Community School boys' basketball coach Erik Olson knew he had a young team that might be in for some long nights, but he couldn't have foreseen the shellacking his team received at the hands of visiting Castleford last Thursday in Sun Valley.
Last year's State 1A Division 2 runner-up team, Castleford (1-0) shined a spotlight on the gulf in experience between the two teams with a dominant 72-18 victory over the neophyte Cutthroats at the Fish Tank.
Castleford's dominance was apparent early and often as its suffocating and speedy defense created easy baskets. Starting three seniors and two juniors who accounted for 48 of their points, the Wolves jumped to a 21-4 lead after the first and stretched it to 49-10 at the half.
The visitors had balanced scoring on the night, led by Clayton Kline's 19 points. Tyler Hansen (13), Kale Weekes (8) and Cody Hansen (8) rounded out Castleford's leaders.
The Cutthroats, who played five freshmen, were led by point guard Taylor Adler's 10 points along with 8 points from Henry Rickbeil (6 rebounds). Freshmen Jake Flaherty, Doug Dufur, Nick Krekow, Bobby Corker and Reed Roudabush all played with spirit and determination.
Coach Olson said with a chuckle, "Those freshmen were incredible. We were getting dominated and they kept playing like it was no big deal. That was very encouraging for me."
The Cutthroats (0-2, 0-0 league) will have to dust themselves off and prepare for the visit of Murtaugh (1-1), another Northside Conference power, on Thursday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Fish Tank. The Red Devils beat Camas County 84-55 but lost at Richfield 38-32 last Thursday.
Next Tuesday's road game at Magic Valley Christian (0-2) should be an interesting challenge for the Cutthroats. The Conquerors lost by 34 points at Camas County last Thursday and 64-10 at Carey on Nov. 30.
Girls fall to Castleford
Coach Erika Connelly's Cutthroat girls (0-3, 0-1) battled hard for the first three periods but ran out of steam in the fourth against Castleford (1-3) Thursday at home. The Wolves had a 20-1 edge in the fourth.
The final score favored Castleford 57-23. Speedy guard Lisa Canuto (12 points) was one of three Wolves in double figures. TCS scorers were Natalie Goddard 9 points, Julie Doan 4, Ella Marks 4, Taylor Figge 2, Chelsea Cloud 2 and Daniela Stokes 2.
The Cutthroat girls host Murtaugh (0-3) Thursday at 6 p.m. The Red Devils lost by 46 points at Richfield (4-2) last week.
