Hornets win over Rockets, Indians to extend streak

The Colby boys basketball team picked up two road wins this past week, allowing them to maintain their spot atop the Cloverbelt-East standings.

67-53

The boys team traveled to Spencer on Monday night for a make-up game with the Rockets. The Hornets completed the season sweep of Spencer, winning the contest 67-53.

A slow start for Colby saw Spencer take the lead in the opening minutes of the game, but tides quickly changed as the Hornets offense settled into the game. A 9-3 run for the visitors allowed them to take a 30-20 lead, but the Rockets managed to cut that deficit down to four by halftime.

Much like in the beginning of the first half, Spencer got the better of the Hornets in the first eight minutes of the second. The Rockets closed the gap before retaking the lead for themselves.

Down 42-39, Joseph Streveler hit a three to tie the game and a transition basket by Mateo Lopez seconds later turned the game back into Colby’s favor. The Hornets never trailed following the sequence, outscoring Spencer 28-11 over the final ten minutes to claim their seventh straight victory.

Streveler had himself a double-double performance, putting up 16 points and 10 rebounds. Kaden Wiese nearly had a double-double himself, recording 14 points and nine rebounds. Tevin Rue and Caden Healy both ended with double digit scoring nights, finishing with 12 and 10 points respectively. Tucker Meyer had nine points and Lopez ended the evening with six.

74-23

The Hornets made short work of the Greenwood Indians last Friday, dispatching their Cloverbelt conference foes 74-23.

In the first matchup between the two teams this season, the Indians managed to make things interesting early, keeping pace with the Hornets in the opening minutes. Colby pulled away later, however, and the game turned into a comfortable win for the green and gold.

There was no such resistance from Greenwood on their home court. The Hornets quickly grabbed the upper hand, controlling both sides of the ball and making the difference between the two clubs clear. Colby was on pace to score over 100 points after one half of play, holding a 51-11 advantage.

With a lead secured, the Hornets turned to the bench to carry them the rest of the way. While they did not come close to the triple digit pace they had set in the first period, Colby still put up 23 second-half points, which matched Greenwood’s game total.

Twelve Hornet players scored for a highly efficient Colby offense on Friday. The team as a whole shot nearly 60 percent from the floor, making 31 of their 52 shot attempts, and committing only five turnovers.

Tucker Meyer led all scorers with 13 points and added five rebounds, three steals, and two blocks, all of which were team highs. Tevin Rue went a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor and had 12 points and three steals, and Kaden Wiese contributed 12 points, five rebounds and three assists. Adrian Lopez scored nine points off the bench for the Hornets, going 3-for-4 from three-point range.

Also scoring for Colby were Joseph Streveler with eight points, Braxton Smith with five points, Eddie Ortega and Oscar Zamora with four points, Jaxon Polivka, Miguel Morillon and Mateo Lopez each with two points and Braxton Meyer with one.

The next part of the Hornets schedule will have a huge impact on the top of the Cloverbelt-East standings. At 101, Colby currently sits in first place, but their next three games are against Columbus, Neillsville and Owen-Withee, who all sit directly behind the Hornets in the standings. Luckily for the Hornets, two of those three games will be at home. The first will be against Columbus this Thursday, Feb. 9. The game is set to begin at 7:15 p.m.