Stevenson, La Center top Bruin boys

The Bruins, guided by first-year Coach John Hallead, had a strong first-half performance against Stevenson and trailed 21-20 at halftime. The Bruins displayed a solid offense in the third when they had their best scoring quarter of the game with 13 points, but they struggled defensively as the Bulldogs outscored them 21-13 in the period.

“Give Stevenson credit, because they played really well and we didn’t,” said Hallead. “It was one of those games we just couldn’t do a lot right. We missed shots, we had defensive breakdowns and we had turnovers when they (Bulldogs) pressed. We didn’t put ourselves in a position to win the game. We lacked energy and emotion for a rivalry game like this. I think our team’s inexperience showed, but we will be a different team the next time we play them (Jan. 27) at home.”

Dylan Nortz led the Bruins in scoring with 11 points, followed by Porter Haskell with 10.

The host Bruins were outscored by La Center in every quarter as they continued to struggle defensively. La Center led 15-10 after one quarter and then built a 32-23 halftime advantage. Like the previous contest against Stevenson, the Bruins seemed to tire in the second half, as they were outscored 22-15.

Columbia was led by Haskell and Bryson Sauter with eight points apiece.

“The final score wasn’t a good indicator of how well we played,” said Hallead. “Although offense is still an Achilles heel for us, I thought overall compared to Tuesday (versus Stevenson), we played very well. La Center is a top team in our league and our program just isn’t there yet. Our starting forwards (Haskell, Sauter) were in foul trouble early in the game and they’re a big part of what we do.

“We did very well against their (Wildcats) press, which is probably the best defensive press in our league. I thought we hung around all game to make it competitive and close. This league is tough every game and I can only hope that our boys decide to make it a better season for us in the second half of our schedule.”

Columbia faces the King’s Way Christian High Knights (3-1 league, 6-5 overall) Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in Vancouver, followed by Friday’s 7 p.m. contest against the Seton Catholic High Cougars (3-2 league, 8-5 overall), also in Vancouver.