By Teren Kowatsch
Whitman County Gazette 

Vikings defend home court against Wildcats

Garfield-Palouse gets first season win against Colton

 

January 12, 2023

Teren Kowatsch

Garfield-Palouse gets first season win against Colton

PALOUSE - The Garfield-Palouse Vikings boys basketball team was still searching for its first win of the season Jan. 7 at home against the Colton Wildcats.

Garfield-Palouse was able to get that ever-elusive win, beating Colton 54-45 in a 1B league matchup.

"This first half of our schedule has been tough," Garfield-Palouse head coach Nate Holbrook said. "And if you look at the first half of our schedule, there's no one playing a tougher schedule at the 1B level this first half of the season. We've been playing 2B teams, we've been playing 1B teams that are (ranked) number two or number three, so we've been playing really good teams.


"And that's what I've been telling (the team), 'you guys just got to learn to keep battling and start figuring things out, then things will start falling.' So, it was important to get a win just for everyone's motivation and just so we can have a win."


Garfield-Palouse began the game with a 5-0 advantage after a three-point play by Lane Collier, but Colton immediately responded – taking a 6-5 lead three minutes into the opening quarter off a Grant Wolf

3-pointer.

Neither team was able to create an advantage over each other and the Wildcats and Vikings were knotted up at 16 with 5:20 to go in the first half.


Garfield-Palouse then proceeded to create some separation from its 1B foes, going on an 8-2 run and headed into halftime up 24-18.

Colton wasn't able to get its offense or defense going for the first three minutes of the third quarter, and the Vikings ended up taking a 35-18 lead. The Wildcats started to find the hoop in the latter stages of the third but were unable to stop Garfield-Palouse from scoring and headed into the final eight minutes of regulation down 43-28.


Colton found themselves down 47-28 with 5:53 left in the game but a 13-4 run in the ensuing four minutes cut the

Viking lead to 51-41.

Colton had an opportunity to get within single digits and a chance to win after a miss at the free throw line by Garfield-Palouse's Brendan Snekvik, but an offensive rebound by the Vikings got the offensive rebound and were put back on the free throw line.

Colton hit a buzzer-beater shot to close out the game, but it ultimately ended up being for pride and the Wildcats returned home after the nine-point defeat.

"I thought that we actually came out together," Colton head coach Brandon McIntosh said. "That was probably our strongest first quarter or start that we've had. We came out sharing the ball, but then we got into a little bit of foul trouble. We forced up not-so-good shots, and we kind of let it eat at us for a little bit. But the thing I love about these guys, and they've been showing it over the whole course of the year, is that they're fighting and they're not quitting. It's been great to see in that fourth quarter, especially, that they know we're down and they're going to put it on the line."

Kieran Snekvik paced the Vikings with 15 points in the win.

Colton was led in scoring by Matt Reisenauer's 15 points. Grant Wolf and Angus Jordan added 11 points apiece for the Wildcats, as well, with nine of Wolf's 11 points coming from beyond the arc.

Garfield-Palouse played against Yakama Nation Tribal in Yakima on Jan. 7, losing 57-47.

Collier had 16 points for the Vikings in the loss, and Kieran Snekvik added 10.

Colton beat Prescott on Jan. 7 by a score of 65-46. Reisenauer had 20 points to pace the Wildcats in the win. Grant Wolf added 19 points, 15 of them coming from 3-point range and Angus Jordan added 11.

 

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