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.