Bulldogs face Bridgeport for final-8 entry

Gazette Editor

Colfax boys Saturday will return to the Mt. Spokane High gym to play Bridgeport in the first round of the state 1B tournament, now dubbed the round of 16. A win Saturday will mean a ticket to next week’s three-day all-B show at the Spokane Arena where they won the state cup a year ago.

Colfax starts as the number-two qualifier out of last weekend’s Walla Walla NE-SE hoop run where they defeated Northwest Christian 56-47 Friday, and then again ran into the St. George’s Dragons in the title game. The Dragons, who had to scramble two weeks ago to escape a Colfax charge at Mead, took the top slot with a 55-38 win Saturday at Whitman College.

Colfax set the scene for another rip-roaring finish when they came within a point of the state’s top-rated 2B team at the end of the third quarter at Whitman, but they ran into ice in the last quarter. The Bulldogs didn’t score again until the final seconds of the game while the Dragons added another 19 points to keep their number-one slot.

Dexter Sienko, the Dragons’ 6-6 junior, finished out with 25 points in the game and also booked double digits for rebounds. He hit the four points of what turned out to be a run of 16 in the last quarter. The gap went to 52-35 before Colfax Coach Reese Jenkin called out the bench to finish out the last two minutes. Hunter Weitze hit a three-pointer to avoid a final frame shutout for the Bulldogs.

Brandon Gfeller, who tied the game at 35-all with a three pointer with 2:36 left in the third, led the Bulldogs with 16.

St. George’s posted a 28-21 lead at the half after putting down five 3-pointers in the first half. Gfeller hit two for Colfax late in the half, and that set the scene for a Colfax charge in the third quarter.

Colfax went into the title round after taking out Northwest Christian 56-47 in Friday’s semi-final round. The semi-win guaranteed a ticket to this week’s state-16 round.

Coach Jenkin activated starter Kasey Johnson for limited action in the Friday qualifier, but opted to rest the sophomore Saturday to allow more recovery time for the injured knee which kept him out of the line for the first round last week at Dayton.

The Bulldogs Friday started slow against the Crusaders, but erupted for 18 points on the second frame to lead 29-21 at the break. Keith Gfeller earned the ignition honors with 10 points for the Colfax offense in the first half.

13/1114/15: Brandon Gfeller 4 (2-3pt) 12-13 22. Brady Ellis I (3pt) 5-6 8., Bryce Kramlich 3 (2 3pt) 0-0 8., Keith Gfeller 4 (2-3pt ) 10, Kasey Johnson 10-0 2,, Skylar Simonson 2 2-5 6. Total 15 19-24 f-16 56. Northwest Christian : Jeremiah Morris 4 (2-3pt) 2-3 121 Austin Friedly 4 0-0 8 ,. Nick Kiourkas 3 (2-3pt) 4-6 13., Matt K rshinar 14- 4 6 ,. Tyler Stephens 3 2 -2 8 Total: 15 12-17 f-21 47

The Crusaders closed ground with Tyler Stevens and Matt Kershinar each hitting a pair of toss shots to get within two points, 44-46, with 3:29 left.

Colfax shut it down with a 10-12 run at the toss line after NWC went into a foul mode in an attempt to get possession of the ball. Brady Ellis and Brandon Gfeller each hit five of the final 10 toss shots.

St. Georges: 55-Colfax 38: 11/9 17/12 8/14 19/3: Mark Kenney 3 (3-3t) 2-2 11, Cody Peplinski I (3pt) 0-0 3, Erij Muelheims 2 (3pt) 3-4 8, Will Tender 2 1-4 5, Dexter Sienko 10 (3pt) 4-6 25. Total: 19 10-6 f-7 55. Colfax: Brandon Gfeller 5 (3-3pt) 3-4 16, Brady Ellis 3 2-3 8, Bryce Kramlich 2 (3pt) 0-0 5, Keith Gfeller 2 2-2 6, Hunter Weitze 1 (3pt) 0-0 3. Total: 13 10-16 f- 15 38