Cottonwood boys hoops season ends with four straight losses
Apr 03, 2017 09:21AM ● By Brian Shaw
Tip-off of Cottonwood’s opening game of the season against Highland. (Highland High basketball)
By Brian Shaw
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When the season started, hopes were high for a young but talented Cottonwood boys basketball team that opened region play with a huge win over Jordan.
However, those hopes were soon extinguished when the realities of having to play in a tough region with such a youthful team came to light. The Colts rounded out the month of January with five straight losses and issues continued into February as Cottonwood endured a 98-40 setback to Copper Hills.
The final four games of the season ended in similar fashion for Cottonwood, who had the unfortunate luck of having to take on the eventual state champion Bingham Miners on Feb. 7.
Bingham 98, Cottonwood 35
Led by Utah commit, center Brendon Carlson had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Miners who led from start to finish, sending the Colts to a 98-35 loss.
In the loss to Bingham, sophomore forward Britton Jensen led Cottonwood with seven points, while 6-foot sophomore guard Preston Davis had a nice stat line of six points, three rebounds and two assists and senior guard Abdul Ado added five points—including a three pointer.
West Jordan 83, Cottonwood 44
On Feb.14, the Colts' issues continued at West Jordan, as the Jaguars climbed all over Cottonwood, taking a 24-7 lead into the second quarter. Things got worse for the Colts after that, as West Jordan increased its lead to 29 at the break en route to an 83-44 loss for Cottonwood.
For the Colts, junior guard Spence McDonald led the way with 13 points, knocking down three 3-point jumpers in the process. Junior Kobe Rosales chipped in seven points, including two 3-point shots from behind the arc.
Back at home, Cottonwood hoped to repeat the feat it almost accomplished earlier in the season by knocking off Taylorsville. The Colts came ever so close to upending the Warriors on the road a few weeks earlier, but alas, it was not to be.
Taylorsville 60, Cottonwood 40
The Colts history of starting slow bit them again as Taylorsville got out to a 16-7 first quarter lead and dealt Cottonwood a 60-40 loss on Feb. 17. The Colts clawed back into the contest in the second and third quarters before Taylorsville put the game out of reach with a 24-8 fourth quarter surge.
In one of his final games in a Colts uniform, senior forward Andrew Lujan led Cottonwood in scoring with 14 points—his best output in over a month. Britton Jensen had 11 points for the Colts in the loss.
Brighton 71, Cottonwood 43
In the Colts' final contest of the 2016-2017 season, Cottonwood traveled to Brighton to take on the Bengals Feb. 21. The Colts came out with intensity in the early going, trailing by just three points after one quarter.
But, the Bengals increased their lead to 11 at the break before they went on a 22-4 blitz in the third quarter to seal the Colts’ fate and send Cottonwood to a season ending defeat. The Colts finished the season at 3-19 overall, 1-11 in region play.
Lujan was the Colts leading scorer, averaging 10 points per contest in his final year at the school. McDonald and Jensen averaged about seven points per game, a good sign for a Colts team that is still very young as they move on into the 2017-18 season.
When the season started, hopes were high for a young but talented Cottonwood boys basketball team that opened region play with a huge win over Jordan.
However, those hopes were soon extinguished when the realities of having to play in a tough region with such a youthful team came to light. The Colts rounded out the month of January with five straight losses and issues continued into February as Cottonwood endured a 98-40 setback to Copper Hills.
The final four games of the season ended in similar fashion for Cottonwood, who had the unfortunate luck of having to take on the eventual state champion Bingham Miners on Feb. 7.
Bingham 98, Cottonwood 35
Led by Utah commit, center Brendon Carlson had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Miners who led from start to finish, sending the Colts to a 98-35 loss.
In the loss to Bingham, sophomore forward Britton Jensen led Cottonwood with seven points, while 6-foot sophomore guard Preston Davis had a nice stat line of six points, three rebounds and two assists and senior guard Abdul Ado added five points—including a three pointer.
West Jordan 83, Cottonwood 44
On Feb.14, the Colts' issues continued at West Jordan, as the Jaguars climbed all over Cottonwood, taking a 24-7 lead into the second quarter. Things got worse for the Colts after that, as West Jordan increased its lead to 29 at the break en route to an 83-44 loss for Cottonwood.
For the Colts, junior guard Spence McDonald led the way with 13 points, knocking down three 3-point jumpers in the process. Junior Kobe Rosales chipped in seven points, including two 3-point shots from behind the arc.
Back at home, Cottonwood hoped to repeat the feat it almost accomplished earlier in the season by knocking off Taylorsville. The Colts came ever so close to upending the Warriors on the road a few weeks earlier, but alas, it was not to be.
Taylorsville 60, Cottonwood 40
The Colts history of starting slow bit them again as Taylorsville got out to a 16-7 first quarter lead and dealt Cottonwood a 60-40 loss on Feb. 17. The Colts clawed back into the contest in the second and third quarters before Taylorsville put the game out of reach with a 24-8 fourth quarter surge.
In one of his final games in a Colts uniform, senior forward Andrew Lujan led Cottonwood in scoring with 14 points—his best output in over a month. Britton Jensen had 11 points for the Colts in the loss.
Brighton 71, Cottonwood 43
In the Colts' final contest of the 2016-2017 season, Cottonwood traveled to Brighton to take on the Bengals Feb. 21. The Colts came out with intensity in the early going, trailing by just three points after one quarter.
But, the Bengals increased their lead to 11 at the break before they went on a 22-4 blitz in the third quarter to seal the Colts’ fate and send Cottonwood to a season ending defeat. The Colts finished the season at 3-19 overall, 1-11 in region play.
Lujan was the Colts leading scorer, averaging 10 points per contest in his final year at the school. McDonald and Jensen averaged about seven points per game, a good sign for a Colts team that is still very young as they move on into the 2017-18 season.
