Hornets’ hot start pushes them past Abby
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Colby Hornets boys basketball team invited the Abbotsford Falcons into town for a non-conference rivalry game on Monday evening. While the two squads played virtually evenly in the second half, a fast start for the Hornets offense in the first period propelled them to a 81-58 victory over the Falcons.
Shooting percentage and points in the paint were the biggest distinguishers in the battle between the neighboring squads. The Hornets shot 50.0 percent from the field and scored 58 of their 81 points from inside the paint while Abbotsford made 36.2 percent of their shots and had 36 points near the basket.
With the Hornets up 6-3, a 12-2 run for the home team allowed them to grab the early momentum in the contest. A jump shot from Landon Steinman got the Colby offense rolling and a basket from Hayes pushed out their advantage. Koren Decker answered for the Falcons, but a three from Steinman and a layup and subsequent free throw by Miguel Morillon kept the Hornets rolling offensively. A putback score for Hayes rounded out the run.
A pair of makes from Miguel Bautista and Grayson Totzke allowed the Falcons to keep pace with Colby for a few minutes, but the scoring opportunities quickly dried up for Abbotsford. They were held without a basket for the next four minutes, a stretch that Colby took advantage of to extend their lead. A three pointer from Hayden Kaiser kicked off another run for the Hornets, where they scored 12 straight points, capped off by another three from Kaiser. Totzke got the Falcons back on the board on the possession following Kaiser’s basket, but the visitors found themselves in a 36-14 hole.
The two teams battled back and forth over the final five minutes and a three from Christian Fuentes with 30 seconds left allowed the Falcons to go into halftime having cut slightly into Colby’s advantage. They then followed up a Hayes basket to start scoring in the second period with two of their own, with Totzke adding another two point basket before AJ Brodhagen sank a shot from beyond the arc.
The pair of makes brought Abbotsford back within 18 points, but another strong run for the Hornets made sure that the visitors would get no closer. Baskets from Hayes, Luke Hannula and Reed Fleischmann on consecutive possessions started what would become a 13-2 stretch for the Hornets, one that gave them a comfortable 62-33 lead with 10 minutes left. While the Falcons outscored Colby 25-19 down the stretch, it was not enough to overcome the significant deficit they found themselves in.
It was a career night for Tucker Hayes, who had 28 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks in an impressive performance for the home team. The Falcons had three players score in the double digits, but could not match Colby’s strong shooting over the first 18 minutes of the contest.
Hayes was not the only Hornet to register a double-double. Morillon also had his own double-double performance, picking up 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting and recording 11 assists in the win. Fleischmann and Kaiser both had 10 points each and Steinman collected nine points. Braiden Johnson added five points and Hannula and Rolyn Hopperdietzel had two points apiece.
The Falcons also had a double-double on Monday evening, with Totzke finishing the game with 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Falcons in both categories. He also co-led the team with three assists. Bautista added 13 points, a career high, by shooting 5-for-6 from the field and Brodhagen ended the day with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists. Fuentes had five points, Decker had four, Jack Sheahan finished with three and Irvin Aguilera and Payton Schreiber both had two for Abbotsford.
Abby falls to Stratford
The Falcons hosted the Stratford Tigers last Friday evening but could not keep pace with the leader of the Marawood-South. A strong run in the second half of the first period allowed the Tigers to pull out to a lead that Abbotsford could not come close to broaching for the rest of the contest, ultimately falling to Stratford 70-35.
While the Falcons managed to keep the fifth-ranked team in Division 4 relatively in check early on, the visitors began to put things together on offense over the final 10 minutes of the first period. Meanwhile, Abbotsford struggled to score over that same stretch, leading to a 28-5 run for Stratford that gave them control over the final half of the game.
Abbotsford held their own in the rebounding department, both teams ending the game with 31 rebounds, but turnovers and an inability to keep up with the Tigers’ shooting ultimately put the Falcons behind. Stratford shot 50.0 percent from two-point range and nearly as well from beyond the arc, hitting 11 of their 24 three-point shots. Meanwhile, Abbotsford went 5-for-23 from three and finished shooting 31.8 percent from the field. They also committed 25 turnovers that Stratford was able to turn into 30 points while the Falcons had just four points off of 11 Tiger turnovers.
