Saturday, January 22, 1999

Columbian hot in 1st half, cold in 2nd

By Dave Feltner
Sports Editor

WILLARD &emdash; The roller coaster ride that is Columbian's shooting hit all the peaks and valleys against Willard Friday night.

But this time the valleys were downright cavernous.

The Tornadoes were a scorching 4-of-5 from 3-point range in the first half, but could only hit 7 of its 22 shots in the second half of a 73-49 loss to Willard.

The loss slips Columbian to 5-3 in the NOL, while the Flashes, ranked fifth among Division II schools in the state, are 8-0.

"We didn't even get many shots in the second half," Columbian coach Matt Hutchinson said. "We're still waiting to shoot the ball well and do it on a consistent basis. We've still got a lot of basketball to play in this season so hopefully that will take care of itself.

"I thought we handled their one, three, one (press) well in the first half," he said. "But in the third quarter we made some poor decisions with the basketball. We turned it over against their press and gave them easy baskets. We let them have the momentum and they just took it from there."

Momentum took up residence on the TC sideline in the first half.

Todd Focht hit a pair of 3s, and Brian Eachus and Jason Gottfried each hit one to help the Tornadoes build a 32-27 halftime lead.

Columbian also outrebounded Willard in the first half (16-15) and turned the ball over just eight times.

But in the third quarter momentum not only shifted sides, it devoured the Tornadoes.

Columbian hit just 3-of-12 from the field in the third, turned the ball over five times, got outrebounded 13-8 and outscored 18-7.

"We were pretty happy with where we were at halftime, but by no means did we think it was over," Hutchinson said. "We told the guys, 'if you thought the first half was a battle, wait 'til you see the second half.' And it was. They have some very good basketball players that made some great plays. They made a lot more plays than we did in the second half so they get the win."

It started immediately in the third quarter. Charlie Frye worked his way to the foul line, a recurring theme for Willard in the second half, in the Flashes' first possession.

Frye hit both, then stuck a jumper in the lane to bring Willard within two. A foul shot by Dustin Jacobs tied it before Focht hit a jumper to give TC its last lead of the game.

Frye finished the quarter with eight points and Chad Carr came off the bench to hit a big 3, and the Crimson Flashes had a 45-39 advantage for the fourth quarter.

Gottfried hit a 3 to bring Columbian within 45-42, but the Tornadoes hit just one more bucket over the next five-and-a-half minutes, a layup by Brad Cox.

During that same stretch, Willard rattled off 22 points and built a 63-44 lead.

The Flashes hit 23-of-30 from the foul for the game, compared to Columbian's 3-of-5. Willard made 19 foul shots in the second half, while the Tornadoes scored just 17 total points.

"I have a lot of respect for Matt Hutchinson," Willard coach Greg Nossaman said. "I know I've only been in the league for two years, but I have the utmost respect for him. And I knew he'd bring his kids in ready to play. They've been playing some solid basketball. They did a great job against our trapping defense. They did a good job of making the extra pass, and they hit some open shots.

"I'm glad we're done with them. I'm glad we don't have to go over their again, and I'm glad they're Division I so we don't have to worry about them in the tournament."

Focht finished with 12 points to Columbian. Cox had nine and Gottfried and Chris Brooks totaled eight apiece.

Derek Fey and Frye each had 19 to lead Willard.