Colby slips past O-W, falls to Warriors, Rib Lake

By Nathaniel Underwood

The Colby boys basketball team went 1-2 over the past week, falling to Neillsville and Rib Lake before righting the ship and defeating Owen-Withee. The Hornets are now 6-7 overall and 5-2 in the Cloverbelt-East.

Owen-Withee 91-82

Joseph Streveler put up 41 points, Adrian Lopez added 23 and the Hornets were almost unstoppable on offense as they scored a season high 91 points in their victory over Owen-Withee on Tuesday evening. The Blackhawks nearly rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit, but Colby held on to defeat them 91-82.

Streveler’s 41-point performance was a career high, beating out his 30-point personal record he set in Abbotsford earlier this season, and it came on a night when the Hornets certainly needed it. Both offenses were clicking as the two clubs near the top of the Cloverbelt-East standings duked it out.

While it took a little while for the home team to get going, scoring five points in the first five minutes of the game, Streveler and Lopez helped them find their rhythm. The pair combined to score 18 of the Hornets first 20 points, keeping them within striking distance of the Blackhawks, who had taken control over the contest’s early moments, going up 21-12 around the midway point of the period.

Landon Steinman got in on the action with six and a half minutes in the half, hitting a mid-range jumper to put the Hornets ahead 22-21. The basket was part of a 13-0 run for Colby and it was then that Colby’s offense kicked into a higher gear.

A trio of three-point shots courtesy of Streveler gave the Hornets a 34-25 advantage and Colby went on to score 16 points in the final five minutes of the half. A last second three-pointer from Owen-Withee’s Mason Gay gave a boost to the Blackhawks heading into the locker rooms, but the Hornets still led 41-36 after the first 18 minutes.

Colby topped their first half performance by putting up 50 points in the second period. The two squads traded baskets but the Hornets held the slight advantage in the early engagements. It was around the midway point of the half that Colby made their biggest push of the period.

Leading 67-58, a put back basket from Tucker Hayes triggered a 13-2 stretch for the Hornets. Five different Colby players scored as the home team stretched their lead out to 19 points, leading 79-60 with seven minutes to play.

Owen-Withee went on a late 13-0 run to pull back within five, trailing 85-80 with a minute left to play, but clutch free throws from Miguel Morillon, Lopez, Hayes and Streveler helped seal Colby’s fifth Cloverbelt conference win.

Adding to the 41 points from Streveler and 23 from Lopez, Reed Fleischmann had nine points, Hayes had six, Morillon and Jaxon Polivka had six and Steinman had two.

Rib Lake, 55-50

A five-and-a-half minute scoring drought in the second half was the Hornets undoing in their non-conference matchup with Rib Lake at home on Monday night. The Redmen were able to go on an 11-0 run over the middle minutes of the period and, despite a late rally, Colby was never able to fully recover, falling 55-50.

The Hornets held a slim 38-36 advantage following a layup from Tucker Hayes with 13 minutes left in the contest, but the offense went cold following the basket. After scoring 10 points in the first five minutes of the half, Colby would be held scoreless over the next five. Two consecutive three-point shots from Rib Lake’s Seth Borchardt helped the Redmen pull away and by the time that Reed Fleischmann hit a mid-range jumper to get Colby back on the board, the visitors still held a 47-40 lead.

See COLBY BOYS BASKETBALL/ Page 16

FIGHTING THROUGH CONTACT - Joseph Streveler draws a foul against Rib Lake. The senior had a career high 41 points the next night against Owen-Withee. STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD Colby boys basketball

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Rib Lake opted to slow the pace of their offensive sets over the final minutes of the game, hoping to drain the clock and limit the number of possessions the Hornets would have. The strategy almost backfired, as Fleischmann made three free-throws and Miguel Morillon followed with a three-pointer from the corner to pull the Hornets back within one.

The 8-0 rally was not quite enough for Colby, however, as Rib Lake came up with two consecutive scores to pull away once more. A basket underneath from Tucker Hayes made it a 53-50 game with under ten seconds left, but the Hornets were not able to come up with a steal on the final possession of the game and Rib Lake was able to come out with the victory.

The Hornets also had to rally from a 13 point deficit in the first half. Down 27-14 with six minutes left in the period, Colby went on a 14-3 run to draw back within two. Morillon led the charge, hitting two three-pointers and contributing eight points to bring the Hornets back into the fold.

Tucker Hayes ended the night with 14 points, tying his season-high, and six rebounds to lead the Hornets in the two categories. Morillon added 11 points and five assists and Joseph Streveler also had 11 points and seven assists. Fleischmann had five points and four rebounds, Adrian Lopez had five points and five rebounds and Jaxon Polvika added four points.

Neillsville, 71-70

The Hornets were moments away from taking an important Cloverbelt victory on the road over the Neillsville Warriors last Thursday. A desperate heave from Neillsville’s Bryce Erickson seized that win away, however, as the shot from near half court ricocheted off the backboard and through the basket as time expired. The last-second three-pointer gave the Warriors the 71-70 win and dealt Colby their second consecutive conference loss.

Thursday evening’s battle had implications for the top of the Cloverbelt-East conference. Both the Hornets and the Warriors came into the contest with 4-1 conference records, putting them just behind conference leader Columbus Catholic and needing a win to try to keep pace with the Dons.

The two clubs were well matched, as indicated by both the final score and some of the key statistics. Colby held a slim advantage in rebounds (32 to 30), shooting percentage (46.2 percent to 41.5 percent), and three-point shots made (12 to nine), but the Warriors won the turnover battle (18 to 12) and created almost double the steals (11 to five).

Adrian Lopez had a career night for the Hornets, putting up 31 points in the loss. The senior guard shot 11for-15 from the floor, including an impressive 7-for-10 from three-point range. Joseph Streveler added another double-double to his resume as he added 13 points and 10 rebounds as the Hornets second offensive option. He also had six assists and three steals for a solid all-around performance.

After falling behind 33-27 in the first period, the Hornets’ offense came alive in the second half. Colby put up 43 points in the last 18 minutes of the contest and had seemingly done enough to complete the comeback over their conference rivals. However, Erickson’s shot in the game’s final moments was just enough to steal away the win and claim sole possession of second place for the Warriors.

It was the second straight game between the two squads that went right down to the wire. Last year, the Hornets were able to sneak away with a 60-58 victory in Neillsville as the Warriors missed a shot on their final possession.

Reed Fleischmann also scored in double digits, putting up 12 points while going 4-for-8 shooting. Tucker Hayes added five points and Miguel Morillon, Jaxon Polivka and Landon Steinman all had three points. Polivka had seven rebounds and Steinman brought down six boards.

BREEZING BY THE DEFENSE - Adrian Lopez takes the ball to the hoop on Monday night. He nearly put the Hornets on top the week prior, scoring 31 points against Neillsville.

STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD