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By Emily Panter
Springfield Beacon
Afer a key win over the Churchill Lancers on Tuesday, Feb. 5, the Thurston Colts girls basketball team has moved itself into the playoff hunt. The 50-46 win puts the Colts in fourth place in the Midwestern League.
The opening quarter got out to an even start, with neither team able to pull far ahead of the other. The Colts did manage a four point lead with under a minute remaining after Natalie Smith had a great spin move in the key for the basket, but Churchill would respond to close the gap 8-6 at the buzzer.
Thurston dug in hard in the second, taking a 17-11 lead after Whitney Hughes passed the ball to Courtney Welling for a three-pointer. Two successful free throws by Hughes would expand their lead 19-12 to end the first half.
Showing that they deserve their second place position in the MWL, the Lancers put together a strong attack in the third. They managed to close the gap to three with just a few seconds remaining, although they would find themselves with the final posession of the quarter down at the Thurston goal. Churchill’s Susan Smith would keep the inbounds pass to go the length of the court. With three seconds remaining she attempted the final shot well outside the arch, which left the crowd wondering why she didn’t attempt to get closer first. But apparently she knew her range perfectly, and sunk the basket to tie the score at 31-31.
Churchill would take their second, and final, lead of the game at the start of the fourth. Thurston quickly nixed that idea, taking an early six point lead after a successful free throw attempt, a rebound by Brittney Burroughs and a three-pointer by Natalie Smith. However, the Colts would find themselves in foul trouble in the fourth, finding themselves with seven fouls to Churchill’s four. The Lancers came back within one, but Thurston managed clinch the victory after Elise Nelson sunk two at the line to go up by eight. Despite eight free throw opportunities for the Lancers in the final 30 seconds, they weren’t able to capitalize on their chances and Thurston would get the win.
The Colts, which now sit 6 1/2 games out of first and just 1/2 out of third, were supposed to play at Marshfield on Thursday, Feb. 7. However, that was a different date than originally scheduled and due to a communication error, the game was not played. That game will be made up on Saturday, Feb. 23 at Coos Bay. Because of the change, the Pirates game against the Millers on Feb. 22 has been moved up a day to Feb. 21. Both games with be played at 7 p.m.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
MWL district title slips through the Colts grip
By Maren Fawkes
For the Beacon
There was standing room only at Willamalane Pool on Friday, Feb. 8 and Saturday, Feb. 9 for the Midwestern League District swim meet this year. While the Thurston Colts hopes and expectations had been high this year, the meet didn’t go quite as it had planned. Despite team member absences during final events, the Colts will be sending 19 swimmers to the state competition.
For the second year in a row the Colts boys team finished in second place with 390 points behind North Eugene in the district final, winning the 200-yard medley relay and finishing second in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The Colts girls team also won the 200-yard medley relay, but finished fifth overall with 259 points.
Jialin Hu the Colts’ coach was disappointed with the team members who failed to show up for their final events and let the team down, but overall he was proud of the team. “They tried their best. North Eugene is a good team and they swam great,” said Hu.
The Colts boy’s team qualified for the state meet in both the 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard medley relay as well as individual events, which is scheduled for next Friday and Saturday at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham. Senior Sam Carter will be returning to state for the 100-yard breaststroke and the 100-yard butterfly. Junior Wyman Tan also qualified for an individual event at state in the 50-yard freestyle with a very impressive time of 23.63 seconds.
Along with Carter and Tan, the 200-yard freestyle relay team is comprised of Ryan Hannum and Lindsey Brown with Timothy Lewellen, Brian Biancalana, Chris Stark and David Varin as alternates. The Colts 200-yard medley relay team is made up of Carter, Tan, Brown and Joseph Valdez with Lewellen, Varin, Robert Eastin and Matthew Woodward as alternates.
But the Colts girl’s team isn’t about to let the boys have all the fun. The girls 200-yard medley relay team will also be competing at state represented by Hailey Prociw, Holly Brown, Carianne Follett, and Nikki Lee with Hayley Rhoades, Kacy Durfee, Jenny Lee and Zi Wang as substitutes.
Looking forward to state, Hu plans to have his team focused and ready.
“With a hard competition there’s more challenge. We will try to work on technique and try to improve speed to get ready for state,” he said.
Although at the last minute Springfield High School didn’t qualify for the state meet, the Millers ended its season on a high note.
According to Millers’ coach Jackie James, most of the Springfield swimmers only swim for a few months of the year compared to some of the kids they were competing against who swim all year round.
“Though some of the kids were disappointed... they all actually did really really well. I think just about all the kids had personal best times between the two days,” said James.
For more information on the upcoming state meet please visit the OSAA website at http://www.osaa.org.
For the Beacon
There was standing room only at Willamalane Pool on Friday, Feb. 8 and Saturday, Feb. 9 for the Midwestern League District swim meet this year. While the Thurston Colts hopes and expectations had been high this year, the meet didn’t go quite as it had planned. Despite team member absences during final events, the Colts will be sending 19 swimmers to the state competition.
For the second year in a row the Colts boys team finished in second place with 390 points behind North Eugene in the district final, winning the 200-yard medley relay and finishing second in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The Colts girls team also won the 200-yard medley relay, but finished fifth overall with 259 points.
Jialin Hu the Colts’ coach was disappointed with the team members who failed to show up for their final events and let the team down, but overall he was proud of the team. “They tried their best. North Eugene is a good team and they swam great,” said Hu.
The Colts boy’s team qualified for the state meet in both the 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard medley relay as well as individual events, which is scheduled for next Friday and Saturday at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham. Senior Sam Carter will be returning to state for the 100-yard breaststroke and the 100-yard butterfly. Junior Wyman Tan also qualified for an individual event at state in the 50-yard freestyle with a very impressive time of 23.63 seconds.
Along with Carter and Tan, the 200-yard freestyle relay team is comprised of Ryan Hannum and Lindsey Brown with Timothy Lewellen, Brian Biancalana, Chris Stark and David Varin as alternates. The Colts 200-yard medley relay team is made up of Carter, Tan, Brown and Joseph Valdez with Lewellen, Varin, Robert Eastin and Matthew Woodward as alternates.
But the Colts girl’s team isn’t about to let the boys have all the fun. The girls 200-yard medley relay team will also be competing at state represented by Hailey Prociw, Holly Brown, Carianne Follett, and Nikki Lee with Hayley Rhoades, Kacy Durfee, Jenny Lee and Zi Wang as substitutes.
Looking forward to state, Hu plans to have his team focused and ready.
“With a hard competition there’s more challenge. We will try to work on technique and try to improve speed to get ready for state,” he said.
Although at the last minute Springfield High School didn’t qualify for the state meet, the Millers ended its season on a high note.
According to Millers’ coach Jackie James, most of the Springfield swimmers only swim for a few months of the year compared to some of the kids they were competing against who swim all year round.
“Though some of the kids were disappointed... they all actually did really really well. I think just about all the kids had personal best times between the two days,” said James.
For more information on the upcoming state meet please visit the OSAA website at http://www.osaa.org.
Miller boys fall to Willamette
By Emily Panter
Springfield Beacon
The Miller boys fought hard in their game against Willamette on Friday, Feb. 8, but the Wolverines pulled away in the second half to defeat Springfield 60-44.
Springfield won the tip-off and took a quick 2-5 lead, but Willamette quickly caught up to go up by two. Fighting hard, Springfield’s Cody Pryce grabbed the defensive rebound and passed to Trent Davis, who found himself under the basket for an easy two points to tie it up at 7-7 with just over two minutes remaining in the opening quarter. But the Wolverine’s LeRon Bennett responded with a three-pointer and they would end up leading 10-9 at the end of the first eight minutes.
Willamette struggled to score in the opening minutes of the second quarter, which the Millers made sure to take advantage of. Brock Auxier hit a long three-pointer to take the lead, but they would quickly loose it after Willamette capitalized on free throw opportunities. Trading leads, the Millers would eventually regain it with a shot by Robbie Church near the end of the half, but a three-pointer by Willamette’s Michael Seiler would be the final lead change of the game and give the Wolverine’s a 25-23 at the buzzer.
