Columbia High's 44-23 non-league boys basketball victory over visiting Hockinson last Thursday was far from a masterpiece of offensive artistry.
But the Bruins' effort at the defensive end, especially in the second half, had few flaws.
"I was proud that we kept our defensive intensity throughout the game," Bruins Coach Steve Larsen said. "I thought our mental approach to defense and rebounding, the things that depend on effort and intensity, was very good."
Columbia (3-2) limited Hockinson to three field goals in the third quarter, holding it scoreless for more than six minutes. In the fourth, CHS didn't allow a basket until 3:34 remained.
Before then, the Bruins had their biggest lead of the game (42-19), thanks to a 10-0 run.
In the early going, scoring runs were hard to come by for the Bruins, who needed a putback by junior Matt Lovrin off his own miss to finish the first quarter in a 6-6 deadlock.
Hockinson reclaimed and held the lead twice in the second stanza before senior guard Jason Carlock hit a jumper midway through to give CHS the lead for good at 11-10.
That bucket started a 6-0 CHS spurt that included a basket and a free throw by senior center James Cowan and pair of technical foul shots by senior guard Rob Hunsaker at the 4:15 mark.
The Hawks couldn't be shooed away, however, as they canned their second of two first-half 3-pointers to get within 16-13.
But a steal and layin by Lovrin at the close of the first half put the Bruins on top by five points and set the tone for what was to come in the second.
After Hockinson scored four straight to trim CHS's lead to 20-17, the Bruins unleashed a 12-0 run that featured back-to-back 3-pointers by Lovrin and Carlock.
The Hawks finally -- albeit only briefly -- snapped out of their offensive funk, but not until 12 seconds were left in the third period of their rematch with the Bruins.
But as the fourth quarter began, Hockinson soon realized it had no defensive answer for containing Columbia's suddenly unstoppable offense.
CHS scored 10 of its 12 points in the period's first three minutes of action. All four of Hockinson's points in the quarter came in the final 3:34, on one basket and a pair of free throws.
"We got shots to go down when we needed them to," Larsen said, "but mostly, we won the game with our defense and our hustle."
Need proof? The Bruins allowed nine field goals in 45 attempts, forced 23 turnovers, stole the ball 17 times, and outrebounded the Hawks, 37-29.
Carlock led all scorers with 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting; nine of his points came from behind the 3-point arc.
Lovrin added 12 points, making 5 of 12 from the field and 1 of 2 from the line.
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