Broncos fall in nail-biter to Colfax

COLFAX – The game between Lind-Ritzville/Sprague/Washtucna/Harrington and Colfax came down to the very last possession Dec. 17.

But Bulldog Seth Lustig tipped the game to Colfax, 56-53, as time ran out.

The teams found themselves tied at 5 points apiece with 3:50 to go in the opening quarter. The Broncos ended up taking a 13-12 lead at the end of the first quarter and went on to add 1 more point in the opening minute of the second quarter, for a 16-14 lead.

A 3-pointer by Colfax's Mason Gilchrist was immediately followed by a dunk by Adrik Jenkin to give the Bulldogs a 5-point swing and a 19-16 lead with 6:20 to go in the first half.

After Colfax went up by 4, Lind-Ritzville/Sprague clawed back to make it a 23-21 game.

The final few minutes of the first half saw several runs by both teams.

Colfax went on a 7-2 run to take a 30-23 lead; the Broncos went on an 8-4 run to cut the lead to a 34-31 at halftime.

Lind-Ritzville/Sprague took the lead back with 5:26 left in the third quarter, after a Brock Kinch 3-pointer. The Broncos expanded their lead to 41-37 with 3:32 left in the frame.

Colfax found itself down 48-39 before another set of a Gilchrist 3-pointers and a Reece Jenkin dunk cut the lead to 48-44 heading into the final 8 minutes.

Colfax would go up 52-50 with 4:32 to go in the game off two Lustig free throws, which the Bulldogs built into a 54-50 lead in the final 1:29.

"I saw two really good basketball teams go and just compete and show a lot of grit," Colfax Coach Reece Jenkin said. "We had a 4-point lead with a minute-and-a-half left and I just talked to our kids and said 'just got to get stops, just got to get stops.'

"And we just got enough of them to get a 'W.' Lind-Ritzville/Sprague – they're a heck of a team."

The final outcome came down to the wire.

The Broncos got within a point, 54-53, and had possession with 30.4 seconds left, but missed a shot for the lead.

Lind-Ritzville/Sprague had one more possession – but was called for an offensive foul, and was forced to foul the Bulldogs, which were in the bonus.

Lustig made both free-throws to make the score 56-53, which ended up being the final score.