Colfax boys survive comeback

COLFAX – After opening the season with a win against Mabton on Nov. 30, the Colfax boys basketball team once again took home court, this time against league rival Liberty (Spangle).

An eventful affair ensued, with Colfax just able to keep Liberty out of reach with a nine-point, 66-57 win.

Neither team was able to gain much ground from each other in the first quarter, with Colfax holding a narrow 9-7 lead with 3:30 to go in the first quarter before Liberty tied it up on the very next possession.

Both teams continued to inch their way forwards in the final three minutes of the frame and the Bulldogs went into the second quarter with a skin-tight 17-16 lead over the Lancers.

The second quarter saw the biggest lead of the game for either team (at the time), with Colfax taking a 24-18 lead 1:15 into the frame.

Liberty wasn't able to make much ground on the lead, and the Bulldogs were able to maintain it at 31-24 with 2:08 left in the quarter and a 34-29 advantage heading into halftime.

Colfax was able to build the league by chipping away in the post game, with point guard Seth Lustig driving to the basket on several attempts, and 6'9 center JP Wigen able to get shots via his height advantage under the basket.

Adjustments were made at halftime by the Lancers, and they were able to minimize the offensive impact of the Bulldogs in the post while going on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 36 with 6:18 to go in the third quarter.

The third quarter proceeded to play much like the first, with Liberty trailing 45-44 in the final seconds of the frame before freshman guard Adrik Jenkin blocked a Lancer shot on the defensive end before ending the quarter with a mid range shot to put Colfax up 47-44,

"They adjusted a little bit (at halftime) and tried to take away some of the things we were doing," Colfax head coach Reece Jenkin said. "And we had a couple other guys step up and make big plays for us... it was fun to see those guys get excited and there's stuff we definitely can learn from and move forward."

Adrik Jenkin continued to provide a spark for the Bulldogs off the bench to begin the fourth quarter, hitting two straight 3-pointers and contributing six of 12 points in a 12-4 run to put Colfax up 11 with 4:54 left in the game.

All those points were needed by the Bulldogs as the Lancers refused to go away, getting within four points with 1:19 left in the game.

Liberty couldn't complete the comeback and Colfax scored five straight points to put the game away and to secure the nine-point win.

"I think (we can improve) execution-wise," Reece Jenkin said. "We're early on in the season. So just taking care of the basketball. Especially in in-game situations of understanding what's a good shot, what's not a good shot, coming to the basketball, fourth quarter, finding ways to get defensive rebounds and being able to close out games. And this is the first time some of these guys are in those clutch situations, and some of those guys in the past have been in these clutch situations, but maybe with different roles. So that's something we'll continue to gain experience on as we move on in the season."

Lustig led the way for the Bulldogs with 29 total points.