Springfield kept it close in the beginning of the second half, trailing by as little as one point. But the Wolverines went on a 10-point run to lead 39-29 with over half the third quarter remaining. Springfield would cut the lead to six with Pryce’s successful trip to the line, but a three-pointer, field goal and free throw would give the Wolverine’s a 47-35 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Still digging hard the Millers tried to stage a comeback, but Willamette basically clinched the victory when Bennet successfully made a shot, quickly stole the ball from the Millers, and Tommy Barnett would convert it for another two points to go up 54-42 with 2:40 remaining. Free throw opportunities and a rebound would give the Wolverines the eventual 60-44 victory.
The loss keeps the Millers in fourth place in the Midwestern League, but they trail a playoff spot by two games, and first place by six.
Springfield Beacon
The Miller boys fought hard in their game against Willamette on Friday, Feb. 8, but the Wolverines pulled away in the second half to defeat Springfield 60-44.
Springfield won the tip-off and took a quick 2-5 lead, but Willamette quickly caught up to go up by two. Fighting hard, Springfield’s Cody Pryce grabbed the defensive rebound and passed to Trent Davis, who found himself under the basket for an easy two points to tie it up at 7-7 with just over two minutes remaining in the opening quarter. But the Wolverine’s LeRon Bennett responded with a three-pointer and they would end up leading 10-9 at the end of the first eight minutes.
Willamette struggled to score in the opening minutes of the second quarter, which the Millers made sure to take advantage of. Brock Auxier hit a long three-pointer to take the lead, but they would quickly loose it after Willamette capitalized on free throw opportunities. Trading leads, the Millers would eventually regain it with a shot by Robbie Church near the end of the half, but a three-pointer by Willamette’s Michael Seiler would be the final lead change of the game and give the Wolverine’s a 25-23 at the buzzer.
Springfield kept it close in the beginning of the second half, trailing by as little as one point. But the Wolverines went on a 10-point run to lead 39-29 with over half the third quarter remaining. Springfield would cut the lead to six with Pryce’s successful trip to the line, but a three-pointer, field goal and free throw would give the Wolverine’s a 47-35 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Still digging hard the Millers tried to stage a comeback, but Willamette basically clinched the victory when Bennet successfully made a shot, quickly stole the ball from the Millers, and Tommy Barnett would convert it for another two points to go up 54-42 with 2:40 remaining. Free throw opportunities and a rebound would give the Wolverines the eventual 60-44 victory.
The loss keeps the Millers in fourth place in the Midwestern League, but they trail a playoff spot by two games, and first place by six.
Newman, Akins bound for Western Oregon
By Emily Panter
Springfield Beacon
There’s been a lot of buzz around the country this past week. Wednesday, Feb. 6 was National Signing Day for many of the nation’s college-bound athletes, and Springfield got to be apart of the excitement.
Michael Akins and Travis Newman each signed a letter to play Division-II football in Western Oregon University (WOU) in Monmouth last Wednesday. It was a great accomplishment for the two best friends from Thurston. Having met in Kidsports during eighth grade it didn’t take the pair long to realize they wanted to go to college together.
“(We’ve wanted to) since freshman year at least,” Newman said.
The boys were recruited by a number of schools together, including Willamette, Lewis and Clark and Linfield. Akins was also recruited by the Colorado School of Mines, Cornell and Cal-Poly Pomona. Newman was also looked at by Portland State.
The boys settled on WOU after taking a campus visit.
“We took a visit and really liked it,” Akins said, citing the family environment and small town as factors.
Newman will be starting out his career with the Wolves as a running back, while Akins will hold a defensive back position.
Thurston coach Justin Starck is excited to see the boys advance to the next level. He said both boys are easy to coach and although they were already solid players at the beginning of their careers, have seen improvement.
“They’re both real good students and smart, smart players,” he said.
Both players are three-year lettermen, and Newman earned an honorable mention all-league as just a sophomore. This year both Newman and Akins earned first team honors on offense, and defensively Akins earned first team and Newman received second.
