Bruins Coach Steve Larsen is hoping his Columbia High boys basketball players return to the court in January 2002 in good health and good spirits.
The Bruins (3-6) just went through a physically and mentally grueling period in which they played five games in seven nights, the last four on consecutive nights last week.
They won two of the five: at Stevenson on Dec. 14 and at Wahtonka on Dec. 18.
The losses were to La Center (72-37) on Dec. 17, to Goldendale (55-38) on Dec. 19 and to Portland Adventist (69-57) on the 20th, in CHS's final non-league game.
Theloss to La Center hurt the most, though, because it put the Bruins 0-1 in Trico League standings.
But CHS can even its record when it resumes league play on Jan. 3 at Ridgefield.
Larsen said the Bruins wouldn't practice until the last two days of Christmas break.
"The guys need time off to enjoy the holidays and think about something besides basketball," he noted. "I'm hoping they come back refreshed physically and mentally, and with the focus on defending our Trico League championship."
Larsen especially is hoping senior guard Paul Courtney is over the ankle injury that has been troubling him since the start of the season and, consequently, keeping his playing minutes down; and that junior Adam Neff's balky knees will hold up for another 11 games.
"We need those two guys on the floor: Paul for his leadership, and Adam for his explosiveness," CHS's coach said.
Courtney had a season-high 15 points, plus seven rebounds, five assists and four steals, in the loss to Portland Adventist.
While Courtney has been working to regain his form, Neff has been CHS's leading scorer five times and is averaging a team-best 12.3 ppg.
Senior Chris Peck is second in scoring (10.1 ppg) and first in rebounding with an average of almost eight per game. He had 12 rebounds and a career-high 18 points in the Bruins' victory at Wahtonka.
"Chris probably had his best game of the year. He was very active the whole game and stayed out of foul trouble," Larsen noted.
Against Goldendale, junior Cory Lampe collected a career-best 17 rebounds.
These individual performances, the highlights of the past week, offered glimpses of the kind of team CHS could be when it's whole and focused.
"If we want to be successful, we need to be healthy and we need to have a clear mental approach when we start up again," Larsen said. "On top of that, we're going to have to shoot the ball a lot better. If we do that, we should be in every game we play."
Columbia 45, at Wahtonka 33 --
The Bruins opened up a 15-6 first-quarter lead and steadily pulled away for their third win of the season.
Peck scored eight of his game-high 18 points in the opening stanza and had 10 in the first half as the Bruins built a 23-14 bulge.
In the third quarter CHS increased its lead to as many as 18 points and led by 10-12 points throughout the fourth.
"Our defense was outstanding the whole game," said Larsen. "We held Wahtonka to 30 percent shooting and out-rebounded them by 19."
Goldendale 55, at Columbia 38 --
CHS rallied from a 28-15 halftime deficit to take a shortlived lead at 34-33 with a minute and half to go in the third quarter.
But that 19-5 run was the last gasp for the Bruins as Goldendale scored the final five points of the third quarter and outscored them 17-4 in the fourth to win the season series.
The Bruins also scored just four points in the second quarter, after playing the Timberwolves even, 11-11, in the first.
"I think we shot 1 for 10 in the second quarter and in the third quarter we were making everything," Larsen said.
Peck, who finished with a team-high 13 points, scored six in the third quarter and Lampe put in eight of his 11.
In the fourth period the Bruins managed just two baskets and finished the game shooting 15-of-60 (25 percent) from the field, including just 2-of-19 from 3-point range.
Goldendale, led by senior Chad Carlson's 6-for-10 effort, made 8-of-24 from beyond the arc. Noted CHS's coach: "They had 18 more points from the 3-point line and won by 17. That was the game right there."
Portland Adventist 69, at Columbia 57 --
With three minutes remaining, CHS missed a chance to tie the game and try for the lead when Neff missed the front end of a one-and-one.
Portland Adventist scored the next 11 points to wrap up the win and the season series.
The Bruins -- who lost by 37 the first time they met the Cougars -- got within 58-57 when Courtney made two free throws with 3:19 to go. Those foul shots followed a 3-point basket by Neff that halved the Cougars' 58-52 lead to 58-55.
According to Larsen, a series of defensive stops, the absence of turnovers and patience in its half-court sets enabled CHS to rally from a 41-29 halftime deficit.
"I thought our effort for the fourth game in four nights was incredible. They're ranked number nine in their class in Oregon, and we basically played with them the whole game," he observed.
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