Oakesdale Nighthawks and Colton Wildcats split games

OAKESDALE – Both the boys and girls Colton and Oakesdale basketball teams were in action against each other on Dec. 9, with the Wildcats taking the victory between the girls, and the Nighthawks taking the win with the boys.

Girls were up first, and began with a heavy defensive effort.

At 6:28 to go in the first quarter, the only points of the game came from the free-throw line, with Colton holding the narrow 2-1 advantage. Neither team was able to create separation from the other and the first frame ended with a 6-4 Colton lead.

Both teams tripled their scoring totals in the second quarter, but the Wildcats held an 18-12 lead over the Nighthawks with 2:36 to go in the first half. The physical nature of the game resulted in both squads finding themselves in the bonus at that time, and Colton took advantage – going on a 5-2 run in the final couple minutes of the half to take a 23-14 lead.

Oakesdale wasn't able to dig into the Wildcat lead in the second half, at least not initially, and Colton took a 27-14 lead with 6:09 to go in the third quarter.

Then the Oakesdale offense took over, with the Nighthawks going on a 16-5 run throughout the rest of the frame to head into the final eight minutes of regulation down only 32-30.

A midrange shot by Oakesdale freshman forward Bradyn Henley tied the game with 6:21 to go, and Colton junior forward Kaydee Heitstuman fouled out of the game, reducing the interior advantage of the Wildcats.

Oakesdale ultimately couldn't take advantage, and Colton was able to just squeak by with a 46-44 win.

"(Oakesdale is) a quality team," Colton girls head coach Clark Vining said. "We knew they were going to make a run. It was kind of a choppy game. A lot of fouls, turnovers here and there, but we just tried to stay with what we do on offense and defense and eventually we made enough plays where we were able to come out with the 'W''"

The boys were up next, and the Nighthawks wasted no time making a statement, with senior wing Jackson Perry getting the steal and converting the lay-in for the first points of the game.

Oakesdale continued to build its lead, taking a double-digit lead with 2:17 to go in the first quarter and eventually going into the second frame up 20-6.

Colton went halfway through the second quarter without scoring any points while the Nighthawks put up seven to take a 27-6 lead.

It wasn't until after a Wildcats' timeout with 1:55 to go in the first half that the Colton offense saw a little bit of life, going on a 6-3 run but still going into halftime down 39-14.

The lead was too big ultimately for the Wildcats to overcome, but Wildcats were able to keep pace with the Nighthawks in the third quarter, outscoring Oakesdale 21-20.

This was as close as Colton could get to Oakesdale. The Wildcats only put up one point in the final eight minutes of the game to Oakesdale 13, for a 72-36 final score.

"I thought overall, it was a good, solid effort in terms of the energy from start to finish," Oakesdale boys head coach Carl Crider said. "We were able to get some guys some playing time that had been on the (junior varsity) a little bit, and another kid who had been sick a lot this year – so he did just get eligible (to play) – so it was good to see him out on the court. But I think the biggest thing is that we were able to sustain the energy level for four quarters. We didn't execute very good on the defensive end in the third quarter, but other than that, pretty solid effort."

The two Oakesdale squads were also in action over the weekend

Oakesdale got wins against Pomeroy on Dec. 10 in both boys and girls basketball, with the girls winning 42-33 and the boys winning 44-38.

No final stats were available at press time.

Colton's boys and girls teams were originally scheduled to play against Highland on Dec. 12, but both games were postponed for unknown reasons. There was no make-up date scheduled at press time.

Oakesdale attempted to continue its winning ways on Dec. 13 against the Odessa Tigers, and was successful in that endeavor – with the girls team winning 43-30 and the boys team winning 56-43. The wins improved the girls Nighthawks team to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in league competition, and the boys team to 4-1 on the season and 2-0 in league.

Full stats were unavailable from the games.