And although the boys are certainly excited about playing football at the next level, they are also keeping academics in mind. In fact, they received academic scholarships in additional to their one for football. Newman is a 3.86 GPA athlete and plans on majoring in general business, while Akins, a 4.0 student, is currently undecided.
“I wanted to major in engineering,” he said, “but they don’t offer that program.”
Western signed a total of 26 players on Signing Day, including another area student – Jameson Martin out of Marist High.
"This is our best class in terms of size and speed," head coach Arne Ferguson said. "Our focus this year was to get players that can contribute in one to two years. We feel like we got some kids that will be a great fit in this program, and we are lucky to have them."
Springfield Beacon
There’s been a lot of buzz around the country this past week. Wednesday, Feb. 6 was National Signing Day for many of the nation’s college-bound athletes, and Springfield got to be apart of the excitement.
Michael Akins and Travis Newman each signed a letter to play Division-II football in Western Oregon University (WOU) in Monmouth last Wednesday. It was a great accomplishment for the two best friends from Thurston. Having met in Kidsports during eighth grade it didn’t take the pair long to realize they wanted to go to college together.
“(We’ve wanted to) since freshman year at least,” Newman said.
The boys were recruited by a number of schools together, including Willamette, Lewis and Clark and Linfield. Akins was also recruited by the Colorado School of Mines, Cornell and Cal-Poly Pomona. Newman was also looked at by Portland State.
The boys settled on WOU after taking a campus visit.
“We took a visit and really liked it,” Akins said, citing the family environment and small town as factors.
Newman will be starting out his career with the Wolves as a running back, while Akins will hold a defensive back position.
Thurston coach Justin Starck is excited to see the boys advance to the next level. He said both boys are easy to coach and although they were already solid players at the beginning of their careers, have seen improvement.
“They’re both real good students and smart, smart players,” he said.
Both players are three-year lettermen, and Newman earned an honorable mention all-league as just a sophomore. This year both Newman and Akins earned first team honors on offense, and defensively Akins earned first team and Newman received second.
And although the boys are certainly excited about playing football at the next level, they are also keeping academics in mind. In fact, they received academic scholarships in additional to their one for football. Newman is a 3.86 GPA athlete and plans on majoring in general business, while Akins, a 4.0 student, is currently undecided.
“I wanted to major in engineering,” he said, “but they don’t offer that program.”
Western signed a total of 26 players on Signing Day, including another area student – Jameson Martin out of Marist High.
"This is our best class in terms of size and speed," head coach Arne Ferguson said. "Our focus this year was to get players that can contribute in one to two years. We feel like we got some kids that will be a great fit in this program, and we are lucky to have them."
Milers repeat as champions
By Emily Panter
Springfield Beacon
For the third consecutive year, the Springfield Millers cheerleading squad has emerged as state champions. They finished with a score of 77.64, edging out second place finishers and cross-town rivals, Thurston, who finished with 74.79 points.
“Overall it was probably the best performance we’ve done all year,” said Springfield coach Janet Fryback. “The guys and girls did a great job. They performed great and had tons of energy and excitement and just did a great job.”
It’s certainly not easy being defending champions, especially for the third time in a row. For the seniors on the team, it was their third consecutive state championship so they certainly had a lot of pressure to do just as well as their previous two trips.
“It’s tough,” Fryback said. “Especially when you have Thurston on your fanny every year. Almost half are sophomores so they’d never been to sate before. It was a challenge for them but they did a wonderful job.”
But despite their second place finish, Thurston actually had the better performance, initially beating the Millers by about a point. But the Colts received a deduction for throwing a sign too hard to give the Millers the victory.
“To actually have (Springfield) beat and have a subjective call be what really took us out of it is hard,” said Thurston coach James Underwood. “It was a pretty brutal loss but I’m proud of our kids.”
Last year the Millers edged out the Colts by less than one full point, and by about six points the year before. Fryback estimated Springfield has won about 15 championships in the school’s history.
According to Underwood, having your biggest competition in the state just a few miles away has been one of the driving factors for the Colts.
