Colby boys win home opener over O-W
The Colby Hornets have begun the year with a 2-3 record, but if you’ve been lucky enough to catch their games, you’ll know they haven’t lost a game without putting up a terrific fight.
Shortly after falling in overtime to Columbus, Colby topped Owen-Withee in its home opener, suffered losses to Greenwood and Phillips, but bounced back to trounce Spencer on Monday for some momentum as they head towards the final week of 2020.
75-74
Colby has a knack for playing in close games, and after dropping an overtime thriller in the first game of the season, found a way to defeat a relentless Owen-Withee squad on Tuesday, Dec. 15.
The Hornets played catch-up in the first minutes of their home opener, but midway through the first half, heated up from deep. Richard Streveler and Jaden Underwood buried multiple threes as Colby surged forward on a 21-5 run.
“It was nice to see Jaden Underwood come out aggressive,” Colby head coach Jimmy Flink said. “He looked a lot more comfortable than the Columbus game.”
The Hornets found themselves up 21-12, but the Blackhawks came back, crashing glass and getting second chance points. Colby also grew complacent with its offense, settling for threes over touches in the paint.
“I don’t mind the players shooting a lot of threes,” Flink said. “We have players on this team who can really shoot the ball, so we need to take them. But we need to get the ball inside by driving or looking into the post.”
Owen-Withee regained the lead at 37-34, but in the closing seconds Streveler found an opening at the top of the key, burying a three to make it 37-37.
Streveler and Underwood continued to hit shots in the second half, but on Flink’s urging, began to move the ball inside.
“I was happy how the players adjusted in the second half, and got the ball inside which opened up a lot of backdoor cuts. We just need to work on finishing inside.”
Colby forced turnovers, but had a hard time creating points from their steals, and the Hornets’ offense went flat. Owen-Withee used that moment to strike, building a 49-44 lead with 10:30 left, but Colby came back thanks to a pair of Brent Jeske baskets that made it 54-53.
Owen-Withee’s Aaron Ovyn put his team on his back, scoring 28 points, but Tucker Meyer was fouled on a three and hit all three free throws, and Brandon Voelker knocked down a 20-footer.
Yet Owen-Withee still came back, and worse, Jeske fouled out for Colby. That’s when Streveler came through in a big way. First, he knocked down a triple, then followed it up with dribble-drive for two that gave Colby a 73-70 lead with under one minute remaining.
The Blackhawks made it 73-72, but were forced to foul Streveler, who calmly sunk both free throws to make it 75-72. Owen-Withee got one last shot up, but the time expired and Colby picked up their first win of the season.
Underwood and Streveler led Colby with 23 and 22 points, and Voelker scored another 13. Jeske added nine, Caden Healy and Meyer had three apiece and Mason Schmutzler scored two.
52-37
The Colby Hornets were able to hang on for one half of basketball, but couldn’t do it for two, falling at home to the Phillips Loggers of the Marawood Conference on Dec. 17.
Neither team exactly filled the nets, with Colby’s 20 first half points coming mostly from threes. Phillips did most of its work inside, and the Loggers were up 25-20 at halftime.
Phillips used that inside presence in the second half, scoring 27 points, while Colby managed just 17. Richard Streveler and Brandon Voelker were the only Hornets to score more than one basket in the second.
Voelker had a game high 13 for Colby and Streveler scored 11. Jaden Underwood had six points, and Tucker Meyer collected three. Caden Healy and Brent Jeske recorded two points apiece.
70-53
The Hornets had little time to dwell on their loss to Phillips, with Colby playing the very next day against the Greenwood Indians.
Perhaps the quick turnaround had something to do with the final outcome, but if you want any indication about how Colby’s night went, one has to look no further than the final play of the first half.
Colby had clawed their way back into the game after trailing by ten. A 12-6 run helped them remain within strik- ing distance.
Then Cooper Bredlau hit perhaps the biggest shot of the night. In the waning seconds of the first half Colby’s defense forced Bredlau out to half-court, and he heaved up a prayer. Colby could watch as the ball banked in for three, giving Greenwood a 34-27 lead.
That shot seemed to deflate the Hornets and energize Greenwood. For while Colby kept close, they could not halt the Indians’ offense.
“Playing back to back games are tough,” Flink said. “I think a lot of the kids were pretty tired. I caught them walking up and down the court a couple times and not sprinting.”
Good looks resulted in zero points, and threes and lay-ups did not fall, Greenwood pulled away, out-scoring Colby 36-26 for a 70-53 victory.
Brent Jeske scored 15 points. Richard Streveler and Brandon Voelker each finished with eight. Mason Schmutzler had one of his best nights with seven. Jaden Underwood added six. Tucker Meyer had and Caden Healy scored five.
“The last couple games we missed a lot of lay-ups just trying to do too many things at one time,” Flink said in the aftermath of the loss. “I think a lot of the times they’re just over-thinking it. They know what to do, they’ve proved that in the past. They just need to relax and play.”
Spencer, 75-51
It was Colby who supplied the fireworks as the Spencer Rockets fizzled before takeoff. Colby played their best half of basketball on Monday, more than doubling Spencer’s output as the Hornets buried Spencer under a scoring barrage to take a 50-24 advantage at half-time.
Colby subbed in several bench players, but tacked on another 25 points as Spencer managed just 27. It was the perfect remedy for Colby’s losses to Philips and Greenwood said junior Brandon Voelker.
“It felt really good because coach told us going into the game that he really wanted to show Spencer what we got this year, and we did that.”
Underwood continued his growth as he paced Colby with 17 points. Jeske recorded 15 and Streveler scored 12. Caden Healy had nine points, and Voelker and Tucker Meyer added six. Brody Decker tallied five, Mason Schmutzler had three and Kaden Wiese had two.
“None of our players are selfish, and we really take pride in that,” Voelker said. “We always like to make that extra pass, and if there’s a better shot, we’ll give that up and make the pass.”
STEADY AS YOU GO -Mason Schmutzler brings the ball up the court on Friday. Schmutzler dropped seven points on Greenwood.STAFF PHOTOS/ROSS PATTERMANN
PLAYMAKER - Brandon Voelker scores over Owen-Withee’s Aaron Ovyn on Dec. 15. Voelker is averaging 10 points a game, and scored a season high 13 against the Blackhawks.
