Colts Battle Back, But Drop to Freeport

Things haven't been so fun recently for the Calhoun boys basketball team.

Going into Tuesday's game against Freeport, they had suffered nine straight losses, and they were clashing against a Red Devils team that was 9-5 coming in. Unfortunately for Calhoun, the number 10 would be a major theme of the evening, as the Colts suffered their 10th straight loss and the Red Devils earned their 10th victory in the Calhoun gymnasium. The final score was 51-40.

John Wigand led the way for the Colts with 20 points.  Andrew Lief and Matt Trepel both chipped in six for Calhoun. Freeport's leading scorers were Danny Andre with 14 and Jared Staton with 10.

Freeport (10-5) was relentless early. Not only were they crashing the boards to get second and third chances, but they applied a full court press throughout the majority of the game. That forced Jay Kreutzberger's team to make careless passes, and the turnovers began to pile up, which led to a 16-8 Freeport lead at the end of the first quarter.  

The second quarter wouldn't get any easier for Calhoun. Andre was heating up from the field for Freeport, and the Colts had gone cold. In fact, they only managed to score five points on two baskets in the period. Andre outscored them by himself with eight in the quarter. The half ended with the Colts trailing by 21.

"It's about playing a complete game," Andre said. "I am not satisfied by the way we or I played. I am never satisfied until we play at the best of our abilities."

Although things weren't going their way, the Colts continued to play hard, and Freeport coach Bob DeBonis was impressed by that.

"They kept on giving us everything they had," DeBonis said. "We had a very big lead in the fourth quarter, and they started making things interesting. Luckily we were able to hold on."

The Colts (3-12) were able to hold the visiting Red Devils to just seven points in the third quarter and 17 points total in the second half. Despite the fact that they excelled defensively, Calhoun assistant coach Brian Moehler is looking forward to tonight's showdown against rival Mepham.

"We are really sick of this," Moehler said. "Thursday should be a winnable game. Hopefully, the kids will want to talk more after a win."

The Calhoun players were unavailable for comment.

Tonight is huge game for the Colts, because after that, they will travel to Plainview, where the Hawks have just one loss on the season.

One thing is for sure: The 6:30 p.m. tip-off in the Calhoun gym versus Mepham won't be the one to miss.