Colfax boys swarmed by Somerset Spartans
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by Marlys Kruger
Sports Correspondent
SOMERSET — If the two halves of the basketball game between the Colfax Vikings and Somerset Spartans had been reversed, the final score may have turned out a lot different. Colfax outscored their opponents in the second half in the Somerset gym 36-29 in the Monday night game February 6 but it was the disastrous first half that did them in as they fell behind 48-16 which resulted in a 77-52 loss for the Vikings.
The Spartans are a Division 3 team and are 4-7 in the Middle Border Conference and were 11-9 overall. Their full-court press had the Vikings completely out of sync in the first half and the Vikings turned the ball over countless times which made it hard to score points. Blake Johnson hit a three pointer early on but it was 15-3 before Jack Scharlau added any more points with two free throws.
Nick Jensen and Elijah Entzminger both scored in the paint but three turnovers in a row resulted in Spartan points and a 28-9 advantage. Jensen dropped in a free throw, Schralau scored on a put back and a pair of Johnson free tosses finished off the first half scoring for the Vikings.
Colfax managed to make a little headway in the second half when Scharlau and Jensen hit back-to-back shots in the lane. Scharlau stood his ground and took a charge, then scored on a fastbreak layup and it was 52-22 for Somerset. A Scharlau trey and a jumper from Mitch Medin added more points but the Spartans, like they did in the first half, were scoring at will near the basket and moved ahead 55-27.Entzminger and Johnson each drained a triple but the Vikings didn’t gain any ground as Somerset scored four consecutive times under the hoop.
Entzminger connected on a short jumper and took a slick pass from Scharlau for another bucket, and after Johnson’s third triple Colfax was down 68-41. Mason Yarrington drained a shot from behind the arc and Aiden Fischer had a great ending for the team with eight points on a pair of treys and a final drive to the basket.
Fifty-eight of the Somerset points came from shots near the basket as they hit 29 times from the paint. They were 4-of-10 at the foul stripe with three treys and were led by Kane Donnelly with 17 points. The Colfax defense did hold down the Spartans leading scorer Dylan Leccia to four points after he averaged 17 a game.
Scharlau led the Vikings with 12 points with Entzminger and Johnson both scoring 11. The Vikings knocked down seven triples and were 6-for-10 at the charity stripe.