B-T boys basketball season ends in Colfax

The Blair-Taylor boys basketball team couldn’t get a shot to fall for six minutes as Colfax scored 14 straight points and went on to win 70-57.

The Wildcats took a 22-21 lead with six minutes left in the first half of their Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association regional quarterfinal game in Colfax last week Tuesday. However, B-T wouldn’t score for the final six minutes of the half, while the Vikings put up 14 straight to take a 13-point lead into halftime.

 “We just couldn’t get a shot to drop in that six-minute stretch and that really put us behind the eight ball,” B-T coach Randy Storlie said. 

Colfax lead by as much as 21 in the second half, but B-T made one last run. The Wildcats connected on some shots and cut the lead down to eight with three minutes remaining. 

The comeback could not be completed, however, as the Vikings made free throws down the stretch to clinch the win.

Storlie said the game came down to free throws as Colfax made 16-of-19, while B-T was three-for-five. 

“Our guys played so hard tonight,” Storlie said. “They beat us on the free-throw line as they were more aggressive than us and their over-all size gave us a lot of match-up problems.”

Evan Nehring led the Wildcats with 17 points and he pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds. Ethan Knisely scored 16 points; Jaren Swanson, 11; Michael Waldera and Gabe Armitage, five and Tavian Shramek, three.

Storlie said it was an “unexpected successful” season as the team went 13-11 and finished third in the Dairyland Conference Large Division with an 8-6 mark. B-T was the ninth seed in the regional. 

Colfax, the eighth seed, went on to fall to (1) Fall Creek in the regional semifinal last Friday. 

The Wildcats will graduate five seniors including Nehring, Armitage, Swanson, Shane Smith and Jacob Stalheim. Storlie expects his team to be competitive again next year, however. 

“We have a nice nucleus of guys coming back and are already looking forward to next year,” Storlie said. “I need to thank the seniors who played so hard for us and were great teammates for this program.”