Colby boys close out Raiders on last play

The Hornets picked up a pair of Cloverbelt- East victories and a win over a tough Marathon squad this past week, pushing their regular season record to 11-3. Another Owen-Withee loss to Columbus also gave the Hornets sole possession of first place in the conference.

Spencer, 78-62

Colby took care of business at home Tuesday night, dispatching conference foe Spencer 78-62. Tevin Rue and Mateo Lopez both scored 19 points to lead the Hornets past their rivals.

While Colby led for much of the first half, the Rockets refused to let them get comfortable. Spencer matched the Hornets shot for shot, never falling behind by more than two possessions over the first 15 minutes of the game.

Steals turned into fast break points helped fuel a late half run for Colby. They outscored Spencer 11-4 over the final three minutes, finally giving them some breathing room.

The Hornets expanded that lead to 15 over the first few minutes of the second period, a margin that would hold relatively steady over the rest of the game. Colby kept the Rockets at bay with consistent offensive production, getting three second half three-point shots from Rue, ten points from Lopez and eight from Tucker Meyer. The Rockets could not quite keep pace and the Hornets were able to walk away with the win.

Colby had five players score in the double digits Tuesday. In addition to Rue and Lopez’s 19 point performances, Meyer had 13 and Joseph Streveler and Kaden Wiese both contributed 11. Wiese and Streveler also tied for the team high in assists with six each. Caden Healy led the team in rebounds with seven and had five points. Lopez ended the game with a game high five steals.

66-65

A tug-of-war battle came to a fitting end between Colby and the Marathon Red Raiders. Marathon’s Tyler Underwood hit a go-ahead layup with five seconds left to put his team on top, but those five seconds were just enough for the Hornets, who got a buzzer-beating putback from Caden Healy to defeat the Red Raiders 66-65.

Both teams came into the contest on multi-game win streaks, with Col- by having won their previous three games and Marathon on a five game streak. Both teams sat near the summits of their respective conferences as well, with both teams tied for first in the Cloverbelt-East and the Marawood- South respectively. The table was set for a highly competitive affair and that was exactly what the fans that had funneled into Dick Gunderson Memorial Gymnasium received last Friday evening.

A quick hitting basket from Marathon’s Drew Love to Underwood gave Marathon an early 9-2 lead, but a 12-4 run from Colby, capped off by two consecutive threes from Joseph Streveler, gave the Hornets their first lead at 14-13. This sequence showcased how the rest of the game would play out; a back-and-forth, grinding fight where neither team would be able to take a large advantage over the other. The Red Raiders offense largely focused on trying to get the ball to their 6’9” junior forward Grant Warren on the blocks, where he could go to work against a shorter Colby lineup. Meanwhile, the Hornets’ multi-pronged attack gave them the versatility to shoot from range and open up the lane for more opportunities.

Colby had appeared to take a commanding 31-21 lead with under three minutes to play following a free throw to complete a three-point play for Streveler, but Marathon came roaring back to tie the game at 31-31 at halftime.

The lead shifted between the two teams over the first eight minutes of the second period. Colby took the largest lead of the half, 48-42, following a Kaden Wiese three-point shot, and while the Hornets held onto their advantage over the Raiders through the middle minutes of the period, they could not quite shake their opponents.

The visitors’ tenacity eventually paid off, as a basket from Warren allowed them to finally retake the lead, 59-57. The situation turned dire for Colby when another basket from Warren put them in a four-point hole with less than a minute-and-a-half on the clock. With the Hornets’ in a mustmake situation, Wiese came in clutch, hitting a three to bring Colby within one and wrangling an offensive rebound before putting up a mid-range jumper to retake the lead. Marathon answered, finding Underwood in the lane to go up 65-64 with five seconds remaining. Colby called a timeout to try to set up a play, but the situation looked grim for the home team.

The Hornets got the ball to the hot hand of Wiese, but a third straight make was not in the cards for the senior. Teammate Caden Healy waited in the perfect position for the rebound, however, pinning back Warren and collecting the miss. Wasting no time, Healy went up for a final shot, the ball leaving his fingers with under half a second on the clock. The buzzer rang out as Healy’s shot found its mark, giving Colby the 66-65 victory.

Healy led the Hornets with 18 points, four steals and three blocks. Streveler had 13 points and a team-high nine assists and Wiese ended the game with 12 points. Tevin Rue added nine points, Tucker Meyer had eight and brought down seven rebounds and Mateo Lopez had six points.

85-51

The Hornets had twelve players score in a dominating performance against the Gilman Pirates last Thursday. Colby had no problem putting away their Cloverbelt-East opponents at home, defeating the Pirates 85-51.

Colby set the stage for a blowout early, opening the game by scoring 24 straight points before Gilman finally got on the board. That lead expanded to 31-2 and the Hornets started to turn to their depth on the bench by the midway point of the first half. The Pirates started to find some flow on the offensive side, scoring 20 points over the rest of the half, but the damage had largely been done by that point.

With their starting lineup back in at the start of the second half, Colby started the period on a 12-3 run to solidify a 60-25 lead, a margin that was maintained over the rest of the game.

Kaden Wiese led the Hornets with 17 points, hitting three of his four threepoint attempts and going 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Joseph Streveler added 13 points and a team high five assists, and Caden Healy, Tevin Rue, and Jaxon Polivka all had eight points for the Hornets. Nathaniel Robida and Mateo Lopez both ended the game with seven points, Tucker Meyer, Eddie Ortega and Braxton Smith had four points, Miguel Morillon had three and Oscar Zamora rounded out the scoring with two points.

Next up for Colby is a rematch with Greenwood. The last time the two teams met, the Hornets cruised to a 68-44 win. Greenwood is currently 2-16 this season, their only two wins coming against Gilman. The game will be in Greenwood and is to start at 7:15 p.m.

COAST TO COAST - Mateo Lopez pushes the floor against the Red Raiders.STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD

STORM THE COURT - Caden Healy is swarmed by teammates and fans alike after hitting a buzzer beater to defeat Marathon.