Colton claims fifth in first trip to state tournament

Call it beginner’s luck.

Colton’s boys made their first ever trip to the state basketball championships and returned from Spokane with a fifth place trophy.

“What a fun ride for us,” said Coach Seth Paine, who led his squad despite an emergency appendectomy following last week’s regional round at East Wenatchee.

“If you told me I had to give up another appendix to do this again I’d do it in a heartbeat,” said Paine.

Colton's boys collected the fifth-place trophy on their first-ever trip to the state show. The Wildcats battled Almira-Coulee-Hartline down to the final seconds in Saturday trophy game. Colton also sustained a close loss to Neah Bay in the Friday semi-final round. They hammered Columbia Adventist on the first day at Spokane to advance to the semis.

The Colton squad proved it belonged with the best 1B teams in the state, booking a slew of tournament records and putting up a total of 198 points in three games, more than any other team in the tournament.

Junior Center Dustin Patchen powered the attack, topping all players in the tournament in points, rebounds and blocked shots.

Patchen averaged 24.8 points in five games and added 15.4 rebounds and 4 blocks per game.

“He was just a straight beast,” said Paine.

Patchen’s inside play cleared the way for big tournaments for the Wildcats’ outside guns Josh and Jake Straughan.

Josh averaged 15 points and 7.8 assists per game. Jake Straughan broke a tournament record for most threes in a game when he hit seven from downtown in last Thursday’s opening match against Columbia Adventist.

Last Thursday’s game was Colton’s lone win at Spokane. The ‘cats dropped a pair of last second heartbreakers to two of the best teams in the state Friday and Saturday.

“You don’t really want to end the season losing your last two,” said Paine. “But those were two of the best teams in Spokane, so we can take that back with us.”

Saturday, the ‘cats fell 57-55 at the buzzer to an Almira/Coulee/Hartline team that was ranked number one in the 1B ranks all year and entered the regional round undefeated.

Colton overcame several double-digit deficits during the game to force a miracle shot by Warrior guard Derek Isaak.

Josh Straughan hit a long-ball with 2:44 left to bring Colton within two points at 51-49. Patchen tied the game at 55-all with 14.2 clicks left with a lay-in off an ACH turnover following two free throws by Straughan.

The Warriors took the ball into their half-court and gave it to junior sensation Derek Isaak. Isaak took the ball at the top of the key, made a quick move toward the wing and canned a jumper over Steve Eacker to nail the 57-55 ACH win.

“Great players make great shots,” said Paine. “I thought Steve did a great job on him. He just hit a great shot.”

The ‘cats took the ball back with 2.1 seconds left, but the desperation shot would not fall, sending them home with the fifth place hardware.

Patchen broke a tournament record with 22 rebounds in addition to his 24 points.

More of the same Friday when Colton dropped a 63-60 heartbreaker to eventual runner-up Neah Bay.

The ‘cats fell behind 61-57 with 44 seconds left after their star guard Drexler Doherty drove the lane for two. Patchen was hacked under the hoop on the ensuing possession and canned one of two free throws.

Josh Straughan then poked the ball away from Neah Bay to brother Josh who hit him back for a long shot trey that bounced off the rim.

The Devils took the rebound and Jimmy Jimmicum went to the line, canning one of two free throws for a 62-58 spread.

Jake Straughan missed a three with 10 seconds left, but Patchen grabbed the loose ball and put it back in off the backboard to bring the score 62-60.

The ‘cats then put Doherty back on the line and were kept alive when he missed his first of two free throws.

The Neah Bay press then forced Colton into quick decisions, and Jake’s pass to Josh went off his fingertips out of bounds to end the game.

Patchen put up a monster game with 31 points, including 18 on 9-of-11 in the first half. Josh Straughan canned five bombs on his way to 16 points.

Thursday, the Straughan brothers capitalized on Columbia Adventist’s strategy to focus on Patchen. Colton booked an 83-55 win.

With the defense drawn inside, Jake hit a 1B tourney record 7-of-8 on treys on his way to 21 points. Josh hit 4-of-7 from downtown for 18 points.

Senior Taylor Spence added nine points and 11 rebounds.

Spence and Eacker are the lone seniors on this year’s team.

“We’re really gonna miss them. They were kind of our unsung heroes all year, doing the dirty work so Patch, Josh and Jake could do what they do,” said Coach Paine.

Coach Paine said the returning core and developing players like Dalton Patchen should ease the loss. He added several members of the JV team should provide quality minutes next season.

“The future is definitely bright down here in Colton.”

SATURDAY TROPHY ROUND

Almira/Coulee/Hartline 57- Colton 55: 18/13 19/13 6/11 14/18: Cody Jess 9 (2-3pt.) 2-3 18, Derek Isaak 7 2-2 16, Robert Hurka 6 0-1 12, Thunder Wellhausen 3 0-0 6, Brandon Boutain 3 (3pt.) 0-0 5. Colton: Dustin Patchen 12 (3pt.) 1-2 24, Josh Straughan 6 (2-3pt.) 2-2 12, Jake Straughan 6 (3-3pt.) 1-2 10, Taylor Spence 2 3-4 7, Steve Eacker 1 0-0 2.

FRIDAY SEMIFINAL

Neah Bay 63- Colton 60: 15/15 13/17 18/12 17/16: Drexler Doherty 6 (5-3pt.) 6-8 23, Zeke Greene 5 1-2 10, Michael Dulik 2 (3pt.) 0-0 7, Titus Pascula 2 (3pt.) 2-2 7, Izaak Manuel 3 (3pt.) 7, Jimmy Jimmicum 1 4-4 6, Johnny Smith 1 (3pt.) 0-0 3, Eli Monette 1 2-2 4. Colton: Dustin Patchen 14 3-5 31, Josh Straughan 5 (5-3pt.) 1-2 16, Steve Eacker 3 3-5 9, Taylor Spence 1 0-0 2, Jake Straughan 1 0-0 2.

THURSDAY QUARTERFINAL

Colton 83- Columbia Adventist 55: 29/8 20/18 263/23 11/6: Jake Straughan 7 (7-3pt.) 0-0 21, Dustin Patchen 10 0-1 20, Josh Straughan 7 (4-3pt.) 0-0 18, Taylor Spence 4 1-2 9, Steve Eacker 3 1-2 7, Dalton Patchen 2 0-0 4, Dustin Devorak 1 0-0 2, Holdan Druffel 1 0-2 2. Columbia Adventist: Tevita Palaki 7 6-9 20, Shelby Stites 3 1-1 7, Stephen Jardin 3 (2-3pt.) 0-0 8, Thomas Reed 3 0-0 6, David Irias 2 1-1 5, Kesomi Palaki 2 0-1 4, Nate Catelli 0 2-4 2, Travis Holm 1 0-0 2, Christopher Sanderson 0 1-2 1.