Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Colton boys
Colton sophomore Reece Chadwick looks for a way forward against the Redskins in a regionals loss Feb. 24. For more pictures, see Weekly Pages: March 2.
Colton's season ended last Friday night in a 1B regional, with the winner going to state.
Playing at Cheney High School, Wellpinit's boys began fast, scoring 20 points with five three-pointers in the first quarter.
In the second, Colton chased, outscoring Wellpinit 17-8 to make it 28-25 at halftime.
The chase continued, both teams pressing, and Colton trailed by six at the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth, with less than three minutes left, Redskins’ post player Brandon Flett drove to the basket and Colton's Brady Chadwick bolted to a position in front of him.
Collision, whistle, foul on Chadwick.
Flett made the shot and the free throw to put the Wildcats down by eight.
“I thought Brady got there,” said Colton coach Nick Simons. “But that could've been the dagger.”
Running out the clock and making free throws, Wellpinit (19-6) advanced to Spokane.
Flett led the Redksins with 24 points as Colton, playing man-to-man defense, rotated Peter Schultheis, Reece Chadwick and Brady Chadwick on him.
Grant Kinzer, a Colton senior and veteran from the 2014 state championship team, finished his career playing on a compromised ankle he injured against Waitsburg last week in the District Nine tournament.
“He gave it everything he had,” Simons said.
Overall, the Wildcats’ shooting touch never made it to Cheney. Hitting 4-of-26 for three-point attempts, Colton shot 15 percent. Last week against Waitsburg it was 42 percent.
Colton gave up 17 turnovers to Waitsburg's 13.
Brady Chadwick led the Wildcats with 13 points in the game while Kinzer scored 11, Reece Chadwick nine and Peter Schultheis eight.
Colton, the 1B academic state champions for the season, finished with a 16-10 record in Simons' first year.
“I loved it,” said Simons. “We have great support, great kids to coach, fun to be around. It's a special place, I can feel it.”
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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