Colts get big road win

The Cottonwood Colts opened region play with a tough road win against the Jordan Beetdiggers

Cottonwood got out to a quick lead as Zach Nelson would score a layup on the opening possession, to give his team a 2-0 lead.  Andrew Lujan would then add to the lead moment later when he would make a layup to extend the lead to 4-0. Jordan would then come back and go on a 4-0 run to tie the game, but then the Colts would take the lead back on a layup by Malik Johnson to give them a 6-4 lead. Zach Nelson would then hit a 3 to extend the lead to 9-4 and the Colts would end the 1^st quarter with a 13-9 lead.

In the second quarter the Colts would start to pull away from Jordan thanks to their defense which held the Beetdiggers to 6 points in the quarter. Cottonwood would extend the lead to 14 at the half leading 29-15.

Andrew Lujan would begin the 3^rd quarter hitting a layup to push Cottonwood’s lead to 31-15 and moments later Naaman Saadiq would make a layup to give the Colt’s a 33-15 lead. Jordan would not go away quietly chipping away at the Colt’s lead, and would end the quarter on a 5-0 run after hitting a 3 and then a jumper at the buzzer to cut the lead to 38-33 heading to the 4^th.

Jordan would open the 4^th cutting Cottonwood’s lead to 3 38-35 but Andrew Lujan extended the lead back to 6 41-35 after completing a 3 point play after he was fouled. Jordan would then come back with 4 quick points cutting the lead to 41-39 causing the Colts to call timeout. Zach Nelson would then convert a free throw moments later to give the Colts a 42-39 lead, but the Beetdiggers continued to fight getting to within 1 at 44-43.  Nelson would then hit another free throw to give Cottonwood a 45-43 lead and Andrew Lujan would go on to seal the game for the Colts as he would convert 4 free throws to give the Colts a 49-43 win.

Coach Lance Gummersall had this to say after the game, “It feels very good as a coach to work on a game plan with your players and then see it work for a win in a big game. Our guys listened, played hard and didn’t quit, no matter how many runs Jordan went on. We did just enough to hang on for a win. We had a few guys in foul trouble who are usually on the game down the stretch, but were out at the end of the game because of fouls. Everyone still supported whoever was on the court. And that’s a good thing to be part of.”

Andrew Lujan led Cottonwood with another big game finishing with 18 points, Zach Nelson also had a solid game with 13 points and Britton Jensen add 8 points in the win.

The Colts will continue region play Tuesday night with a tough home game against the Grizzles of Copper Hills at 7 PM.

Close Call

The Cottonwood Colts lost a close game Friday night in a non-region game against the Eagles of Skyline.

Cottonwood got off to a horrible start falling behind 8-0 after Skyline made their first 4 by layups. Moments later The Colts cut the lead to 4 after 2 buckets by Britton Jensen, and a 3 by Spence McDonald would pulling the Colts within 2 at 7-9.  Cottonwood continued tying the game at 9 after another bucket by Jensen, after which the Eagles closed out the quarter leading by 11, 24-13.

The Colts locked down defensively in the second quarter holding the Eagles to 8 points in the quarter; while scoring 16 points to cut Skyline’s 11 point lead to 3 heading to the half trailing 32-29.

Skyline opened the 3^rd strong pushing the lead up to 5 34-29, continuing to extend the lead to 11 points at 50-39. Cottonwood continued to chip away at the lead but would not get any closer than 11 going into the 4^th trailing 50-39.

The Eagles opened the 4^th extending the lead to 13 points at 57-45, as the Colts went on a run eventually cutting the lead to 6 on a bucket by Zach Nelson with 1:15 left in the game. Malik Johnson would connect on a 3 moments later that would pull the Colts to within 3 60-57 with 9. 2 seconds left in the game. Cottonwood had the chance to tie the game and send it to over time with a final shot by Zach Nelson whose 3 fell short of the basket, losing a heart breaking 60-57.

Cottonwood Coach Lance Gummersall said this about his teams play after the game, “I thought we played more as a team for a longer period of time then we have all season. I hope we can learn that if we have intensity from the beginning of the game to the end, instead of just the end of games when we are behind.”

Cottonwood had a balanced attack as they were led by Spence McDonald who finished with a team high 13 points. Malik Johnson with 10 points, Zach Nelson and Andrew Lujan with 9 points followed by Naaman Sadiq and Britton Jensen with 6 each in the loss.

The Colts will now get some rest as they won’t hit the floor again till after the Christmas holiday when they will play in the Riverton Holiday Tournament on Wednesday December 28^th against the Lancers of Granger at 3:30 PM

An Exciting Win

What an exciting night for Coach Lance Gummersall and the Cottonwood Colts as they picked up their first win of the season in a thrilling 51-50 finish against Ben Lomond Friday night. 

Cottonwood started off the game very lackadaisical and would find themselves trailing the Scots by 5 13-8 at the end of the first quarter.

Preston Davis opened the second hitting a 3 to cut Ben Lomond’s lead to 2 13-11, moments later Cottonwood would take a one point lead 17-16 after Andrew Lujan converted a 3 point play. The Scots would take the momentum back late in the quarter taking a 7 point lead at the half 26-19.

