Tough Season Ends for Calhoun, but Colts Optimistic With Entire Starting Lineup Returning Next Year

The Calhoun Colts entered Monday's contest at Plainview JFK coming off their first conference win of the year.  

But the Hawks made certain it would be their first and last, as Plainview rolled over Calhoun 72-41 to put an end to the season for the Colts.  

Calhoun coach Jay Kreutzberger summed up his team's performance in a brief statement after the game.

"We did not perform at a very high level," Kreutzberger said. "We didn't execute in any phase of the game."

It was senior night for Plainview, and they honored their senior players before the game. The ceremony appeared to have inspired the team, as they began the game playing with tremendous passion, scoring early and often. Calhoun's Devon Pazmino tied the game up at 2-2 with a nifty underhand shot, but that was the closest Calhoun would be at any point in the game.

After Corey Maiorana converted a three-point play to put Plainview up 17-8 with 2:49 remaining in the quarter, the team would not relent. Brett Lawler hit a three-pointer with seconds left in the quarter, and the Hawks led by a score of 25-10. Lawler would finish the game with 13 points.

"We had a lot of chemistry," Lawler said. "I've been playing with these boys for a while so this was definitely a good way to go out."

Calhoun would tighten up their defense in the second quarter, holding the Hawks to 12 points. However, they continued to struggle offensively, scoring just 10 points. They hit only three field goals in the quarter, and didn't convert their first until Danny Trepel hit a layup with 2:40 remaining.

It looked like they would score earlier in the quarter when Pazmino was driving down the court for a fast break layup, but Plainview's Greg Rankel swatted the ball away from behind with authority to record the block. The play received a loud ovation from the home faithful, and the team went into the locker room at halftime with a commanding lead, 37-20.

"We're a pretty talented team and the guys made a lot of shots," Plainview JFK coach Mike Harris said. "Overall they played pretty well. Defense is the mainstay of our team and we didn't let up any easy baskets."

Things would only get uglier for Calhoun in the third quarter. They tried to keep the game close, but the Hawks would score four points in a ten-second span to push the lead back to 17. Sloppy passes by the Colts led to many turnovers, and after Zach Amateau hit a three-pointer with 3:40 remaining, the Hawks' lead would balloon to 20. By the end of the quarter, The Colts trailed by a score of 51-28.

"I think we played pretty well as a team," said Amateau, who led all scorers with 20 points. "We shot pretty well and played good defense."

Throughout the fourth quarter, coach Harris would remove his starters so that they could receive applause from the crowd in their last regular-season home game. Even with their backups in the game, the Hawks would expand their lead. They scored the first seven points of the quarter, and would not let up despite the giant lead. 

Plainview JFK (9-3, 12-5) managed to have 11 different players score in the game. Along with Amateau 20 points and Lawler's 13 points, Maiorana scored seven, Rankel also scored seven, Rob Rothman had six, and Jon Farber chipped in with five points.

Calhoun's (1-11, 4-13) leading scorer was Danny Trepel, who finished with 10 points. Pazmino and John Wigand had eight points each, and Chad Fuschillo scored seven.

Despite the disappointing end to the season, Calhoun's Andrew Lief – who scored two points in the game – was optimistic about his team's future.

"It was a tough season," Lief said. "But we'll learn from it and try to build on it. Our entire starting lineup is returning so we'll have the same core, and we'll try to win next year."