Colby defeats Spencer but goes 1-2 on the road

By Nathaniel Underwood

The Colby boys basketball team went 2-2 over the past week of play, getting a pair of conference wins over Spencer and Greenwood while also falling on the road to Owen-Withee and Rib Lake. They now hold a 6-5 record in the Cloverbelt East and an 810 record overall.

Rib Lake, 82-70

The Hornets went on the road on Monday night for a non-conference matchup against Rib Lake. While both teams battled back and forth for most of the evening, a key sequence partway through the second period swung the game into the home team’s favor as they delivered Colby an 82-70 defeat.

With the game knotted at 42-42 five minutes into the second half, Rib Lake notched 10 unanswered points over a two minute span. Back-to-back threes pushed them ahead and two more baskets allowed the home team to come away with points on four straight possessions. Meanwhile, the Hornets missed both their field goal attempts and had two possessions end in turnovers during this stretch.

Hayden Kaiser finally ended the streak with a driving layup, but the Hornets found themselves in a hole that they could not recover from. The two squads traded baskets for the next 10 minutes, but Colby could not make any headway in their efforts to eat into their opponents’ lead. A three from Landon Steinman followed by a basket courtesy of Reed Fleischmann had the Hornets back within eight with two minutes left, but the free throw shooting from Rib Lake kept them ahead in the game’s final moments.

Colby had held a small advantage early in the contest as Steinman, Luke Hannula and Tucker Hayes combined to put the Hornets up 13-8, but Rib Lake quickly closed that gap. Five straight points for Fleischmann kept Colby ahead, but the home team scored six unanswered to take their first lead of the evening. It was short lived, as free throws from Colton Orth put the Hornets on top once more, but the visitors could not distance themselves from their opponents.

This would lead to problems as the half came to a close. Rib Lake managed to put together a 10-0 run, going up 34-26 before a layup from Kaiser before the end of the period finally ended the streak. A pair of baskets from Hannula and Miguel Morillon to start the second brought the Hornets back within two and while Fleischmann managed to knot things at 42-42 a few minutes later with a pair of free throws, Colby would never lead in the second half.

Fleischmann finished with a career high 24 points, shooting 8-for-12 from the field and knocking down all six of his free throw attempts. Hannula added 12 points by hitting all five of his field goal attempts and Steinman added 11 points and three assists. Hayes finished with nine points and four rebounds, Kaiser picked up six points and Morillon and Orth both came away with four points each. Morillon also had three assists and four steals.

Greenwood, 70-40

Reed Fleischmann put up a game-high 21 points, 12 different players scored for Colby, and the Hornets cruised to a 70-40 road win over Greenwood last Friday evening.

There was little doubt as to the outcome of the contest between the two Cloverbelt-East squads as Colby took a quick double-digit lead and never looked back. Fleischmann helped the Hornets jump out quickly, scoring the team’s first six points, and a three from Landon Steinman and a transition basket from Hayden Kaiser put the Hornets up 11-0.

Greenwood scored their first basket five minutes into the contest, but the Hornets went on a 19-5 run to solidify their hold over the game. Fleischmann continued to be Colby’s go-to target, eventually putting up 14 points over the course of the first period despite not playing in the final eight minutes.

Colby turned into an offense by committee over the final stretch of the half, having six different players score during the last eight minutes and giving themselves a 35-16 advantage at halftime.

The home team’s offense began to find a bit more consistency to start the second half, but it was not quite enough to keep pace with the Hornets. Colby continued to grow their lead in the opening minutes of the period, going on a 14-6 run over the first four minutes of the contest and giving themselves the cushion they would need to notch their eighth win of the season.

Fleischmann went 7-11 from the field and led the team in rebounds and assists, finishing with five each. Kaiser and Izaac Carrera both had seven points, with Carrera leading the team in steals with five, and Xander Buchanan collected six points. Luke Hannula, Tucker Hayes and Braiden Johnson had five points each, Steinman and Devon Meyer finished with four points apiece, and Colton Orth, Royln Hopperdietzel and Cyler Pagelsdorf all came away with two points.

Owen-Withee, 73-45

The Hornets could not keep up with Owen-Withee during a road contest against the Blackhawks last Thursday evening. Colby never led in the game and ultimately fell 73-45.

