Sports
Calhoun Doesn’t Play Well with Friends
Colts tournament run ends early with a 56-21 loss to Quakers.
The Calhoun Colts stayed close in the first quarter of Wednesday's game against Friends Academy, and then they went cold. Ice cold.
What started as a defensive battle, with both teams combining for just 18 points in the first quarter, quickly turned into a Friends Academy romp as they downed the Colts 56-21 in the first round of a tournment at MacArthur High School in Levittown.
The second quarter marked the beginning of the end for the Colts, as they shot 2 of 7 from the field, while Friends Academy drained 7 of 9 buckets.
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"I give credit to Friends Academy, they were very deliberate offensively," said Calhoun Coach Jay Kreutzberger, whose team dropped their first game of the season. "They executed their plays and found their open shooters often in the second quarter."
The Colts did not score a point in the second quarter until the clock ticked below three minutes, when junior Kyle Foy hit a free throw. Junior forward Andrew Lief hit a buzzer-beater to end the quarter, but the damage was done as the Colts headed to the locker room in a 15-point hole.
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Things only got worse in the third quarter as the Colts turned the ball over four times and managed just five points in the period. Quakers junior TJ Hefele accounted for six of his team's 17 points in the quarter.
"I thought our defense played strong throughout the game," Friends Academy Coach Steve Hefele said. "We felt the need to take away the inside game of their big man, John Wigand."
Wigand erupted for 34 points in a Colts victory over Island Trees on Monday, but the Quakers shutdown the junior forward, who finished with three points on the night.
Kreutzberger praised his team's first quarter defense, but there was little else to shine a positive light on.
"We really could not find any rhythm offensively," Kreutzberger said. "We are relatively inexperienced and never adapted to create good opportunities.
Calhoun (2-1) will look to get back on the winning track next Tuesday, December 15, when they host Syosset.