“The message I always preach to my kids is that competition breeds success,” he said. “We get better in life because we have to compete with others. To know that five minutes down the road is our biggest competition (is huge). I think that keeps it at the forefront of their mind the entire year.”
This year’s state meet does not mark the end of competition for the two teams. The Millers will be performing at the Oregon Cheerleading Coaches Championship on Feb. 23 and the Pacwest St. Patty’s Day National’s in March. Both will be held in Portland.
The Colts have earned a bid to nationals in Anaheim this March. Last year they finished in fourth place.
“We’re hoping to do better this year,” Underwood said.
Springfield Beacon
For the third consecutive year, the Springfield Millers cheerleading squad has emerged as state champions. They finished with a score of 77.64, edging out second place finishers and cross-town rivals, Thurston, who finished with 74.79 points.
“Overall it was probably the best performance we’ve done all year,” said Springfield coach Janet Fryback. “The guys and girls did a great job. They performed great and had tons of energy and excitement and just did a great job.”
It’s certainly not easy being defending champions, especially for the third time in a row. For the seniors on the team, it was their third consecutive state championship so they certainly had a lot of pressure to do just as well as their previous two trips.
“It’s tough,” Fryback said. “Especially when you have Thurston on your fanny every year. Almost half are sophomores so they’d never been to sate before. It was a challenge for them but they did a wonderful job.”
But despite their second place finish, Thurston actually had the better performance, initially beating the Millers by about a point. But the Colts received a deduction for throwing a sign too hard to give the Millers the victory.
“To actually have (Springfield) beat and have a subjective call be what really took us out of it is hard,” said Thurston coach James Underwood. “It was a pretty brutal loss but I’m proud of our kids.”
Last year the Millers edged out the Colts by less than one full point, and by about six points the year before. Fryback estimated Springfield has won about 15 championships in the school’s history.
According to Underwood, having your biggest competition in the state just a few miles away has been one of the driving factors for the Colts.
“The message I always preach to my kids is that competition breeds success,” he said. “We get better in life because we have to compete with others. To know that five minutes down the road is our biggest competition (is huge). I think that keeps it at the forefront of their mind the entire year.”
This year’s state meet does not mark the end of competition for the two teams. The Millers will be performing at the Oregon Cheerleading Coaches Championship on Feb. 23 and the Pacwest St. Patty’s Day National’s in March. Both will be held in Portland.
The Colts have earned a bid to nationals in Anaheim this March. Last year they finished in fourth place.
“We’re hoping to do better this year,” Underwood said.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Thurston girls can’t find rhythm
By Emily Panter
Springfield Beacon
Thurston Colts girls basketball team knew they would have their hands full for their game against Willamette, last years 5A state champions. The Colts managed to keep a win within reach in the first half, but Willamette’s Aly Bruns let loose in the second half to run away with a victory. Thurston ended up suffering at 33-58 loss. Despite Willamette’s 58 points, coach Michelle Tuma is still pleased with the Colts defensive game.
“I thought we played excellent defense,” she said. “We held Willamette's inside game, especially AJ Smith, to five points which came from a three-pointer and two free throws. Kristen Walters and Whitney Hughes did an excellent job defending her and forcing her to go outside her normal game.”
Thurston’s offense got off to a strong start, going shot-for-shot until the score was tied at six points apiece. From there the Wolverines would pull into the lead, where they would remain the rest of the game. The Colts kept it close, only trailing by six at the end of the first quarter.
Willamette went on a small scoring frenzy to open the second quarter, but the Colts would dig hard at the end of the half to keep it close. Natalie Smith hit a quick three pointer and a field goal, and despite coverage, Whitney Hughes would score to bring the score 21-16 with about a minute to play. But a buzzer shot from Willamette near the half court line would sink, expanding the Wolverine lead 23-16 at the half.
Not too long after the third quarter started, it was clear Willamette was about to run away with the game. Although the Colts managed three quick points, Bruns found her rhythm and would increase the Wolverine lead to 33-19 with a quarter and a half to go. Thurston managed to sink some shots, but would be down by 20 at the end of the third.
