Lancers derail Bulldogs, notch tie for league second

Colfax junior Chase Baerlocher pulls down a rebound against Lind/Ritzville/Sprague.

Liberty Lancers, who were defeated at Colfax in overtime in the first NE league round, stacked up a resounding 62-37 win over Colfax Tuesday on the east Spangle court. The hosts carved a seven-point lead at the half and then poured on the coal in the last two quarters.

Colfax, which shot under 30 percent from the floor during the game, hit just seven points in each of the last two quarters.

In combo with the missed shots, Colfax lost ground with few second shots while Liberty booked a 20-rebound edge for the game.

Much of the Colfax rebound lag stemmed from the absence of senior Jared Kneale for the game.

Colfax started with an 8-1 lead, but the Lancers came roaring back. Chase Burnham finished with 22 points to lead the hosts. Brandon Holling hit all 10 of his points in the second half as the Lancers stacked up their lead.

Caleb Berquist topped Colfax with 14 points. He was the lone Colfax scorer to finish in double digits.

The loss left Colfax and Liberty at 11-3 in the overall league race with a home game against Reardan Friday night and a trip to Tekoa to play the Timberwolves Saturday to wrap up the 16-game NE league run before the playoffs.

The two south side teams trail Northwest Christian, which now stands at 14-0 in the league run after posting a 59-51 win over a tough Springdale team in the Tuesday round.

Liberty's Tuesday win also puts them in a tie with the Bulldogs for the top slot on the south side. That figures to be a factor in the playoff slots when the NE goes into its extended playoff round after the weekend's league finish.

Colfax made the Tuesday trip to Spangle after pegging a one-point win, 51-50, over the Panthers at Asotin Friday and a 67-27 crunch over a seventh-place Lind/ Ritzville/Sprague team on the home boards Saturday night.

At Asotin, Colfax led by two points at the half, and the same gap was on the clock at the end of the third quarter.

Jaydon Soncarty was credited with plunking a threebie in the last 30 seconds to give Colfax enough cushion to take the win in the final one-point margin.

Saturday at Colfax, the Bulldogs posted a 22-4 lead over the young Bronco team in the first quarter and led 42-11 at halftime.

Carson Cloaninger hit four of his five field goals from the three-point range. He and senior Danny Robinson each finished with 16 points.

Colfax 51-Asotin 50: 13/11 16/16 13/13 9/10. Robinson 6 (2-3pt) 1-1 15, Soncarty 4 (2-3pt) 10, Cloaninger 5 (4 3pt) 0-0 14, Kneale 4 4-8 12. Total: 23 5-7 f-16 51. Asotin: Thomas Weakland 3 (2-3pt) 10, Eli Engledow 8 (4-3pt) 0-0 20, Thomas Martin 2 2-2 6, Chase Klappenbach 3 1-3 7. Total 18 6-11 f-14 50.

Colfax 67-Lind/Ritzville/Sprague 27: 22/4 20/7 15/910/7: Robinson 7 (2-3pt) 0-0 16, Bennett Gray 1 (3pt) 0-0 3, Soncarty 4 (2 3pt) 13, Cloaninger 5 (4-3pt) 2-2 16, Berquist 2 (3pt) 0-0 5, Brett Kincaid 2 1-2 5, Chase Baerlocher 1 0-0 2, Kneale 1 0-0 2, Austin Ring 2 1-1 5. Total: 25 7-9 f-14 67. Lind/Ritzville Sprague: Patrick Bartz 1 0-0 2, Spencer Gering 0 1-2 1, Bryce Kelly 2 (3pt) 0-0 5, Camden Smith 2 4-5 9, Austin Thompson 0 1-2 1, Shontz Yaeger 2 (3pt) 0-0 5, David Ziebell 2 0-0 4. Total: 9 6-11 f-11 27.

Liberty 62-Colfax 37: 13/10 17/13 12/7 20/7: Robinson 7, Soncarty 4, Cloaninger 6, Berquist 14, Kincaid 4, Baerlocher 2. Liberty: Holling 10, Tyler Haas 7, Patrick Paredes 9, Justin Jeske 3, Isaak Ottmar 11, Chase Burnham 22.