Columbia boys top Gorge rival Stevenson, 46-38

Columbia, guided by first-year Coach John Hallead, will be seeking to get its second straight win in a 7 p.m. road game Wednesday versus the La Center High Wildcats (5-3 league, 8-10 overall). The Bruins conclude their season with a 7 p.m. Senior Night game Friday versus the King’s Way Christian High Knights (6-2 league, 9-6 overall).

“It was a great game and we just poured it on with a big fourth quarter rally to get the win,” said Hallead. “It’s a huge rivalry game and they (Bulldogs) beat us (54-42) earlier this season and they actually came in here following an upset win over King’s Way (a 57-44 home win Jan. 25) and then we ended up beating them. We play exceptionally well at home and we’re very competitive, but on the road, it’s a totally different story. It’s like a Jekyll-and-Hyde situation.”

Following an 8-8 first quarter deadlock, the Bruins held the Bulldogs to four second-quarter points to take a 15-12 halftime lead.

“The difference in the game was that we held them to just 12 points in the first half,” said Hallead. “We played exceptional defense, with a zone/man variation. We focused on trying to stop their leading scorer Kacen Bach (16 points), who averages over 20 points a game. We played man-to-man defense on him and then we played zone on the other guys.”

Stevenson regained the lead after three before the Bruin offense shifted into high gear and recorded its highest point total in one quarter of any game this year.

“The atmosphere was great with a big crowd, and it was hard to hear and very noisy in the gym,” said Hallead. “Every time we scored, our crowd would erupt and every time they scored their crowd would erupt. It was like the quintessential small school high school basketball environment, and it was so cool.”

Junior guard Dylan Nortz led Columbia in scoring with 15 points and senior forward Spencer Karlson added 12.

Perimeter shooting was a key to the victory for Columbia, which had a season-high seven three-point field goals (Stevenson had six).

The win was Columbia’s first since a, 46-40, home win over the Castle Rock High Rockets (3-5 league, 7-9 overall) on Jan. 6. On Jan. 25, the Bruins lost their fifth straight game, 58-32, to the Rockets at Castle Rock High School. Columbia fell behind early, trailing Castle Rock 19-13 after one quarter and 32-21 at halftime.

Nortz led six Bruin players in scoring with 12, followed by Porter Haskell with seven.