Colfax stops Broncos with 3-point barrage

Kasey Johnson of the Bulldogs puts a block on Cort Ruzika of the Broncos early in the boys game Friday at Colfax. Keith Gfeller is at left for the Bulldogs.

Colfax Bulldogs rolled out two wins in the NE-South over the weekend to finish the first round at 3-1. The Bulldogs booked an explosive win over the LRS Broncos Friday night on the home court and then booked a solid win over the Tekoa/Rosalia Timberwolves Saturday night in the first NE league hoop meeting at Rosalia.

Score for the win over the Broncos was 57-44, and the score for the Saturday win at Rosalia was 44-28. The two wins put Colfax at 3-1 in the NE- south behind the Liberty Lancers, now 7-1 overall. Liberty Friday finished their sweep of the NE-south first round with a 66-55 win over St. George’s with Match Burnham hitting 30 points.

Colfax Tuesday night rolled to Dayton to wind up the pre-Christmas part of the season with a non-leaguer. They will play Saturday and Monday at the West Valley Holiday tournament.

Action in the NE will resume here Jan. 3 with Northwest Christian visiting for the first round with NE-north team. Teams in the southern division will play the six teams in the north division once in the league run. Highlight for the Bulldogs for the weekend was a 21-point charge in the last quarter Friday against the LRS Broncos. Colfax started the quarter with a two-point lead, 36-34, in a close battle.

Keith Gfeller then opened the last quarter with a nine point barrage for a 45-34 lead with 5:26 left in the game. Gfeller, who finished with 19 points, advanced the lead to 45-34 with 5:26 left in the game. Hunter Weitze then added a 3-pointer, and Kasey Johnson hit a bucket for a 50-34 Colfax lead with 3:41 left .

The Broncos finally scored, but by then the game was out of reach. Colfax Coach Reece Jenkin made a move to put in the reserves with two minutes left, but held off for another minute before finally letting the bench take to the court in the last minute,

The Colfax charge in the last quarter came after a close battle through the first three quarters. The two league foes were tied at 20-20 at the half in a game which saw tough defense on the inside.

Three-pointers became the key, and the Bulldogs banked nine of them, four by Gfeller, three by Johnson and two by Weitze.

In the third quarter Dallas Killian hit a pair of three-point shots to get the Broncos rolling. The quarter ended with Gfeller hitting a three-pointer and Jacob Saetre hitting a bucket for the slim 36-34 Colfax lead before the final quarter blastoff by the Bulldogs.

Kasey Johnson, who bombed a threebie from the corner as part of the Colfax charge, finished with 15 points.

Top Bronco scorer in the battle was Cort Ruzika, who had the best overall success in the paint for the night and finished with nine points.

Saturday night at Rosalia, the Colfax defense held the T-wolves to eight points in the first half. Colfax had a 27-8 lead at the break on the way to the 44-28 win.

Danny Robinson led Colfax scoring with 17 points. Cooper Angelo led scoring for the host team with nine points.

Colfax 57-LRS 44: 9/6 11’14 16/14 21/10: Danny Robinson 3 2-2 8, Mark Webber 1 1-2 3, Keith Gfeller 7 (4-3pt) 1-2 19, Hunter Weitze 3 (2-3pt) 0-0 8, Kenton Lyman 1 2-2 4, Kasey Johnson 5 (3-3pt) 2-2 15. Total: 20 8-10 F20 57. LRS: 1 (3pt)) 2-5 5, Alan Field 0 1-2 1, Jacob Saetre 2 3-5 7, Cort Ruzika 4 1-2 9, Kyle Canady 3 (3pt) 1-4 8, Wyatt Roetiger 2 (2-3pt) 0-0 6, Dallas Killian 2 (2-3pt) 0-0 6, Trevor Jantz 1 0-0 2. Total: 15 8-20 f-13 44.

Colfax 44-Tekoa/Rosalia 28: 12/6 15/2 12/5 5/15: Robinson 17, Mark Weitze 3. Kenton Lyman 4, Kasey Johnson 4, Tyler Kincaid 4, Jared Kneale 2. Tekoa/Rosalia: Cooper Angelo 6, Dillon Jacobs 5, Chase Neill 4, Lucas Engel 6, Kade Holling 5.