Colfax boys toppled by Turtle Lake
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by Marlys Kruger
Sports Correspondent
COLFAX — It’s not very often you see a boys high school basketball game where one of the teams attempts just two free throws in the whole contest. Such was the case when Colfax hosted the Turtle Lake Lakers January 2 when the Vikings were the ones who were on the short end of the charity stripe, Aiden Fischer made both of the Colfax free throws but the Lakers were 12-of-15 which helped them pull out a 68-55 win over the Vikings.
It was a non-conference game for both teams as the Division 5 Lakers, with an enrollment of 129 students are 5-0 in the Lakeland West Conference. They were 7-2 overall and the physicality of their players, most of whom were all on the football team, out-rebounded the Vikings 30-26 and they scored a bunch of their points on second-chance shots
Colfax fell behind 8-2 with Elijah Entzminger scoring the only bucket for the team. Fischer canned a triple while Entzminger and Blake Johnson added a deuce each but turnovers off the Laker 2-3 zone put the Vikings in a hole, down 25-14. Entzminger and Logan Swartz scored in the paint but the Vikings went several minutes before they found the hoop again. Johnson finally found it from close range but the Vikings were down 35-20 at the intermission.
A few minutes into the second half found Colfax down 45-31 before Fischer scored on a drive through the lane. Once again, the Vikings turned the ball over several times before Entzminger and Orion Nichols connected from close range, but the Lakers continued to score from the inside and were up 55-37. Fischer drained a shot from three-point land and Johnson added another from the top of the circle but the Lakers countered every shot. Colfax committed their seventh team foul midway through the half, sending the Lakers to the charity stripe several times.
Eli Ralph, who was in foul trouble early on, scored under the basket, Fischer connected on the Vikings’ two only free tosses and added a shot from long range, and Nichols put the final points up for Colfax on a three pointer at the buzzer.
Entzminger led the Vikings in scoring with 16 points while Fischer added 13. Entzminger, the smallest player on the court for the Vikings, was the leading rebounder with seven rebounds and came up with three steals and four assists. Fischer picked up six rebounds with four assists and two steals while Swartz collected four rebounds and blocked two Laker shots. The Vikings were 7-of-28 from long range and committed 14 fouls.
Brandon Wagner led the Lakers with 20 points, Brady Peterson added 13 and a player most Colfax fans are familiar with after the last couple of football seasons, Walker Korish, now a senior, added 11. The Lakers were 6-for-16 from three-point land and were called for just five fouls in the contest.