Wildcats host three-day tournament

COLTON - The Colton Wildcats boys and girls basketball teams hosted a successful Christmas tournament spanning across three days.

The tournament was from Wednesday, Dec. 27, to Friday, Dec. 29, with six schools at the tournament.

The six schools were: Colton, Garfield-Palouse, Deary, Asotin, Valley Christian, and Genesee.

The Colton boys team played their three games against Deary, Valley Christian, and Genesee, while the girls took on Genesee, Valley Christian, and Asotin.

The boys first game was against Deary. The game was played on Wednesday, Dec. 27. The game was the largest loss of the three games for Colton, with the final score in favor of Deary 62-37.

Colton head coach Brad Jenkins said that Deary came out strong in the game, shooting 60% from the floor to help lead them to victory over the Wildcats.

Colton would struggle in the game, shooting just 23% while committing 26 turnovers which never helps a team looking to earn a victory.

Matt Reisenauer would lead the Wildcats with 15 points in the game.

The Wildcats had an opportunity to bounce back the following day, with a match against Valley Christian. The game was played on Thursday, Dec. 28.

The game quickly slipped out of reach for Colton, who trailed 5-17 after the first quarter as they would lose the game 71-41.

The first quarter had Colton take a time out trailing 3-10 to regroup from the slow start.

After the time out the Wildcats struggled, trailing by 12 after eight minutes.

Colton would score 19 points in the second quarter, led by Reisenauer with 15 in the second quarter alone. Valley Christian would score 15 points total in the quarter.

Colton was within seven early in the second before calling a time out trailing by 19. The quarter would end 24-36 in favor of Valley Christian.

The third quarter saw the Wildcats outscored 7-18, leading to the end of the road for Colton.

A ten-point fourth quarter for Colton was a nice end to the game, but allowed 17 to lose by 30.

Reisenauer would lead Colton with 22 total points. Colton shot 36% from two and 28% from three, but struggled with turnovers. Colton had 40 turnovers in the game, giving Valley Christian 40 more chances to score, leading to a 30-point loss.

The last game for the Wildcats was on Friday, Dec. 29, against the Genesee Bulldogs. Jenkins said the Wildcats were not able to overcome the hot start from the Bulldogs, who shot 64% in the first quarter and 55% in the half to propel them to a 58-34 victory over Colton.

Tanner Baerlocher was the high-point scorer for Colton on the day, scoring 14 points. Reisenauer would add 10 for Colton. The Wildcats shot just 30% from the field in the game.

The Colton girls would win two-of-three games in the tournament, improving their seasons record to 7-2.

They played their first game on Wednesday, Dec. 27, against Genesee. The game was tight from start-to-finish, with Colton falling to the Bulldogs 43-48.

The loss was the second-straight loss for Colton on their season, and their only two losses on the season thus far. Their first loss was their previous game against the Oakesdale Nighthawks, where Oakesdale took down Colton by 26 points.

Colton played their second game on Thursday, Dec. 27, against Valley Christian.

Valley Christian did not stand a chance in the game, watching the game slip away with each possession from Colton, who would earn the 67-30 victory, getting back on track with a game to play.

The final game of the tournament was played on Friday, Dec. 29, against the Asotin Panthers.

In a tough match up for the Wildcats, they managed to control the flow of the game, and made key baskets and defensive stops throughout the later stages of the game to win 58-43, taking two-of-three on their home court over the holiday break.

The girls team came together after two-straight losses to improve their record to 3-2 across their last five games. At the halfway point in the season, the Wildcats are in good shape to make a run for a district championship and state playoffs.

The boys team now hold an overall record of 2-8. Their two wins came in back-to-back games earlier in the season as they defeated Prescott and Dayton, both of which were home games for Colton.

The next games for both teams will be Friday, Jan. 5. Both teams will take on Highland (ID) in a non-district match up. The game will be played in Colton, with the girls set to tip-off at 6 p.m., followed by the boys at 7:30 p.m.

The Highland Huskies girls team are currently 1-9 on the season, while the boys are 7-2 on the season.

The Wildcat girls team are putting together a solid season, while the boys team have time to grow and save their season.