Spencer, Neillsville deal Hornets pair of defeats
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Colby boys basketball team was bounced in their two games last week, suffering consecutive losses to Cloverbelt-East rivals Neillsville and Spencer on back to back nights. The losses dropped the Hornets to 3-7 overall and 2-4 in conference play.
Spencer, 82-60
Miguel Morillon had 21 points, Tucker Hayes had a double-double, but the Hornets came up short in a road contest against the Spencer Rockets last Friday night. The hosting Rockets outscored Colby 45-28 in the first half and were able to cruise to a 82-60 victory.
The Hornets had few answers for Spencer’s Sam Bezlyk. The junior made 12 of his 15 shot attempts from the field, putting up 33 points and collecting 15 rebounds. The Rockets also got 21 points from junior Noah Anderson, the pair accounting for well over half of Spencer’s final total.
Colby, meanwhile, shot under 40 percent from the field and only hit four of their 17 three-point attempts. The Rockets were slightly more efficient, ending with a field goal percentage of 44.8 percent and making two more threes. Spencer also had an advantage at the free throw, earning 22 trips and converting on 16 of them while Colby went just 6-10 from the charity stripe.
The 82 points scored by the Rockets were the most that the Hornet defense has surrendered this season. In the nine games prior to Friday night’s contest, Colby’s opponents had averaged just 57.9 points per game.
Morillon was one rebound away from a double-double as he finished with a final stat line of 21 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Hayes added another 10 points, brought down 13 rebounds, and recorded three blocks.
Reed Fleischmann had nine points, two steals and two blocks, Braiden Johnson finished a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line and had nine points himself and Hayden Kaiser put up five points. Luke Hannula had doubledigit rebounds, finishing with 10, and created five steals and four points. Xander Buchanan rounded out the scoring with two points.
Neillsville, 58-55
Finding a way to come out on top in close games has eluded Colby for much of the season, especially at home. Another one slipped just out of the Hornets grasp on Thursday night as they suffered another tough loss on their own court, this time against Cloverbelt-East rival Neillsville. While Colby led 33-22 at halftime, an eight
See CLOVERBELT CHALLENGES/ Page 16
PUSHING THE PACE - Reed Fleischmann dribbles down court as the Hornets try to mount a comeback. STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
MID-RANGE JUMPER - Miguel Morillon floats up a shot from the elbow against Neillsville on Thursday evening.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD Cloverbelt challenges
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minute scoring drought in the middle of the second period allowed the Warriors to fight back into the contest.
Even with their struggles offensively in the second half, the Hornets still found themselves in a position to potentially come out with a win in the game’s final moments. Down 56-50 with just over a minute left to play, Miguel Morillon worked free under the basket and fought through contact to cut the Neillsville lead down to four. He hit the next free throw to make it a one possession game and then secured a steal on the Warriors next possession. Morillon found Luke Hannula in transition and Hannula brought Colby within a point after getting a layup to fall.
The Hornets had two opportunities to either take the lead or tie the game in the final minute, but could not come away with points on either try. Neillsville converted on a pair of free throw attempts and completed the comeback effort, dealing Colby a 58-55 defeat.
Strong shooting to open the second period had allowed the Hornets to keep a surging Warriors squad at bay temporarily. A basket from Tucker Hayes gave Colby a 45-34 advantage with 13 minutes left in the contest, but the next eight minutes would belong entirely to the visitors. Neillsville scored 11 straight points to completely eliminate the gap between the two squads, and while two free throws from Reed Fleischmann temporarily rebuffed the Warriors’ rally, they went on a 12-3 run to grab control of the contest.
Fleischmann’s shooting kept the Hornets in the contest early on. The junior kicked off the scoring with a three on Colby’s first possession and he later scored 11 straight points for the home team to help them maintain a small advantage over Neillsville over the middle portions of the half.
The Warriors kept themselves close, however, and Colby held a 23-20 lead with six and half minutes left. Morillon sank a pair of free throws to make it a two possession game, which turned into the start of a 10-0 run for the Hornets. Hannula followed with a basket on Colby’s next time down the court and the home team’s defense held Neillsville scoreless for nearly the entire final six minutes of the half. While the Warriors finally managed to get back on the board with just second remaining in the period, the Hornets had established control over the contest heading into halftime.
While the two teams shot similarly from the field and Colby outrebounded their opponents 32 to 24, the Warriors created seven more turnovers and hit three more shots from beyond the three-point line, giving them the slight advantage when all was said and done.
Fleischmann had a double-double against the Warriors, leading the team in points with 16 and also grabbing the most rebounds with 10. Morrilon and Hayes both had 11 points each, with the former recording nine assists and the latter bringing down eight boards. Landon Steinman had nine points and Hannula finished with eight points and eight rebounds.
The road does not get any easier for the Hornets, as they faced off against the Cloverbelt-East leading Loyal Greyhounds on Friday, Jan. 24. Loyal suffered their first loss of the season in their most recent game, falling by two points in overtime to Owen-Withee. The last time Colby and the Greyhounds faced off, the visiting Loyal squad was able to pull away in the latter portion of the second period to take a 61-52 victory. The rematch is scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m.
