Hornets win two, fall to O-W

Colby picked up two non-conference victories over Rib Lake and Stratford over the past week, but not before their nine-game win streak was ended in their final Cloverbelt-East conference contest against the Owen-Withee Blackhawks.

The Hornets traveled to Rib Lake on Tuesday evening for a make up game with their Marawood-North foe after the initial game had been cancelled due to inclement weather. The visiting Colby club came out on top with a double-digit victory, outscoring their opponents 74-61.

In a game that was played relatively evenly throughout, the final six minutes of the first half proved to be the difference maker. With the Hornets holding a 25-23 lead, a basket by Joseph Streveler kicked off a 19-5 run for Colby. Capped off by a three-point shot from Tucker Meyer, the run gave the visitors a 44-28 advantage heading into halftime, a significant margin in a previously close game.

Rib Lake did not go down without a fight, relying on the shooting of Jackson Blomberg and Dominic Quednow to cut the Hornet lead down to just three.

Nursing a 53-50 lead, Mateo Lopez found Kaden Wiese in the lane for a layup to bring their lead back out to two possessions.

Following the basket, momentum shifted back to the Hornets, who used an 11-3 run to reestablish their comfortable lead and ultimately take home the win.

86-80

A cavalcade of three-point shots rained down in a non-conference matchup between Colby and the Stratford Tigers on Monday evening. The Hornets came out on top in the long-range contest, putting up a season- high 86 points to defeat Stratford 86-80.

A total of 28 shots were made from behind the arc between the two teams, with the Hornets coming away with 15 triples and the Tigers hitting 13. The two additional baskets for Colby turned out to be the difference maker, as both teams shot evenly from twopoint range and the free-throw line.

Three triples courtesy of Kaden Wiese and a fourth added on by Mateo Lopez helped fuel the Hornets to an early 20-10 lead.

The Tigers did not disappear, however, and a three from Drew Bruesewitz brought his team back within two points. Colby’s Tevin Rue answered with his first three of the evening on the Hornets’ next possession, a microcosm of how the rest of the half would proceed. For every push Stratford mustered, Colby just held them at bay. At the end of the first eighteen minutes, the Hornets had a slim 42-38 advantage.

Colby’s offense continued their hot shooting to start the second half. The Hornets scored on their first four possessions of the period, jumping out to a 51-38 lead. And while that lead would fluctuate over the course of the half, with the Hornets going up by as much as 15 at one point but leading by as little as five at another, it was Rue who once again closed the door on any Stratford comeback. The Colby senior scored 16 of the team’s last 25 points, connecting on four three-point shots over the streak. The home team ultimately came out of the contest victorious, defeating the Tigers 86-80.

Rue led the team with 27 points, connecting on seven shots from beyond the three point line. Wiese added five triples of his own and Mateo Lopez had three, the pair scoring 21 and 13 points each. Tucker Meyer added 12 points, Caden Healy had eight and Joseph Streveler ended the game with five.

74-64

It was a tale of two halves last Friday night when the Hornets took on their conference rivals, the Owen-Withee Blackhawks, at home. A 15-point halftime lead for Colby evaporated under an offensive onslaught from the visiting Blackhawks in the second period and Owen-Withee walked away the victors in the contest, winning 74-64.

While Colby had already secured first place in the conference, the hosting Hornets’ only conference loss had come at the hands of Owen-Withee, giving them more than enough motivation to come into the game looking for a win. The Blackhawks seemed equally driven to sweep their conference rivals and prove that their 72-48 victory over the conference champs earlier in the season was anything but a fluke.

The Hornets were the first to take a significant advantage in the game, going up 12-6 following six straight points from Tucker Meyer and the situation only turned more to the home team’s favor as the half progressed. Colby’s defense was stifling, holding a normally capable Owen-Withee squad to just eight points over the first ten minutes of play. This defensive play allowed the Hornets to take a solid 24-10 lead following a three from Kaden Wiese.

The Blackhawks seemed to find some traction on offense in the final six minutes of the half, though Colby largely matched them shot for shot and they held a 37-22 advantage at the end of the period.

Despite a commanding first of play, the Hornets quickly saw their lead dwindle down to just five points. The Blackhawks scored on five of their first six possessions of the half, going on a 12-2 run over the first two-and-ahalf minutes of play.

The home team stabilized after the run. A three from Tevin Rue followed by a hook-shot in the lane by Mateo Lopez drew Colby’s lead back out to seven with 11 minutes to play. However, the visitors weren’t done yet and they continued to lay down the pressure with Carter Klabon and Caleb Geldernick dominating on the boards for Owen-Withee.

The two teams fought back and forth as the game rushed towards its conclusion. With just four minutes to play and the Blackhawks having just taken a 59-58 lead, a steal by Geldernick turned into an emphatic dunk on the opposite end for the visitors. The play permanently put momentum on the side of the Blackhawks. As Colby’s offense ran out of steam in the closing minutes, Owen-Withee stretched their lead out to 10, up 74-64 at the final buzzer.

All five of Colby’s starters scored in the double digits, but it wasn’t enough to hold back a 52-point second half from the Blackhawks. Lopez and Caden Healy led the team with 16 points each, followed by 11 points from Meyer and Wiese. Tevin Rue finished the game with 10 points.

The Hornets next game will be their Cloverbelt-East/West crossover game. They will face off against the champions of the West division, the McDonnell Macks. The Macks offense features two players, senior guard Eddie Mittermeyer and senior forward Canan Huss, who average nearly 22 points-per-game. The game is to take place during the crossover event held in Osseo-Fairchild this Saturday, Feb. 25 at 2:30 p.m.

AIRBORNE - Tevin Rue leaves his feet in an attempt to get around his O-W defender.STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD