastern Cloverbelt standings.

The Hornets are rounding into form as they head into 2022 with plenty of steam in their engines. Colby remains perfect in the new year, taking care of conference rivals Spencer, and then cross-town rival Abbotsford on Monday.

Colby was unrelenting on offense and defense on Friday, stifling the Rockets with a barrage of three pointers. The Hornets splashed a total of 14 triples and displayed a potent and balanced offense on the Rockets’ home court.

Four Hornets finished in double digits on the night, though it remained close through the first half, with Colby holding a 38-27 lead heading into halftime.

Colby completely broke things open in the second half, out-scoring the Rockets 44-26 for the 82-53 victory.

Kaden Wiese was nearly as lethal from three, splashing four of ten triples. Wiese shot almost 50 percent from the floor, nailing seven of his 16 shots for 18 points.

Richard Streveler struggled from three, converting just two of ten attempts, but was perfect from the charity stripe to finish with 13 points. Tucker Meyer had a nice night, scoring 12 points.

Tevin Rue was just outside of double digits, scoring nine. Caden Healy added four points and Mateo Lopez, Brayden Boyer and Joseph Streveler each scored two points.

Abbotsford, 91-52

The Colby Hornets turned in a masterclass on offense and defense on Monday night, with the Abbotsford Falcons the unfortunate victims of a season high 91 points from Colby.

Eight different players scored for head coach Jimmy Flink, with four players notching double digits. Not that the Falcons didn’t do their own work on offense.

Abbotsford actually held an early lead thanks to a Brandon Diedrich corner three, but the Falcons were their own worst enemy on Monday, turning the ball over way too many times that led to easy run-outs and points in transition.

“We were running the ball well, and when we got a steal and had a two on one, we found the open person,” Colby senior Brody Decker said.

It didn’t take long for the Hornets to find a rhythm on offense, and once they did there was nothing the Falcons could do to slow them down.

Senior guard Richard Streveler had a huge first half, scoring 20 of his game high 24 points in the first frame. Brody Decker continued to shoot the ball well, scoring all eight of his points in the first half, and while he had limited minutes against the Falcons, his shooter’s touch remains a weapon this season.