Colton heads to regionals with first district title in hand

Colton’s tear through the SE 1B league capped Friday night with the team’s first district championship.

The Wildcats’ title came with a 73-61 win over St. John/Endicott in the marquee matchup in the district tourney at Endicott. It was the third time Colton had beaten the Eagles this year.

SJE rushed out of the gates with forward Cole McCanna making himself a series of open paths to the hoop for 10 points in the opening frame when the Eagles staked a 20-19 lead.

Colton’s brotherly backcourt of Josh and Jake Straughan found their range in the second, each canning a pair of treys

SJE stayed close with long bombs from Joey Kucklick and McCanna to close the half down just two, 35-37.

Wildcat center Dustin Patchen took over the second half, putting up 13 of his 23 points to lead the ‘cats to a 36-26 advantage after the break to seal the win.

Seniors Patchen and Josh Straughan led the attack, with Straughan posting 22 points and 10 assists and Patchen adding 14 rebounds to his scoring total.

Patchen and Straughan have been the centerpieces of the Colton boys basketball program which rose to its first state tourney appearance last year and its first district title this year.

Their younger brothers also aided the cause, with Jake Straughan throwing in 16 points and Dalton Patchen adding eight points and 11 rebounds.

McCanna finished with 23 points. Zach Hollingsworth and Dakota White added 10 points each for the Eagles.

Colton opens the state regional round in the 8 p.m. nightcap Friday against Almira/Coulee/ Hartline at University High School in Spokane.

St. John/Endicott had not lost a league game to anyone other than Colton all season.

That changed Saturday, as the Eagles season ended at the hands of a surging Rosalia team, 68-50.

Rosalia’s tight D kept a lid on the SJE basket all night, as the Eagles lost their collective shots. The game opened slow, with the Spartans taking a 12-8 lead out of the gate.

Spartan Craig Nelson found his stroke in the second quarter, heating up for nine of his game-high 28 points as Rosalia pulled out to a five-point lead.

Nelson’s hot hand carried over out of the break with 12 third-quarter points, and Rosalia held the Eagles to just six points in the frame to put the game out of reach.

Ryan Maley helped ice the game for Rosalia in the fourth quarter. He hit six of 10 free throws in a 23-21 quarter that saw five Eagles foul out.

Rosalia faces Sunnyside Christian Friday in the 6 p.m. U-Hi opener.

The Spartans earned their way into Saturday’s win over the Eagles by taking down LaCrosse/Washtucna 76-58 Friday afternoon at Endicott.

Nelson again led with 23 points, including four 3-point bombs, as the Spartans exploded out of the gates for a 38-25 lead at the half. Damian Loucks added 18 for the Spartans who put nine players in the scorebook.

Jed Zimmer had 17 points, and Jake Aune added 16 to lead the Tigercats.

FRIDAY SCORING

CHAMPIONSHIP

Colton 73- St. John/Endicott 61: 19/20 18/15 18/12 18/14: Dustin Patchen 9 5-8 23, Josh Straughan 8 (3-3pt.) 3-7 22, Jake Straughan 6 (2-3pt.) 2-2 16, Dalton Patchen 3 2-6 8, Zach Devorak 1 (3pt.) 0-0 3, Jake Riedner 0 1-2 1. SJE: Cole McCanna 8 (2-3pt.) 5-6 23, Zach Hollingsworth 4 (2-3pt.) 0-0 10, Dakota White 3 (3pt.) 3-4 10, Evan Jones 4 1-1 9, Kaleb Simon 2 1-2 5, Joey Kucklick 2 0-0 4.

Rosalia 76- LaCrosse/Washtucna 58: 21/16 17/9 25/15 13/18: Craig Nelson 9 (4-3pt.) 1-2 23, Damian Loucks 5 (2-3pt.) 6-6 18, David Littleton 4 (3pt.) 0-0 9, Grant Gelhaus 4 1-1 9, Zane Brown 3 (3pt.)1-1 8, Micah Pittsley 1 1-2 3, Nathan Sims 1 1-2 3, Steven Maley 1 0-0 2, Joshua Roe 0 1-4 1. LW: Jed Zimmer 7 3-5 17, Jake Aune 6 (4-3pt.) 0-2 16, Darcy Stamper 3 2-2 8, Austin Summers 3 (3pt.)0-0 7, Justin Wargo 3 0-0 6, Matt Stubbs 1 0-0 2, Sam Harder 1 0-0 2.

SATURDAY SCORING

Rosalia: 68- St. John/Endicott 50: 12/8 16/15 17/6 23/21: Craig Nelson 9 (3pt.) 9-11 28, Damian Loucks 2 6-8 10, Micah Pittsley 4 0-2 8, David Littleton 2 (3pt.) 2-2 7, Ryan Maley 0 6-10 6, Steven Maley 0 5-7 5, Grant Gelhaus 1 0-0 2, Dalton Jacobs 0 2-4 2. SJE: Cole McCanna 6 (2-3pt.) 0-0 14, Joey Kucklick 5 (2-3pt.) 0-0 12, Dakota White 3 (2-3pt.) 1-2 9, Kaleb Simon 4 0-0 8, Evan Jones 1 2-6 4, John Quinton 3 (3pt.) 0-0 3, Caleb Hudson 0 0-1 0.