Johnson lifts Bulldogs over Northwest Christian

Colfax boys booked a roller-coaster hoop week with two one-point wins over the weekend followed by a crash on their home court when Liberty’s Lancers rolled into town and left with a big win in a battle for the league’s number two slot.

Friday’s 38-37 league win over Northwest Christian came on a three-point shot by Kasey Johnson in the last 28 seconds of the game. Johnson put Colfax back on top and the one point edge held up for the last 28 seconds.

The Crusaders missed the shot on the next possession and put a foul on Keith Gfeller with 11 seconds left on the clock. Gfeller failed to collect and the Crusader against ripped down the court.

The last attempt was a drive by Jonathon Morris down the key. Morris, who hit the same shot earlier in the half when NWC rallied, missed the shot and Colfax put the one-point win in the book.

After a close first quarter, Colfax rolled a 13-5 gap over the Crusaders in the second quarter and kept the pace after the break.

Johnson, who led Colfax with 15, finished the third quarter with a hoop and a foul shot. That put Colfax up by seven points and Hunter Weitze bolstered the edge with a three-pointer at the start of the fourth quarter.

Brent Becker dropped in a baseliner and a quick assist from Johnson to keep the seven point edge with 4:18 left.

Ryan Ricks then hit two three-point shots, and NWC hit a 36-35 lead with 1:25 left when Morris hit a driver and a foul shot.

That lead stayed on the scoreboard until Johnson finally popped the go-ahead threebie with 28 second left.

The Crusaders’ offense was blunted when top scorer Chirs Hartis had to go to the bench with a four-foul load. Ricks led the Crusaders with 12.

Colfax remained in the one-point zone Saturday night when they rolled to Nine Mile and nipped the Lakeside Eagles 49-48.

Unlike the Friday caper, the Bulldogs battled all the way against the A division team. The score was tied at 23-23 at the break, and a lot of the verdict came off defensive efforts.

Johnson hit 21 points with a solid 8-10 off the toss line. Colfax hit four three-pointers off the Eagles to counter the Eagles tough defense on the inside.

After the one-point thrillers s over the weekend, Colfax went into a basketball dark zone on their home court Tuesday when the Liberty Lancers rolled out a 67-41 win to hand Colfax their second league loss of the season. The Lancers led by seven points at the half and then added 40 with some exacto shooting over the last two frames Match Burnham finished which 27 beans for the Lancers, and Ryan Thayer hit 25 to account for 52 of the 61 Lancer points. Hunter Weitze had his first top-points night for the Bulldogs with 11, and Kenton Lyman came off the bench to hit eight of the nine Colfax points in the third quarter.

Colfax 38-Northwest Christian 37: 9/10 13/5 8/8 8/14: Danny Robinson 3 (3pt) 2-3 9, Keith Gfeller 1 0-1 3, Hunter Weitze 1 (3 pt) 0-0 3. Kasey Johnson 6 (3pt) 2-3 15, Brent Becker 4 1-3 9. Total 16 3-8 f-12 38. Northwest Christian: Jonathon Morris 4 1-3 9, Phillip Bax 1 0-0 2, Ryan Ricks 5 (2-3pt) 0-0 9, Nathan Sander 1 2-4 4, David Olds 1 0-0 2, Jeremiah Sander 1 0-0 2,Chris Hartis 3 0-1 6. Total; 16 3-8 f-16 37.

Colfax 49-Lakeside 48: 11/15 12/8 12/11 14/14: Robinson 2 (3pt) 0-0 5. Webber 2 1-2 5, Gfeller 4 (3pt) 0-0 9, Weitze 1 (3pt) 0-0 3, Johnson 6 (3pt) 8-10 21, Becker 1 4-6 6. Total: 16 13-16 f-17 49. Lakeside: Justin Moffatt 1 0-0 2, Cody Watkins 5 3-4 13, Nick Christianson 0 2-2 2, Cameron Gray 6 (2-3pt) 2-2 16, Spencer Reynolds 0 1-2 1, Dominique Watson 0 2-2 2, Braeden Crouse 1 0-0 2, Ryan Quigley 4 2-2 10. Total: 17 12-16 f-18 48.

Liberty 67-Colfax 41: 15/11 12/9 23/8 17/12: Kyle King 1 (3pt) 0-0 3, Clay Fleming 3 0-0 6, Match Burnham 7 10-11 27, Austin Stevens 0 1-3 1, Ryan Thayer 10 5-8 25, Jake Pottratz 0 2-2 2. Total: 22 18-24 f-16 67. Colfax; Robinson 0 3-4 3, Webber 1 1-2 3, Gfeller 1 0-0 2, Weitze 4 (2-3pt) 11, Kenton Lyman 4 0-0 8, Johnson 1 (3pt) 2-2 5, Becker 1 6-6 7, Tyler Kincaid 1 0-0 2. Total: 12 12-16 f-20 41.