Saints drop tough game in Colby

COLBY, Kan. – A poor shooting performance from the Seward County men's basketball team prevented a halftime comeback against the Colby Trojans on Saturday night, losing 68-62 in the final minutes of the game.

The game started off promising with the Saints connecting on their first shot attempt with an Isiah Small layup, beginning a 10-6 run over the first six minutes of the game.  Momentum quickly turned in favor of the Trojans however, as they went on an 11-0 run over the next four minutes to take a seven-point lead at the media timeout.  

Through the first 10 minutes of action, the Saints shot just 23.1 percent (3 of 13) from the floor, while making just 1 of 5 three-point attempts.  The Trojans on the other hand, couldn't miss, hitting 6 of their 11 shot attempts (54.5%).

Coming out of the media timeout, Colby continued with their hot hand, pushing the lead up to 12 points with six minutes to play in the half.  Just as the game seemed to be getting out of hand, Hegel Augustin went to the line and made both of his free-throws, starting a 17-7 run to end the half.  The run cut the deficit to just two points, with the Trojans leading 33-31 at the break.

While the first ten minutes weren't kind to the Saints, they finished making 7 of their final 13 attempts in the half, pushing their shooting percentage to 38.5 percent (10 of 26).  The Trojans cooled down some, but still shot 48.0 percent (12 of 25) in the first half).

After trading baskets in the first few possessions, Karel Trunecek scored five straight points to give the Saints a one-point lead, 38-37.  The lead extended to three points with a Small layup, but the Trojans prevented the Saints from pushing the lead any further, going on a 5-0 to retake the lead.

With four minutes to play, Augustin was sent to the free-throw line.  Making both free-throws, the Saints took a one-point lead, but on the box out of the second shot, Augustin fell to the ground and was called for a technical foul for flopping.  Colby went to the line, making both free-throws and regained the lead, which would not be given up again.  

The free-throws started a 10-0 run for the Trojans, putting Colby up nine points with just under two minutes to play. Seward cut the lead to five, but the deficit was too much for the time remaining, as the Trojans went on to win by six, 68-62.

The Saints finished the game shooting 35.6 percent (21 of 59) from the floor and just 20.0 percent (4 of 20) from deep.  The Trojans shot 43.8 percent (21 of 48) from the field and 28.6 percent (4 of 14) from behind the arc. Colby outrebounded Seward 44-31.

Small came away with his third straight double-double, finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds.  Terrell Alfred joined Small in double-figures, scoring 11 points off the bench.  

Seward will travel to Dodge City at 8 p.m. on Wednesday (Jan. 10) to take on the Conquistadors. Dodge City will live-stream the game and it can be heard on 107.5 KSCB with Brock Kappelmann (pxp) on the call.