“Against a team like Willamette, who are the defending state champions and in my opinion even better than they where last year, you have to pick your poison,” Tuma said. “We decided to focus on stopping their inside game and hope our quickness would allow us to get out on their shooters. Unfortunately, the second half we did not communicate as well on defense and allowed their shooters, Katie Collins and Aly Bruns, get open looks from the three point line.”
Clearly in a scoring rut, the Colts couldn’t find the basket until just over two minutes remained in the game, excluding one free throw. Elise Nelson scoring on a field goal and a three-pointer, and Hughes sinking a last minute shot.
“We had great looks, but did not go up with the confidence or the belief that we could make them…you can only do so much when you shoot so poorly,” Tuma said.
The Colts only managed to sink 23 percent of their shots in the game.
After a loss to Churchill on Friday, Jan. 18, the Colts are tied for Marshfield for fifth place in the Midwestern League.
Thurston’s next game will be at home at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 25. They will play Springfield.
Springfield Beacon
Thurston Colts girls basketball team knew they would have their hands full for their game against Willamette, last years 5A state champions. The Colts managed to keep a win within reach in the first half, but Willamette’s Aly Bruns let loose in the second half to run away with a victory. Thurston ended up suffering at 33-58 loss. Despite Willamette’s 58 points, coach Michelle Tuma is still pleased with the Colts defensive game.
“I thought we played excellent defense,” she said. “We held Willamette's inside game, especially AJ Smith, to five points which came from a three-pointer and two free throws. Kristen Walters and Whitney Hughes did an excellent job defending her and forcing her to go outside her normal game.”
Thurston’s offense got off to a strong start, going shot-for-shot until the score was tied at six points apiece. From there the Wolverines would pull into the lead, where they would remain the rest of the game. The Colts kept it close, only trailing by six at the end of the first quarter.
Willamette went on a small scoring frenzy to open the second quarter, but the Colts would dig hard at the end of the half to keep it close. Natalie Smith hit a quick three pointer and a field goal, and despite coverage, Whitney Hughes would score to bring the score 21-16 with about a minute to play. But a buzzer shot from Willamette near the half court line would sink, expanding the Wolverine lead 23-16 at the half.
Not too long after the third quarter started, it was clear Willamette was about to run away with the game. Although the Colts managed three quick points, Bruns found her rhythm and would increase the Wolverine lead to 33-19 with a quarter and a half to go. Thurston managed to sink some shots, but would be down by 20 at the end of the third.
“Against a team like Willamette, who are the defending state champions and in my opinion even better than they where last year, you have to pick your poison,” Tuma said. “We decided to focus on stopping their inside game and hope our quickness would allow us to get out on their shooters. Unfortunately, the second half we did not communicate as well on defense and allowed their shooters, Katie Collins and Aly Bruns, get open looks from the three point line.”
Clearly in a scoring rut, the Colts couldn’t find the basket until just over two minutes remained in the game, excluding one free throw. Elise Nelson scoring on a field goal and a three-pointer, and Hughes sinking a last minute shot.
“We had great looks, but did not go up with the confidence or the belief that we could make them…you can only do so much when you shoot so poorly,” Tuma said.
The Colts only managed to sink 23 percent of their shots in the game.
After a loss to Churchill on Friday, Jan. 18, the Colts are tied for Marshfield for fifth place in the Midwestern League.
Thurston’s next game will be at home at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 25. They will play Springfield.
Colts blazing start leads to win
By Emily Panter
Springfield Beacon
Coming off a tough loss in the league opener to North Eugene, the Colts redeemed themselves with a huge win over Willamette on Tuesday, Jan. 15. Thurston got off to a blazing start in the first quarter, outscoring the Wolverines 5-21. From there, they slowed the game down, but would eventually come away with an 18-point victory over the Wolverines.
“I thought we came out with a lot of intensity and focus and really executed well the first quarter,” said Thurston coach Doug Piquette. “We were ok the rest of the game, but did not play particularly well on offense. We were very impatient and did not play as a team.”
