Bruins Hunting for First Victory

Trenton Howard caught fire in the final quarter and hit three 3-pointers to ignite the comeback. He made four 3-pointers on the night and finished with 15 points.

“This game was a barn burner,” Wiley said. “Despite the loss, I am proud of the effort and fight our boys put forth. It’s a tough loss, but I believe our program is setting the proper foundation for success. And, if we continue to trust the process, we have every opportunity to be competitive in league play.”

Columbia trailed 20-17 after one quarter as Jacob Lockman dropped eight points and Drew Harmon tossed in five.

Defense helped keep the Bruins in the game when other phases of their game lagged. They totaled 17 steals on the night.

Ten of them came from Lockman, “who busted his tail on defense,” Wiley noted.

Lockman, who scored 10 points in the first half, led CHS with 16 total. Harmon added 10, and Oscar Kirkwood and Chandlor Bucklin each put in six.

At Hoquiam 56, Columbia 17: The Bruins lost their non-league season opener at Hoquiam on Nov. 30 on a night they couldn’t get untracked offensively.

“Game one last Friday saw us come out very strong on the boards and on defense against a tough Hoquiam team. They were big and physical, as we expected,” said Wiley. “However, despite our strong defensive and rebounding showing, we couldn’t get things going on offense.”

Stanley Hylton led CHS scoring with six points. He also had seven rebounds, while Trenton Howard had five rebounds and Hunter Harmon grabbed four.

At Goldendale 60, Columbia 35: The Bruins’ tour of communities outside the Southwest District continued on Dec. 4, with a trip to intra-county rival Golden-dale.

The Bruins played better than they did in their season opener but still came out on the short end of the score.

“We were off to a much better start offensively, scoring 24 in the first half,” Wiley said.

Jacob Lockman scored six first-quarter points before going down with a knee injury.

Trenton Howard finished with a team-high 11 points to go with four steals. Chandlor Bucklin crashed the boards for a team-best eight rebounds.

Coming up: The Bruins are on the road again this week. They played a non-league game at Corbett on Tuesday and visit Dufur for the same on Thursday. The ball goes up for grabs at Dufur at 7:30 p.m.

Next week, the Bruins have three 7 p.m. non-league tip-offs in Miller Gym: Dec. 17 vs. Three Rivers (Kelso), Dec. 18 vs. River-side (Boardman, Ore.), and Dec. 20 vs. Highland out of the Central Washington 1A Athletic Conference.

Junior Varsity Report: The CHS JV is 0-3 after losing to Goldendale here Monday. A score was unavailable at press time.