Colby tops Falcons in high-scoring affair
By Nathaniel Underwood
TheAbbotsford Falcons hosted the Colby Hornets on Monday evening for a non-conference matchup between the two neighboring schools. In a fast-paced, high intensity game, the Hornets came out on top, fending off multiple pushes from Abbotsford to take the 88-76 victory.
Both squads put up season-high scores as the quick tempo established early continued throughout the night. Both teams also shot well, with Abbotsford shooting 47.5 percent from the field and Colby just below that with 44.6 percent field goal percentage.
The biggest difference in the game was the turnover differential and the Hornets’ ability to get to the free throw line. Colby was able to score 29 points off of 20 Falcon turnovers while the home team only managed 11 points after forcing 12 turnovers from the Hornets. Meanwhile, the Hornets shot an impressive 30 for 35 from the free throw line, which included a perfect 14-for-14 streak from Joseph Streveler and a 7-for-8 night from Jaxon Polivka.
The pair led the Hornets on their scoring spree to open the contest. After a three from Adrian Lopez to start the game, Streveler and Polivka combined to score 11 more points in the first three minutes, giving Colby an early 14-2 advantage. Free throws from Irvin Aguilera finally cut the streak short and the Falcons began to slowly but surely chip away at Colby’s lead.
A three from Grayson Totzke cut the deficit down to single digits at 18-9, and while the Hornets were able to answer, a field goal from Carlos Lara followed by a three from Koren Decker kicked off a 17-6 run for Abbotsford. AJ Brodhagen scored eight straight points for the Falcons and the home team found themselves back in the game, down 30-26 with four minutes left in the half.
With their lead whittled down to just four, the Hornets came up with six straight points, getting two free throws from both Streveler and Polivka before Streveler connected in the lane to put the Hornets back up by ten. The two squads exchanged baskets by halftime, Colby still held a 42-34 advantage.
The visitors put up the first four points of the second half, but Payton Schreiber responded by connecting on a shot from beyond the arc, triggering a 12-2 run for the Falcons. Totzke, Aguilera and Blake Bargender all contributed field goals over the stretch in which the Hornets only managed two free throws. Schreiber brought Abbotsford back within two on a transition basket in the lane, poising the home team to either tie the game or take the lead.
A steal by Totzke on the following Hornet possession gave Abbotsford an opportunity, but Streveler responded with a steal of his own on the opposite end of the court to end the threat. A basket from the Colby senior put the visitors back up by two possessions and Lopez came up with a key steal of his own that he turned into two points for the Hornets a few moments later. Colby went on their own 13-3 run over the next four minutes of game time, capped off with a basket from Reed Fleischmann.
While a three from Totzke later in the half brought Abbotsford back within eight, Colby’s late game offensive firepower, led by nine points from Lopez in the closing minutes, was enough to keep them at bay.
Streveler ended the game with a season-high 30 points and added 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals for an impressive double-double performance. Lopez hit five three-point shots en route to a 25-point, five steal performance himself and Polivka ended the game with 18 points, six rebounds and three assists. Fleischmann had seven points, Miguel Morillon had four points and four steals, Tucker Hayes finished with three points and Tayt Smith had one.
Totzke was the Falcons’ top scorer, ending the evening with 18 points, five rebounds and three assists. Brodhagen added 13 points and four steals, Irvin Aguilera had nine points and six assists and Decker ended the game with seven points. Schreiber, Preston Bunkelman and JV Castillo all had six points each, with Bunkelman finishing with six assists and five rebounds and Castillo coming down with five rebounds as well. Also scoring for the Falcons were Bargender with four points, Evan Reis with three, and Lara and Noah Schraufnagel with two apiece.
Hornets fall to Columbus
Last Friday night featured a contest between the two teams at the top of the Cloverbelt-East. Heading into the game, both the Hornets and the Columbus Catholic Dons held a 4-0 conference record, the winner taking an inside track towards the conference title. The Dons held their ground on their home court, holding Colby to around their season average points and claiming the 73-55 victory.
Adrian Lopez and Joseph Streveler combined to score the first 11 points for the Hornets as they tried to keep pace with the home team early, but Columbus’ three-point shooting kept the Dons one step ahead. They took a 14-5 advantage over Colby early as the Hornets struggled to get their offense rolling, but even as the visitors found their footing as the game progressed, Columbus always seemed to have an answer. A 5-0 run later in the half highlighted by scores from Jaxon Polivka was the largest streak Colby could muster as they struggled to get back into the game after an early deficit. The Dons finished the half with nine three-point shots and led 36-25 at halftime.
Columbus grew their lead out to 17 over the opening minutes of the second half, but the Hornets slowly but surely began to claw their way back into the contest. A combination of Polivka and Streveler allowed the Hornets to go on a 10-3 run and a basket from Landon Steinman made the score 56-46 with nine minutes left to play.
Six straight points for the Dons stretched their lead back out to 16 and Colby would not be able to recover. Despite 13 second half points from Steinman, the Hornets could not find a complementary option late in the game and Columbus was able to take sole possession of top spot in the Cloverbelt-East.
Polivka led the team with 14 points, shooting 3-for-4 from three-point range while also bringing down a team-high seven rebounds. Steinman was also 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, ending the game with 13 points. Streveler had 12 points, six rebounds and five assists, Lopez and Miguel Morillon ended the game with seven points each and Gavin Voss had two points.
Stratford shuts down Falcons
The Falcons were on the road last Friday evening as well, taking on the Stratford Tigers for a non-conference matchup. While Abbotsford kept pace early, a late first period push for the Tigers allowed them to pull away and ultimately take a 75-35 victory over the Falcons.
A three from Preston Bunkelman gave the visiting Abbotsford squad a 9-8 lead with 10 minutes left in the half, but it would be another eight minutes before Irvin Aguilera’s layup got the Falcons back on the board. In the meantime,
See COLBY VS. ABBY/ Page 16
FIRST HALF JOUST - Jaxon Polivka, left, goes up against AJ Brodhagen in the post during the first period.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
BREAKAWAY BATTLE - Adrian Lopez, left, is challenged by Grayson Totzke, right, on a transition layup.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
CREATING SPACE - Irvin Aguilera fades away on a left-handed layup against Colby.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD Colby vs Abby
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Stratford’s offense found the consistency it was missing in the opening possessions and went on a 21-point run. The Tigers scored on six of their first seven possessions to start the streak while Abbotsford turned the ball over five times over that stretch.
Despite trailing 37-13 at halftime, the Falcons came out and largely matched Stratford over the first half of the second period. However, the Tigers still came out of the exchange outscoring Abbotsford 15-12 and another 8-0 run for the home team took away any hope of a comeback from the Falcons.
Stratford’s ability to transform Abbotsford turnovers into points and their rebounding advantage pushed them to victory. The Tigers scored 30 points on possessions following a Falcons’ turnover and they outrebounded the Falcons 45-23.
Nine Falcons scored on Friday night in the loss. Koren Decker went 3-for-5 from the field and connected on two three-point shots to lead the Falcons with eight points. Aguilera added seven points, two assists and two steals. JV Castillo, Grayson Totzke and Payton Schreiber had four points each and Castillo had a team high four steals. Bunkelman had three points, AJ Brodhagen added two points and six rebounds, Jack Sheahan also had two points and Blake Bargender had one point.