Thurston got off to an immediate four point lead, and the Colt defense only allowed one field goal during the first eight minutes. Willamette’s other three points came off free throws. The Colts led 4-19 until the final minute of the quarter, when Willamette sunk one of their free throws and Michael Rondeau reached for the rebound to extend the lead to 21-5.
The second quarter started off quickly as well, but a missed backwards alley-oop from Drew Wiley would send him down to the court floor hard. The end result was an injury that would slow him down for the remainder of the game.
“Drew Wiley was great in the first quarter,” Piquette said. “He sprained his ankle and that seemed to take him out of the air for a while.”
Without Wiley, the Colts leading scorer, they only managed to score eight points in the second, but would still lead 16-29 heading into the locker room for halftime.
Things picked up again for Thurston in the third, with Akins leading the way. He scored the Colts first seven points of the quarter. Joey White also had a strong third quarter.
“(He) played his most complete game of the year,” Piquette said. “He was great on both sides and really played more aggressively on the offensive side of the ball.”
The Colts lead was just too big for the Wolverines, and although they had a strong second half, Thurston’s defense kept them from scoring many points. Despite a steal and a three-pointer by Willamette in the final minute, they would suffer a 36-54 loss.
“Our defense was great,” Piquette said. “I liked how hard we played and how well we executed what we wanted to do defensively.”
Leading the Colts in their defense was Tim Autele.
“He is a warrior. He causes a lot of problems for opposing guards and really spearheaded our defense,” Piquette said.
Following a win over Churchill on Friday, Jan. 18, the Colts are now tied for second place in the league with Churchill. Both teams have a 2-1 record and are one game behind North Eugene.
Next, the Colts will play host to the Millers in their first match-up of the season on Friday, Jan. 25. The game starts at 7 p.m.
Springfield Beacon
Coming off a tough loss in the league opener to North Eugene, the Colts redeemed themselves with a huge win over Willamette on Tuesday, Jan. 15. Thurston got off to a blazing start in the first quarter, outscoring the Wolverines 5-21. From there, they slowed the game down, but would eventually come away with an 18-point victory over the Wolverines.
“I thought we came out with a lot of intensity and focus and really executed well the first quarter,” said Thurston coach Doug Piquette. “We were ok the rest of the game, but did not play particularly well on offense. We were very impatient and did not play as a team.”
Thurston got off to an immediate four point lead, and the Colt defense only allowed one field goal during the first eight minutes. Willamette’s other three points came off free throws. The Colts led 4-19 until the final minute of the quarter, when Willamette sunk one of their free throws and Michael Rondeau reached for the rebound to extend the lead to 21-5.
The second quarter started off quickly as well, but a missed backwards alley-oop from Drew Wiley would send him down to the court floor hard. The end result was an injury that would slow him down for the remainder of the game.
“Drew Wiley was great in the first quarter,” Piquette said. “He sprained his ankle and that seemed to take him out of the air for a while.”
Without Wiley, the Colts leading scorer, they only managed to score eight points in the second, but would still lead 16-29 heading into the locker room for halftime.
Things picked up again for Thurston in the third, with Akins leading the way. He scored the Colts first seven points of the quarter. Joey White also had a strong third quarter.
“(He) played his most complete game of the year,” Piquette said. “He was great on both sides and really played more aggressively on the offensive side of the ball.”
The Colts lead was just too big for the Wolverines, and although they had a strong second half, Thurston’s defense kept them from scoring many points. Despite a steal and a three-pointer by Willamette in the final minute, they would suffer a 36-54 loss.
“Our defense was great,” Piquette said. “I liked how hard we played and how well we executed what we wanted to do defensively.”
Leading the Colts in their defense was Tim Autele.
“He is a warrior. He causes a lot of problems for opposing guards and really spearheaded our defense,” Piquette said.
Following a win over Churchill on Friday, Jan. 18, the Colts are now tied for second place in the league with Churchill. Both teams have a 2-1 record and are one game behind North Eugene.
Next, the Colts will play host to the Millers in their first match-up of the season on Friday, Jan. 25. The game starts at 7 p.m.
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