Ben Lomond would pick up right where they left off and would extend the lead to 9 points early in the 3rd quarter. Cottonwood continued to chip away at the lead thank to their defense, and would find themselves in another close game 36-34 heading to the fourth.

The Scots would open the fourth extending the lead to 5 39-34, Cottonwood would tie the game at 39 on a 3 by Spence McDonald. Kalin Facemyer would then help the Colts regain the lead by 3 42-39 after he hit a 3 pointer of his own. 

Ben Lomond would come right back regain the lead late in the fourth 50-46, but Spence McDonald would hit 2 huge shots for the Colts. The first one put Cottonwood down 1 50-49 with 18.3 seconds left in the game, then he would give his team the lead 51-50 with 10.3 seconds left.

After the game Ben Lomond Coach Kable Smith said this about Cottonwood,” They play hard, they play fast and they are well coached. He continued “they have a lot of talent on their sophomore and JV teams that will help them be successful in the future. 

Cottonwood Coach Lance Gummersall had this to say about getting his first win,” When the buzzer went off I felt happy and relief for the boys and hopefully we can take this feeling into the rest of our season.”

The Colt’s will be back in action again Wednesday night as they head on the road to face the Spartans of Murray at 7 PM. 

Olympus vs Cottonwood

The Cottonwood Colts were looking for their first win of the season on the road Friday night, against the tough defending state champions Olympus Titans.

Cottonwood jumped out to an early 8-0 lead thanks to a pair of 3’s from Spence McDonald and a layup by Kalin Facemyer. Olympus would go on 8-0 run to tie the game at 8 and gained their first lead of the game at 10-8. The Colts would finish the quarter strong on another 3-pointer by McDonald and a layup by Naaman Sadiq to take a one point lead 15-14.

Olympus regained the lead early in the second 16-14 and would go on to push their lead to 6 at 22-15. Cottonwood continued to chip away at the Titans lead cutting the lead to 2 after a basket by Andrew Lujan with 2 minutes left in the half. Olympus ended the half on a hot streak going into the half leading by 8 33-25.

During Halftime I caught up with Cottonwood coach Lance Gummersall to get his thoughts on the first half, “Amazing effort the first two quarters. The team was engaged defensively and made a lot happen.”

The Titans broke the game open connecting on a pair of 3’s early in the 3^rd quarter extending their lead to 14 at 39-25. Cottonwood continued not give up showing heart and desire, but they were overmatch by the Titans findings themselves trailing 57-29 after 3 quarters.

The Titans locked down defensively in the 4^th as they would go on to outscore the Colts 26-8 and would go on to get the easy win 83-37.

After the game coach Gummersall had this to say about his team’s performance in the second half, “The second half we thought we could just show up and get the same result. If we could match our first quarter intensity for 4 quarters we could be a good team.”

Spence McDonald lead the Colts with 11 points, and Kalin Facemyer had 7.

Cottonwood will continue to look for their first win on the season again as they travel to face the Pirates of Cyprus Tuesday night a 7PM.

Insight from coach Gummersall

In preparation for the upcoming season new Cottonwood basketball coach Lance Gummersall gave some of his time to provide insight about himself and upcoming expectations for this season.

Q: What made you want to become a coach?

A: My first season coaching basketball was 2007 as a sophomore coach. The first day I walked into the gym and went through the process, I knew that I loved being part of the atmosphere and experience of a basketball season. Since that day I haven’t been able to leave the gym.

Q: What is your offensive philosophy going to be?

A: This season, based on the type of players we have we are going to have a uptempo style. We will also run a lot of set plays.

Q: What are your goals for the upcoming season?

A: Goals for the team this season will be to get better every day. Ultimately our goal is to qualify to make the state tournament.

Q: What are you looking for in a player?

A: The biggest attribute I am looking for in a player is one that is coachable and will try hard to get better at basketball every day. I also look for players that treat other people the right way and are good students.

Q: What would you like to teach your players besides basketball? How will you do that?

A: I would like to teach them to treat other people well. Always be nice to people and work hard in every aspect of life.

Q: Who is your greatest role model either personally or as a coach?

A: When I have been asked this question in the past my dad is the person who comes right to the front of my mind. And today it is still the same answer. He is the definition of consistency and hard work. I am greatful for the work ethic that he has shown me.

Q: What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses as a coach?

A: Communicating with my players is something that I pride myself in. I love the x’s and o’s of the game, and trying to find multiple ways to beat an opponent. My biggest weakness is the conditioning/weight training that doesn’t involve the basketball court. Because this is my weakness, I have surrounded myself with assistant coaches that are extremely strong in that area.

Q: What are your plans for turning the program around?

A: We are going to allow student-athletes who are committed to their grades and improving their basketball skills to lead our program in the right direction. Getting the community involved and excited about Colt basketball is a big part of our future goals. We want to start getting younger kids wearing and playing in Colt jerseys. We want being a Colt basketball player to be something special, and to mean something.

Q: What is one word or phrase you hope your players will use to describe you after your done coaching?

A: Hard worker.

Based upon the above insights we’re excited to see how coach Gummersall’s team does in their first season of overcoming obstacles and learning to work cohesively as a team.