The visiting Stratford squad never trailed, jumping out to a 13-4 lead. Abbotsford battled back from the rough start, with Miguel Bautista getting the offense back on track with a corner three to make it a two possession game. The Falcons narrowed the gap further as Irvin Aguilera’s putback layup and Christian Fuentes’ three-pointer not only helped them keep pace with their foes but bring them back within five points.
Following Fuentes’ basket, however, the game began to shift heavily in the Tigers’ favor. Over the next three minutes of game time, Stratford would score on five straight possessions, putting up 13 points and shooting 5-for-7 from the field. Meanwhile, Abbotsford committed five turnovers while getting up just one shot attempt and their only points over the stretch came from AJ Brodhagen’s made free throw.
A three from Aguilera ended the five minute gap between field goals for the Falcons, but Stratford went on to outscore their hosts 12-3 over the final five minutes of the period.
Another three-pointer courtesy of Fuentes on Abbotsford’s second possession of the second half cut the deficit down to 25, but the 21-4 stretch for the Tigers that followed doused any hopes for a rally. The Falcons were held to just 16 points in the second period.
Fuentes finished the game as the Falcons’ leading scorer, going 3-for-4 from the field and scoring eight points. Bautista added another seven points, Aguilera and Brodhagen had five points apiece and Grayson Totzke and Carter Cihlar both finished with three. Chase Boller and Koren Decker ended the game with two points. Brodhagen’s six rebounds were the most for the Falcons while Totzke’s three assists led Abbotsford.
Colby bounced by Dons
Cold shooting streaks plagued the Hornets last Friday night
See ABBY VS. COLBY BASKETBALL/ Page 10
FROM BEYOND ARC - Hayden Kaiser hits one of his two three-point shots against Abbotsford on Monday. STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
FLYING PAST THE DEFENSE - Miguel Bautista took advantage of a crack in the Stratford defense to score against the Tigers last Friday.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DAY - Miguel Morillon slips by the Falcon defense for two of his 15 points. He also had 11 assists. STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD Abby vs. Colby basketball
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when they traveled to Marshfield to take on the Columbus Catholic Dons. Both teams struggled to find consistency against their opposing defenses, but the Dons used a late surge to push past Colby and deal them a 5443 defeat.
Back-to-back baskets from Tucker Hayes and Miguel Morillon had the Hornets out to their largest lead of the evening midway through the second period. Morillon’s three had made it a three possession game at 3831, but the final 10 minutes would be a struggle for Colby’s offense.
The visiting Hornets were held to just five points over that span. Another three from Morillon three minutes after his first staved off the Columbus rally for a moment, regaining a 41-38 lead for Colby, but the Dons ended the game on a 16-2 run. Hayes had the sole basket for the Hornets down the stretch as they went 1-for-7 shooting and had five turnovers.
Shooting woes also troubled the visiting Colby squad early in the contest. Columbus jumped out to a 6-0 lead and while Hayden Kaiser managed to half that gap with a threepointer, those were the only points the Hornets managed in the first eight minutes of the contest.
Landon Steinman broke the Hornets out of their offensive funk by hitting a pair of threepointers on back-to-back possessions, momentarily bringing Colby back within a possession. While the Dons were able to run their lead back out to 17-9, two threes from Luke Hannula brought the Hornets right back into the game.
Columbus answered with a three of their own the next time down the court, but Colby was back within striking distance. Morillon converted a pair of fast break layups to give Colby their first lead at 21-20 and Steinman hit a three at the buzzer to put Colby up 26-25 heading into halftime. Baskets from Reed Fleischmann kept them in front early, but the lack of scoring late in the game ultimately dealt the Hornets their fifth loss of the season.
While Hornets made nine of their 20 threepoint attempts, they shot just 23 percent from inside the arc, going 6-for-26. They also only managed to get to the free throw line four times all game.
Morillon ended the game with a team-high 10 points and seven assists, as well as six rebounds, two steals and one block. Steinman and Fleischmann had nine points each and the latter had three steals. Hayes and Hannula both finished with six points and led the team in defensive categories as well, with Hannula collecting four steals and Hayes recording two blocks. Hayes also had the most rebounds for the Hornets, finishing with seven. Kaiser rounded out the scoring for Colby, ending the day with three points.
