Reardan boys defeated by Colfax, NWC

REARDAN-The Screaming Eagles faced another tough matchup when Colfax, boasting a 10-1 record, came to town. The Bulldogs, led by Adrik Jenkin, pulled away late in the game to win 64-52 on Friday, Jan. 6.

Behind the scoring of Jakari Singleton and Tristin McCrea, Reardan jumped out to a 13-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The teams traded buckets in the second quarter, which featured a duel between Colfax's Seth Lustig and Reardan's Logan Flaa, who each hit crucial shots from the field. Each player scored 11 first half points. Colfax went into the locker room leading 30-28.

Reardan kept it close in the third quarter. Flaa hit two shots from 3-point land and Rysen Soliday added another. Colfax countered Reardan's outside shooting with a balanced scoring attack spread evenly between six players. At the end of three quarters, Colfax maintained a 46-42 lead.

The Bulldogs took control of the game in the fourth quarter. After Jenkin hit two treys, the Bulldogs were off and running, never to look back. Baskets by Mason Gilchrist, Jaxon Wick and James Wigen allowed Colfax to outscore Reardan 18-10 in the final stanza to secure the 64-52 victory.

Jenkin hit five 3-point shots to lead the Bulldogs in scoring with 15 points. Lustig, Bradyn Heilsberg and Wick scored 13, nine and eight points, respectively. Lustig also had seven assists. James Wigin controlled the boards for Colfax by securing six rebounds.

Flaa led Reardan in scoring with 18 points. He was followed by Soliday with 14 points and Singleton, who added 10 points along with 12 rebounds.

"Our energy was high, and it was a close game," Jenkin said. "We did a good job rebounding, moving the ball, scoring and taking time off the clock at the end of the game."

"I thought it was a tough basketball game," Colfax head coach Reece Jenkin said. "We have some good teams in the league. This wasn't our best game, but our kids continued to grind and found a way to get a win. We made a few mistakes but hopefully we'll learn from them and get better."

"Colfax is a good team," Reardan head coach Brian Graham said. "We played well against them, but our execution was lacking in the fourth quarter and that's why they pulled away. Rysen (Soliday) did a fantastic job holding Lustig to 13, but we couldn't stop Jenkin. He let it fly."

The win improved Colfax's overall record to 11-1 and 7-0 in NE2B games. Reardan dropped to 5-6 overall and 3-3 in league.

The Screaming Eagles stayed within striking distance of Northwest Christian until the fourth quarter when the Crusaders pulled away winning their NE2B boys basketball matchup 76-56 on Tuesday, Jan. 10.

Reardan opened the game with airballs and careless passing. Their ragged start allowed Northwest Christian to jump to a quick seven-point lead. Owee Handley's two steals and layups, along with Jakari Singleton asserting himself under the basket, enabled the Screaming Eagles to turn an 11-4 deficit into a 13-13 tie at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, NWC outscored Reardan 22-15 to take a 35-28 halftime lead.

The second half was a mixed bag for Reardan.

The Screaming Eagles fell behind by 12 points in the third quarter until Logan Flaa caught fire. His four 3-point shots and Singleton's solid play on both ends of the court brought Reardan to within four points when the buzzer sounded. Going into the fourth quarter, NWC led the game 50-46.

Then the wheels fell off.

Reardan's defense faltered, and they were unable to get the ball in the hoop. The Crusader's hit four 3-point shots and converted on six field goals to outscore Reardan 26-10 to end the game.

Singleton did most of the heavy lifting for Reardan. His 22 points and 15 rebounds earned him a double-double. Flaa ended the game with 14 points and Rysen Soliday scored 13.

Nathan Clark scored 30 points for the Crusaders.

"At the end of the day, it came down to who wanted it more," Singleton said. "They wanted it more and played like it. I guess we'll get them next time."

"They got hot tonight, so our zone wasn't effective," Reardan head coach Brian Graham said. "They made shots I haven't seen them make in any film. Hats off to them. They didn't have a match for Jakari, but we couldn't seem to get him the ball. In the third we showed that we have the ability, but we got whupped in the fourth."

The loss dropped Reardan to 3-4 in league play. NWC improved to 5-2.