By Jerry Jones
Gazette Reporter 

Bulldogs take second, singed in final

 


A Colfax team which found its own indentity and picked up steam during the long playoff run made it all the way back to the state 2B championship game Saturday night at the Spokane Arena.

(Left to right) Colfax’s Brady Ellis, Brandon Gfeller, John Mellor, Brent Becker and Skylar Simonson in the last moments of the 50-28 loss, their fifth to the Dragons this year.

The Bulldogs found themselves under the same spotlights where a year ago they stopped a big Northwest Christian team for the first Colfax title win since 1979.

The Bulldogs advanced to Saturday’s title game after two impressive wins in the first two rounds and faced off against the St. George’s Dragons for the fifth time this season for the big 2B trophy. The Dragons advanced to the championship game after scrambling for wins in the first two days of the state tournament.

St. George’s however, had their game together for the title round and again stopped the Bulldogs. Led by 26 points by Erik Muelheims, the Dragons again stacked up an early lead while clamping a solid defense on the Bulldogs.

Muelheims scored nine in the first quarter, and St. George’s pegged a 25-11 lead at the half. Colfax, which scored just four points in the second quarter, sparked a ray of comeback hope with almost three minutes gone in the second half when Brady Ellis hit a threebie to cut the Dragons’ lead to eight points, 19-27. Colfax sophomore Kasey Johnson dropped another three pointer to put the Colfax tally at 22, but the Bulldogs didn’t score again until just before the midway point on the next quarter, a span close to eight minutes of game time.

The Dragons ran 17 unanswered points on the way to a 50-28 win for their first hoop.

The two NE foes cleared off the benches in the final minute. One of the players to stake out a few seconds of championship game time was point guard Mark Kenney, Jr., the lone senior starter for the Dragons. Kenney was sidelined for the state run after sustaining a concussion in the 16-round regional game last week at Mt. Spokane.

Colfax hit just nine buckets from the field in the championship game while St. George’s came close to hitting 50 percent. The Dragons also booked a 10-snag edge on rebounds with Dexter Sienko pulling down 11.

The Dragons, who finished 29-1 in their championship season, went into the title game after a 55-52 escape over the LRS Broncos in the semi-final round Friday. The Broncos finished in fifth place, and Northwest Christian, the other qualifier out of the NE, finished in sixth.

Colfax, which had its best game against St. George’s in the district title round at Mead, went into the Saturday night title game after a 53-37 comeback win over Wahkiakum in the semi-final round Friday. Colfax trailed the Mules 18-26 at the break, but came out charging on defense and held the west side club to just two points in the third quarter. Colfax out-scored the Mules 35-11 over the last two quarters.

Senior guard Brady Ellis hit 17 points, with five treys, and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Bulldogs. Senior Brandon Gfeller hit 16, including a super three which capped a 23-5 run for the big win in the semi-final.

Colfax started its run to the title game with a solid 44-28 win over the La Connor Braves in the Thursday opener. They started with a 9-0 run and had a 20-9 lead after the first quarter. After that the Braves and the Bulldogs locked 4-4 in the second frame. Colfax held La Conner to just three points in the last quarter Thursday to advance to the semi-round.

The first round of state action also saw St. George’s escape Morton/White Pass 73-69 in overtime. That ragged start for the Dragons plus their close battle with the Broncs in the semi-final pointed to an all out Bulldogs-Dragons battle on title night, but it didn’t happen.

Brady Ellis works the ball against St. George’s Erik Muelheims, who scored 26.

St. George’s 50-Colfax 28: 13/7 12/4 15/11 10/6: Peter Worrell 1 0-0 2, Erik Muelheims 9 (3pt) 7-9 26, Will Tender 5 3-3 13, Dexter Sienko 4 1-2 9. Total: 19 11-14 f-11 50. Colfax; Brandon Gfeller 2 (3pt) 0-0 5 Brady Ellis 3 (all 3pt) 0-0 9, Mark Webber 1 0-0 2, Kasey Johnson 1 0-0 2, Keith Gfeller 1 4 -4 6, Skylar Simonson 1 1-2 3. Total: 9 5-6 f-17 28.

Colfax 53-Wahkiakum 37: 14/8 12/10 16/2 19/9: Brandon Gfeller 4 (2-3pt) 16, Brady Ellis 6 (5-3pt) 0-0 17, Keith Gfeller 1 (3pt) ,0-0 3, Kasey Johnson 3 (3pt) 2-6 9. Skylar Simonson 2 4-4 8. Total: 16 12-18 f-14 53. Wahkiakum: Seth Doumit 4 (3pt) 0-0 9, Austin Good 1 (3pt) 0-0 3, Lars Bix 4 (2-3pt) 0-0 10, Peter Weller 4 2-4 10, Eli McElroy 1 0-2 2. Total: 13 2-6 f-16 37.

Colfax 44-La Conner 28: 20/9 4/4 9/12 11/3: Brandon Gfeller 6 (3pt) 1-2 14, Brady Ellis 2 (3pt) 4-4 9, Keith Gfeller 1 0-0 2, Kasey Johnson 4 (2-3pt) 0-0 10, Skylar Simmonson 4 1-6 9. Total 17 6-14 f-6 44. LaConner: Spencer Novak 6 (3pt) 0-0 13, Sean Hulbert 1 0-0 2, Hudson Zavala 0 2-4 2, Anthony Williams 1 0-0 2, Howlett Tyler 4 1-2 9. Total: 11 3-6 f-13 28.

 

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