Hornets exit playoffs in Marathon after rally falls short

By Nathaniel Underwood

Colby senior Joseph Streveler worked his way into the lane, picking his spot before pivoting twice to give himself room to operate. The move worked, putting Marathon’s Cooper Hoeksema off balance and allowing Streveler to rise up over his defender’s outstretched hand. The once boisterous Marathon crowd had been largely rendered silent; what had once been a familiar romp for the Red Raiders had very quickly turned into a game that was much too close for comfort. Streveler’s aim, as it had been so often for the Hornets over the course of the season, was true, and as the ball sank through the bottom of the net, Colby found themselves in a one possession game with the number-one ranked team in the WIAA Division 4 tournament.

The basket made it 16 straight points for the underdog Hornets, who had clawed their way back from a 56-37 deficit to suddenly challenge the first-seeded Marathon squad. Over the key four-minute stretch late in the second period, Colby put up nearly as many points as they had in the entire first half while rendering a potent Marathon attack momentarily toothless.

But the impressive rally was brought to an end with Streveler’s basket. Marathon, showing their pedigree, rediscovered their footing and dominated the final four minutes of the contest. The Red Raiders outscored Colby 13-2 over the final stretch, knocking the Hornets from the playoffs by dealing them a 69-55 defeat.

While the final score was perhaps indicative of the control Marathon had held throughout much of the game, it betrays how close the upstart Hornets came to potentially ending the much lauded Red Raiders squad’s playoff dreams much earlier than anticipated.

“Going into the game, we knew it was going to be a tough game playing not only the number one seed in our sectional but the number one ranked team in Division 4,” head coach Jimmy Flink said. “We played them earlier in the year and we played them really tough in the first half, and the players knew we made a lot of mistakes against them. So the players knew they were a tough team, but had confidence that we could play with them.”

There are likely teams that would have looked at a 19-point deficit to first-seeded Marathon with eight minutes left in the game and deemed the situation hopeless. Unlike in their first round victory over Crandon, the Hornets’ three-point shooting had struggled, and with 6’10” forward Grant Warren patrolling the lane for the Red Raiders, finding consistent offense had been a difficult task.

But instead of chalking it up to “just one of those nights,” Colby continued to battle. After a tricky play by Warren on an inbound play led to the Red Raiders gaining their largest lead of the second half, Streveler responded on the Hornets next possession, getting a tough floater in the lane to go down.

Colby’s defensive intensity paid off over the next four minutes. Of Marathon’s six possessions, four ended in a turnover for the Red Raiders, the other two concluding with contested shots in the lane, both of which missed. The Hornets made their opponents pay on the other end, scoring on seven straight possessions.

“In the second half our players knew they just had to keep shooting when they were open, and we just had to get some stops and chip away at their lead,” Flink said. “We were able to finally hit some shots in the second half and we were able to create a lot of points off turnovers. [It was] something we haven’t really been able to do a lot this season, and to do it against a team who takes very good care of the ball like Marathon showed how much the players stepped up their defense. We have a very tough team with a lot of good shooters and all season no matter what the score was, they knew they could make big runs.”

Adrian Lopez scored eight points over the stretch, turning a steal into a basket on the opposite end and then draining a corner three on the next time down the court. A layup from Tucker Hayes cut the Marathon lead down to single digits and then Lopez sank all three free throws after getting fouled on a three-point shot. Streveler’s basket in the lane made it a 56-53 game.

With their playoff hopes suddenly in jeopardy, the Red Raiders turned to their top duo for an answer on their next possession. Marathon’s Tyler Underwood found Warren underneath the basket, sneaking a pass just past numerous Colby defenders and Warren was able to finish the job, ending the scoring drought for the home team. Hoeksema got a tricky shot to fall on the next Marathon possession and another basket from Warren quickly shifted the game back in the Red Raiders favor.

A tough first half for the Hornets meant that their 16-0 run late in the game was dedicated to trying to dig themselves out of a double-digit hole. While they managed to corral Warren, holding him to just six points in the opening 18 minutes, the Red Raiders were able to get enough offense from Underwood and the three-point shooting from True Thurs. Three consecutive three-point shots from Thurs helped give the Red Raiders a 35-13 lead and while Colby would answer with threes from Lopez and Streveler, they still found themselves down by 16 at halftime.

Lopez finished with a game-high 23

See COLBY PLAYOFFS/ Page 12

BASELINE DRIVE - Tucker Hayes looks for room to opertate down low against Marathon.

STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD

SURVEYING THE FLOOR - Adrian Lopez, who scored 23 points on Friday, eyes his options as he brings up the ball.

STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD Colby playoffs

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points, 18 of which came in the second half, fueling the Hornets rally. Streveler put up another 20 points while leading the Hornets in rebounds and assists, ending the game with seven and four respectively. Both seniors ended the game with three steals each.

Hayes had six points, five blocks and four rebounds while Jaxon Polivka, Miguel Morillon and Landon Steinman all contributed two points each. Polivka also had four rebounds and Morillon had five rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Colby will finish the season with a 12-13 overall record and a fourth-place finish in the Cloverbelt-East by going 9-5 in conference games.

“This team was a fun team to coach and be a part of. Each player is unique in their own way and they each bring something different to the table, and that’s what made practices and games very enjoyable,” Flink said of his team this year. “We played a lot of tough teams this season, and our players never complained once. Playing good competition and being competitive in those games really helped us get better this season, not just on the varsity level but on the JV1 and JV2 as well. I think there was a lot of improvement on all three levels.”

“Overall I think the seniors did a good job leading the team,” he added. “Zander [Engel] and Asa [Martin] did a good job all season working hard to help the team get better. Jaxon, Joseph, and Adrian were our team captions and did a great job all year for us. Jaxon was probably our best defender and the last four years whenever he stepped onto the court he never stopped hustling. Adrian was our best shooter, and has one of the quickest shots around. He really improved on the defensive end, too. Joseph was the only player we had coming back with varsity experience, and did a great job helping the other players adjust to the varsity level. He led the team in scoring, rebounds, and assists. Your leading scorer doesn’t usually lead the team in assists, but he kept looking to make the correct basketball play and not force shots. He’s a player who loves to be in the gym and he put in a lot of work over the past four years. I think the seniors did a good job of showing the younger players how to work hard not just in the season but in the off season.”

Looking ahead, the Hornets will likely have to find a new source of offense next season. As Flink alluded to Streveler, Lopez and Polivka were a big part of what the Hornets did on offense, finishing as the top three scorers on this year’s team and all three are set to graduate in the spring. Unlike this year, however, when Streveler was the only returner with significant minutes from the prior season’s squad, the 202425 version of the Hornets will have the chance to return a fair amount of players with varsity experience, with juniors Hayes, Steinman and Morillon as well as sophomore Reed Fleischmann logging significant time this season.

FINDING A LANE - Reed Fleischmann attacks the Red Raiders’ defense during the two teams’ second round playoff matchup.

STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD

BIG BOX OUT - Joseph Streveler secures his position in the post while angling for a rebound against Marathon.

STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD