Colby drops season finale

A second half surge wasn’t enough to overcome a first half deficit for the Colby boys basketball team.

The Hornets were on the road on Friday, Feb. 12, in Owen-Withee for their season finale, and much like their first meeting with the Blackhawks, a 75-74 Colby victory, this one went down to the wire.

The Blackhawks took the early initiative, racing out to a 35-22 advantage by the end of the first 18 minutes of play. But the Hornets shook off that slow start in the second half.

Four Hornets finished in double figures, but scoring was not the issue for Colby, rather all their problems came on the other side of the ball, especially on the glass as the Blackhawks finished with a 50-26 edge on the boards.

The Hornets also allowed four players to hang double figures on them, with Owen-Withee’s Tyler Weaver leading all players with 21 points. Weaver was three of four from the three point arc, but Colby held the rest of the Blackhawks to 1 of 14 from Down Town.

The Hornets splashed six of 23 treys, and got some points to fall in the paint, and shot just under 50 percent, converting 25 of 60 field goal attempts. But Colby only got to the line 12 times, compared 19 times for Owen-Withee.

The boards and free throws almost didn’t matter as Jaden Underwood connected on five of 11 shots and Caden Healy did even better, converting seven of 12 field goal attempts. Both led Colby with 14 points apiece and helped the Hornets outpace the Blackhawks 41-33 in the final frame.

But that double digit hole from the first half proved too great a hurdle, and the Hornets lost to Owen-Withee 63-68. The loss is the third straight for Colby, with those three losses coming by a combined 13 points. The Hornets will finish their regular season 10-10, and 8-7 in Eastern Cloverbelt action.

Richard Streveler had a return to form, finishing with 11 points and 11 boards. Tucker Meyer added 10 points, Mason Schmutzler recorded eight points, and Brandon Voelker chipped in with six points.

The Hornets will begin their postseason campaign this Friday with a road trip to Stratford for a WIAA D-3 regional semifinal. Colby will be looking for some revenge after taking a 79-45 loss in mid January when the Hornets were plagued by injuries.