While the Hornets were slightly more effective from the field, shooting 44 percent compared to Owen-Withee’s 40 percent, the Blackhawks created many more opportunities for themselves. The home team forced 19 steals and outrebounded the Hornets 4629, creating a possession imbalance that Owen-Withee was able to take advantage of.

Early baskets from Tucker Hayes and Landon Steinman had the Hornets down just one at 6-5, but a 14-2 run for the Blackhawks over the next six minutes set the tone for the rest of the contest. A pair of free throws from Colton Orth momentarily stopped the bleeding and a basket from Braiden Johnson brought the Hornets back within nine, but Owen-Withee continued to roll in the first half.

The Blackhawks outscored Colby 18-10 over the final eight minutes of the half, allowing them to take a 38-21 lead into halftime. Reed Fleischmann gave the Hornets a bit of life by scoring the first five points of the second period, but Owen-Withee was able to answer with a 8-2 run of their own.

Miguel Morillon scored 10 straight points for Colby down the stretch, but despite the heroics from the Hornets’ senior guard, it was only just enough to keep up with Blackhawks, rather than eat into their lead.

Owen-Withee secured their season sweep of Colby by going on a 15-5 run down the stretch, expanding their already double-digit lead.

Morillon had a Hornet-high 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting. He also had five rebounds, four assists, and four steals, leading Colby in the latter two categories. Hayes added 10 points by shooting 5-of-7 from the field and collected eight rebounds. Fleischmann finished with nine points and six rebounds, Colton Orth had six points and Steinmann pitched in three. Johnson and Devon Meyer both had two points and Luke Hannula rounded out the scoring with one point.

Spencer, 73-50

Luke Hannula scored a career-high 22 points, Tucker Hayes added 16 points and the Colby boys evened their season series with Spencer last Tuesday, defeating the Rockets 73-50 at home in a rematch between Cloverbelt East foes.

After falling 82-60 in their first meeting with Spencer, the Hornets flipped the script in the two teams’ second matchup. The Hornets jumped out to a 9-0 lead by scoring on their first four possessions of the game, getting baskets from Landon Steinman and Reed Fleischmann before Hannula came through with two makes of his own. The streak prompted a timeout from the Rockets, but it did not immediately slow Colby as Hayes kept the ball rolling with a make of his own.

Spencer finally got on the board nearly five minutes into the contest and managed to eventually cut the Hornet lead back down to six. However, six straight points from Hannula had the Hornets back up by double figures at 21-7. Spencer once again made a small run, but this time Braiden Johnson closed the door for Colby, hitting a three to

See COLBY BASKETBALL/ Page 16

CAREER DAY - Reed Fleischmann had his best scoring performance of his career against Rib Lake on Monday night. The junior scored 24 points after putting together a 21-point effort the game prior. STAFF PHOTO/MATT FREY Colby basketball

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cut the Rockets’ rally short.

By halftime, the Hornets held a 32-20 lead. A slow start to the second period for Colby allowed the Rockets to score the first six points of the half, giving the visitors hope to work themselves back into the game. A three from Landon Steinman finally got the Hornets on the board and seemed to shake the home team out of its shooting slump.

Colby scored on four straight possessions, getting a pair of baskets from Fleischmann and another two from Hayes as they reopened a double-digit lead over their Cloverbelt East foes by scoring 11 unanswered. They maintained that advantage over most of the period, matching the Rockets blow for blow before going on an 11-0 run to close out the contest.

Nineteen steals helped fuel Colby on both sides of the ball, creating plenty of opportunities for fast breaks and shortening Spencer possessions.

Hannula put together a rare triple-double performance. He shot 9-for-13 from the field en route to 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, but perhaps most impressive were his 11 steals over the course of the evening. The junior also had five assists and the only block for the Hornets.

Hayes hit eight of his 13 field goal attempts and collected six rebounds, Fleischmann had 13 points after shooting 5for-7 and Steinman finished with nine points. Miguel Morillon led the team with seven assists and added four points and seven rebounds. Johnson had three points and Izaac Carrera, Devon Meyer and Colton Orth all had two points each.