Colby topples second ranked Dons

The Hornets found themselves in Marshfield for a conference rematch with the Columbus Catholic Dons on Tuesday, Jan. 25. Colby had dropped a home game to the Dons the week before, and that loss was fresh on everyone’s minds.

What made the loss particularly maddening was Colby knew if they had made one more shots, gotten one more stop, they’d have a victory over the second ranked team in D-5.

Instead, a dismal shooting performance in the first half doomed the Hornets. Not that Colby went down without swinging. The Hornets put together a 16-0 run to earn a fleeting lead, but deep shooting from the Dons gave Columbus Catholic the win.

Colby knew they would have a chance to turn the tables on their rivals, and if they could get the win on the road, it would make things even sweeter. Thus the stage was set for something special.

Colby was razor sharp in the first half, and after defeating a tough and rugged Owen-Withee squad three days before, they were tested. There would be no rust on Colby’s game this time, not like that first meeting, when the Hornets went nearly two weeks without a live contest.

Mateo Lopez, Richard Streveler and Brody Decker set the tone of the game. Lopez, more of a slasher, splashed a three. It was a prelude to what would be an absolute clinic from three by Colby.

The Hornets finished with an eyepopping 14 three pointers, and none shot the ball better than senior Brody Decker. Time and time again Decker shook free of the Dons and made them pay, knocking down five treys in the first half.

Colby paired that perimter shooting with stifling defense frustrating the Dons into turnovers and rushed shots. A team that had dropped 15 treys on Colby the week before struggled from three, finishing 11 of 36 from Down Town.

Lopez drove inside for lay-ups, Kaden Wiese uncorked timely threes and Brandon Voelker muscled underneath for put-backs to give Colby a 27-12 advantage with under ten to play in the first half.

The Dons shrugged off their slow start to put together a 21-6 run over the final ten minutes, but Colby held on for a 36-33 lead heading into the locker room.

The Hornets were determined not to let this game slip away, and Colby went right back to work in the second half.

Streveler found Lopez for an early feed underneath, and the Hornets were back in control of the game. Streveler probed inside for a lay-up, and the Hornets did to the Dons what Columbus had done to them the week before - make threes, get stops and force turnovers.

Voelker got in on the action from deep, knocking down his first threes of the season. Decker hit a sixth triple, Caden Healy got a put-back, and Streveler hit from nearly half court to give Colby a 60-50 lead with less than nine minutes remaining in regulation. Things got dicey towards the end. A Blake Jacobi three got the Dons to within 66-62 with 2:38, but Streveler had a great drive for a scoop and score to give Colby a two possession lead at 70-64.

The Dons started to foul as Colby drained time off the clock, but the Hornets went seven of 12 from the stripe. The victory keeps the Hornet’s Eastern Cloverbelt title hopes alive, and gives them plenty of confidence after stunning their ranked opponent at home.

“We knew we could beat them after the first time we played,” junior guard Mateo Lopez. “This just gives us the confidence that we can play against anyone.”

Brody Decker and Richard Streveler were the players of the game, with both scoring 19 points. Streveler finished with a gaudy stat line of 13 rebounds, seven steals and five assists. Lopez and Voelker were also in double digits, with 13 and 11 points. Wiese added seven, Healy had four and Tevin Rue had two points.

85-14

There would be no drama in Colby’s next game, a complete drubbing of conference rival Gilman at home on Thursday, Jan. 27. The Hornets pummeled the Pirates 50-5 in the first half.

Colby head coach Jimmy Flink went deep into his bench in both halves, using his starters sparingly. The Hornets scored 35 points in the second half, and held Gilman to nine points. Colby was led by Richard Streveler’s 16 points. Tucker Meyer scored 12, Mateo Lopez added 11 and Carson Rau had 10 points.

Caden Healy recorded seven points, Brody Decker and Brandon Voelker had six apiece. Nathaniel Robida scored four points, and Kaden Wiese and Tevin Rue tallied three and two points.

Marathon, 75-48

The Hornets journeyed to Marathon City play the Red Raiders in a showdown between two of the top teams in the Marawood and Cloverbelt conferences.

Colby has proven that when shots are falling they’re one of the best teams in central Wisconsin. Unfortunately for Colby, not enough shots fell on Friday, and head coach Jimmy Flink said some of that had to do with a school cancellation, and the Hornet’s win over Gilman.

“We practiced on Monday to prepare for Marshfield Columbus, which you need to practice to prepare for them. Then Wednesday comes, and there’s no school and no practices,” Flink said.

“Then on Thursday we played Gilman and the game’s over in an hour, and now we’re here in Marathon. It’s tough but it’s a good learning experience for the kids.”

Colby had an early lead in the first half, but those missed practices were apparent. Turnovers and missed three pointers gave Marathon too many possessions. The Red Raiders also have a height advantage in the form of 6’8” Grant Warren, who deflected shots in the paint, and then scored with ease on the offensive end, finishing with 18 points.

“We need to play our style of basketball that is getting up and down the floor,” Flink said. “I know it’s hard and intimidating to go against size, but it’s going to happen during the season, so you just need to keep playing hard.”

The Hornets tried to keep Warren off the glass, but this led to open looks for his teammates. Jaden Koeller and Nathan Hanke drilled shot after shot and the two scored 24 and 12 points.

Colby trailed 36-23 at the break. It got worse in the second half as Marathon’s lead grew thanks to a 39-25 effort that drops Colby to 11-4 on the season.

Richard Strevler led Colby with 13 points. Mateo Lopez and Kaden Wiese added nine points apiece, followed by Caden Healy with four.

The Hornets will look to regroup this week, with a pair of road matches against Loyal and Greenwood on Tuesday and Thursday.

BLOCK PARTY IN MARATHON -Colby’s Tucker Meyer (#1) and Mateo Lopez (#20) team up to block Daniel LaQua during the Hornets non-conference meeting with Marathon on Jan. 28. Colby had a roller-coaster week to end January, knocking off second ranked Columbus, pummeling Gilman and then enduring a loss to Marathon on Friday. STAFF PHOTOS/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER