Lustig carries Colfax boys to fourth

SPOKANE - If the state "B" Basketball Tournament was still played in the old wonderful 4-day, 16-team double-elimination format, Colfax senior guard-forward John Lustig might have been close to a record-shattering performance.

The future star to be at Lewis &Clark State College was the focus of small school fans from around the state that ventured to Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena last weekend for state hoops.

Even though he didn't lead the Bulldogs to a state title, he easily won the scoring title and gained a great appreciation of his talent by the well entertained crowd.

Lustig scored in about every manner possible, 3-pointers (9-for16), reverse layups, breakaways, corner jumpers, elbow shots and 6 rim-rattling dunks.

He made 71 % of his shots (41-for-58) and totaled 110 points in the Bulldogs' three state games.

Brock Rivet of Kittitas previously set the three-day record of 117 points.

John also added 17 assists and 34 rebounds.

His only disappointment was that the Bulldogs didn't win it all and had to settle for fourth-place.

In his final high school game, Lustig had lots of help from teammates - especially backcourter Damian Demler, who made nine 3-pointers and scored 31 points.

With John Lusting and Demler leading the way, Colfax got in front early against a young Columbia (Burbank) team with two freshman starters and led 22-8 at the quarter and 37-26 at the half.

Defensive pressure and hot shooting put the game away in the third quarter as the Bulldogs outscored the Coyotes 25 to 9 and coasted to a 80-45 win.

The highlight of the game may have been a well-executed lob play where John's younger brother Seth Lustig threw a pass about a foot above the rim and John caught it one-handed and threw it through the rim. The crowd exploded.

The Bulldogs graciously accepted the fourth-place trophy.

Quarterfinals

Colfax took on the Noo. 5-seeded Morton-White Pass Timberwolves in their quarterfinal match.

The Timberwolves played a Wednesday loser-out game against Northwest Christian (Colbert) and came away with a 67-50.

The Timberwolves had played Brewster in the regional and lost by only 8, so the Bulldogs knew they had a tough game.

The score was knotted at 17 after one period and Colfax was able to pull ahead at the half and led by 5.

But in the second half Morton-White Pass used their size advantage to control the boards and their speedy guards to slow the Bulldog attack.

The Timberwolves struggled on outside shooting, managing only 15% from the 3-point line, but they shot 50% from field in the second half.

Colfax only managed 40%.

Morton-White Pass also missed several game clinching free-throws in the final couple of minutes of the game and the Bulldogs were unable to capitalize.

Final score: Morton-White Pass 64, Colfax 60.

Colfax was led by John Lustig's 40 points, as his teammates were only able to add 20 to the total.

He also fouled out of the contest with a minute to go in the game and his teammates were unable to perform any last second heroics.

Loser-out game

The Friday loser-out game between Colfax and Lake Roosevelt may have been the best game of the tournament, as the Bulldogs came out on top 79-77.

There was plenty of last-second action that left many fans scratching their heads.

Both teams demonstrated superior shooting during the entire game, as the Raiders shot 55.1% from the field, 47.4% from the 3-point line and were 14-15 from the free throw line.

They had five players in double-figures, led by two players named Chase - March and and Clark. The Bulldogs chased them all afternoon.

Colfax shot even better than Lake Roosevelt with 59% from the field, 55% from 3 and 62% from the line.

The half-time score was 39-33 in favor of Colfax and the Raiders led by one after three quarters, 56-55.

The score in the game was tied nine times and the lead changed 15 times.

Things definitely got interesting the last couple of minutes the lead changed several times during that time.

On their final possession with 12.3 seconds on the clock, John Lustig hit two free throws to put Colfax ahead 79-77.

The Raiders got the ball down court quickly, Clark drove to the basket got a shot off and made it.

The official on the side of the court called an offensive foul.

No basket!

Game over - Colfax won, 79-77, advancing to the semifinals.