Nighthawks beat ailing Wildcats

COLTON - Coming off a four-game skid that included two of the top 10 1B boys basketball teams in the state, the Oakesdale Nighthawks traveled to Colton on Jan. 20 looking for a win against a flu-ridden and injured Colton Wildcats team. Oakesdale came out with the win in dominant fashion, defeating Colton 66-25.

"I think tonight we largely came in and the effort and focus was there," Oakesdale head coach Carl Crider said. "After having lost our last four, I said 'We got to find a way to get back in the (win) column.' And definitely having an aggressive mindset was part of that."

Beginning stages of the game saw the potential for a competitive affair. Oakesdale opened scoring eight points before Tanner Baerlocher scored the first two of a 5-0 run to get Colton within three of the Nighthawks with 4:40 left in the first quarter.

The fresh legs of Oakesdale caught up with the Wildcats. The Nighthawks went on an 11-6 run to close out the quarter, going into the second up 19-11.

Oakesdale built on its lead in the second and Colton trailed 35-16 at halftime.

The Wildcats were outscored 31-9 in the final two quarters and Oakesdale ended its losing streak with a 41-point result.

Colton's leading scorer, Matthew Reisenauer, was out for the game after rolling his ankle in practice. Angus Jordan, the team's second-leading scorer, played after dealing with the flu. The flu affected several other players, as well as Colton head coach Brandon McIntosh. As a result, several bench and junior varsity players receive minutes that they otherwise haven't.

One of those players was freshman Joey Hemighaus, who received one of the loudest ovations from the Wildcat-faithful of the night after hitting a 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, the first varsity points for the first-year player.

"Number 24, Joey, he's a JV kid and we had to start him today," McIntosh said. "Just because of where we are. He's gotten some minutes here and there, and for him to come out and hit that three... to start the year he was very shy and wouldn't shoot the ball and thought about not even coming out (to play). And that was the first basket he's made, so that was fantastic. Skyler (Purnell) was another freshman we had to throw out there."

After receiving the loudest ovation of the game, Hemighaus was hugged by his teammates as they went back down the court for defense. Even down by forty, celebrating their teammate's accomplishment took priority.

"That is the good thing," McIntosh said. "The boys and the girls programs, everyone supports each other well. We try to be each other's biggest cheerleaders and that's the thing I'm trying to get them to celebrate, when people do stuff well. And that's how you start to build that culture. Joey's just a sign of what we've been going through this season of trying to get kids to understand to buy in. It's not just the individual, it's the team, it's those little things that we do."

Grant Wolf led Colton's offense with nine total points, all off 3-pointers. Jackson Perry paced Oakesdale with 24 points. Logan Brown also was in double-digits with 10.

Oakesdale played against Pomeroy on Jan. 21, losing 47-44 after a go-ahead 3-pointer from the Pirates' Jett Slusser with two seconds left. Perry led the team with 16 points in the loss.

Colton played against Tekoa-Rosalia on Jan. 21, losing 71-43 after the Timberwolves opened with a 23-5 first quarter.

Matthew Reisenauer led the Wildcats with 18 points while Angus Jordan added 11.

Oakesdale stands at 10-7 overall on the season and are 6-3 in league competition after the Saturday loss.

Colton stands 3-10 overall with a 2-8 league record.

OAKESDALE (10-7, 6-3)

Logan Brown 5 0-0 10, Alex McHargue 4 0-0 8, Emeric Anderson 3 1-1 7, Karl Cooper 0 0-0 0, Jackson Perry 9 1-2 24, Shawn Bober 1 1-4 3, Will Lanius 2 0-0 6, Austin Goyke 1 0-0 2, Reed 2 2-2 6. Totals 27 5-9 66.

COLTON (3-10, 2-8)

Angus Jordan 2 2-5 8, Grant Wolf 3 0-0 9, Memphis McIntosh 0 0-0 0, Ryan Impson 1 1-2 3, Dan Bell 0 0-0 0, Skyler Purnell 0 0-0 0, Tanner Baerlocher 1 0-0 2, Joey Hemighaus 1 0-0 3. Totals 8 3-7 25.

Oakesdale 19 16 14 17-66

Colton 11 5 5 4-25

3-point goals - Perry 5, Lanins 2, Jordan 2, Wolf 3, Hemighaus.