Scoring did not come easy in the first-round matchup between Colfax and LaConner in the State B basketball tournament on Thursday.
By the time the final buzzer sounded, though, it was Colfax who ultimately got the job done, beating LaConner 44-28 at the Spokane Arena.
"The first one, the kids are always a little bit nervous, anxious, but I thought our kids did a great job, got off to a quick start," Colfax head coach Reece Jenkin said. "Defensively, for the most part, we executed and did what we needed to do."
It certainly was not an easy win for the Bulldogs, who went through scoreless periods of four and eight minutes. The eight-minute stretch came in the second quarter for the Bulldogs, but the Braves matched Colfax for six of those minutes without a bucket themselves.
LaConner shot just 1-for-15 (6.67 percent) from 3-point range and 12-for-49 (24.5 percent) from the field. Colfax didn't do much better, hitting 17-of-44 (38.6 percent) shots from the field.
"Holy cow, we had some looks, some layups, just had a tough time getting some of those things to fall," Jenkin said. "Being in a little bit of an open arena, it's a little bit of a different background for the kids. Thank goodness, I don't think it got into our heads too much."
With the second-quarter scoring drought, the teams limped to halftime with Colfax holding a 24-13 lead.
Spencer Novak scored six of LaConner's first 10 points to open the second half and to bring the Braves within five, at 28-23. Kasey Johnson responded with a 3-pointer, though, and Brandon Gfeller hit a long jumper to give Colfax some breathing room.
Gfeller led all scorers with 14 points, while Johnson added 10. Novak had 13 points for the Braves, but shot just 1-for-10 from beyond the arc.
LaConner faces Winlock at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, while Colfax advances to the winner's bracket with a 12:15 p.m. contest against Wahkiakum.
"You get here when there's eight great teams, every team's going to be tough," Jenkin said. "You're always excited to be able to move on, now we got to get ready for another tough one tomorrow."
Colfax held on to beat LaConner 44-28 to advance to the semifinals on Friday (Photo: SWX)
