Colby upsets Columbus Catholic: A look at central Wisconsin boys conference standings

MARSHFIELD – Tuesday's boys basketball matchup at Columbus Catholic between the hosting Dons and visiting Colby Hornets was a critical one for each team's Cloverbelt-East title hopes.

The Dons entered the game 7-0 in the conference, helping them keep pace with undefeated Neillsville. Colby was not far behind at 6-2, but was on the verge of slipping out of the conference race with a second loss to Columbus Catholic in a week.

MORE: 'Iron sharpens iron': Wausau West girls preparing for first-ever WIAA state wrestling meet

"We were 9-3 coming into this, but everybody on our team knew we had to beat a really, really good team. Those were our three losses on the year, were to pretty good teams," Colby head coach James Flink said.

A swarm of 3-pointers for the Hornets helped them seize control early and hang on late in a 75-68 win over the Dons. Mateo Lopez got things started with a triple, before Brody Decker and Kaden Wiese followed with conversions on a 9-4 start for Colby. It was Decker who emerged as the premier threat from beyond the arc, however, as he hit five first-half 3-pointers that had the Hornets up by as much as 15 midway through the half.

"Last year he came up (from JV) and played varsity, and he kind of struggled with his shot," Flink said. "Now this year, it’s unbelievable. He’s such a great 3-point shooter, you’d think every time he shoots the ball it’s going to go in."

"We were getting the ball inside and they kicked it out," Decker said. "It was coming off my hand really well, so I just kept shooting. They were open threes, so I’m not going to pass up an open three when it's there."

Columbus Catholic came back within 36-33 at the half, thanks in part to nine points from Charlie Moore, who had 15 for the game as the Dons' second-leading scorer.

An 11-2 run out of halftime for Colby proved a decisive blow, however, as Columbus could not match Colby's 14 threes for the game despite hitting 11 of its own.

Decker and Richard Streveler led the Hornets with 19 points each, while Sam Wilcek led the Dons with 17 points.

Dons head coach Joe Konieczny said the conference ramifications are not something his team focuses on at this point in the season, but that the message to his players was "Come tomorrow ready to improve and we'll be fine."

"The important things as far as lessons learned and finding out who you are as a person are still on the table," Konieczny said.

A look around central Wisconsin boys basketball conference races

All records are through reported Thursday night games.

Central Wisconsin-East

Standings: Iola-Scandinavia 8-0, Wittenberg-Birnamwood 5-3, Shiocton 4-4, Amherst 3-4, Bonduel 3-4, Weyauwega-Fremont 2-4, Menominee Indian 0-6

Iola-Scandinavia continues to distance itself from the pack, moving to 8-0 with a Thursday night win over Wittenberg-Birnamwood. The schedule ahead includes a Tuesday home date with Amherst and a road trip Friday to Weyauwega-Fremont.

Central Wisconsin-North

Standings: Manawa 8-0, Gresham Community 7-0, Northland Lutheran 6-2, Bowler 6-3, Marion 3-6, Wisconsin Valley Lutheran 2-5, Tigerton 1-8, White Lake 0-9

Northland Lutheran bounced back from consecutive losses to Manawa and Gresham Community with an 82-27 win over White Lake last Friday, but remains behind the conference leaders as the Wildcats are scheduled to host Marion on Tuesday and travel to Tigerton on Friday.

Central Wisconsin-South

Standings: Almond-Bancroft 6-1, Pacelli 6-1, Port Edwards 5-1, Pittsville 2-3, Rosholt 2-4, Wild Rose 1-5, Tri-County 0-7

A scheduled Monday matchup between Almond-Bancroft and Port Edwards could shake things up in the conference as we enter the home stretch, while Pacelli travels to Pittsville on Tuesday in its next scheduled conference game.

Cloverbelt-East

Standings: Neillsville 9-0, Columbus Catholic 7-1, Colby 8-2, Loyal 5-4, Owen-Withee 5-5, Spencer 2-7, Greenwood 1-8, Gilman 0-10

Columbus Catholic lost ground in the conference with its home loss to Colby, but will need to regroup before a Feb. 7 home date with Neillsville. Colby enters a challenging stretch of road games both inside and outside the conference as it travels to Marathon, Neillsville and Stratford over the next two weeks. Neillsville travels to Loyal on Feb. 4 and Columbus Catholic the following Monday as it looks to preserve its conference lead.

Great Northern

Standings: Mosinee 7-0, Northland Pines 4-1, Rhinelander 4-1, Medford 3-3, Lakeland 2-4, Antigo 1-5, Tomahawk 0-7

Mosinee pulled out a 59-56 win over Northland Pines on Monday to remain undefeated in the conference. Rhinelander gets its shot to avenge a 54-42 loss Dec. 17 to Mosinee on Friday, and Northland Pines will have another shot the following Tuesday on Feb. 8.

Marawood-North

Standings: Athens 7-3, Chequamegon 6-5, Prentice 5-6, Rib Lake 3-7, Abbotsford 1-10, Phillips 1-10

All three of Athens' conference and overall losses have come at the hands of Marawood-South teams in crossover games. The Bluejays will have an opportunity to pad their conference lead with matchups at Rib Lake on Tuesday and at Assumption on Friday.

Marawood-South

Standings: Marathon 10-1, Stratford 10-1, Newman Catholic 8-3, Edgar 5-5, Auburndale 5-6, Assumption 3-7

The stage is set for a barn-burner Tuesday night in Stratford as the Tigers host Marathon in a rematch with massive conference implications. Marathon won the first meeting 61-55 on Dec. 17.

South Central

Standings: Mauston 4-1, Wisconsin Dells 4-1, Wautoma 3-1, Adams-Friendship 3-2, Nekoosa 1-4, Westfield 0-6

Consecutive wins over Nekoosa for Adams-Friendship this week on Tuesday and Thursday have buoyed the Green Devils' South Central hopes. Next week they get two shots to leapfrog conference foes as they host Wautoma on Tuesday and Mauston on Thursday.

Wisconsin Valley

Standings: Marshfield 7-0, SPASH 5-1, D.C. Everest 5-2, Wausau West 3-4, Merrill 2-5, Wausau East 1-4, Wisconsin Rapids 0-7

D.C. Everest had the opportunity to do much more than just play spoiler down the stretch entering Friday's contest with Marshfield. Regardless of the outcome there, the Evergreens will also have a chance to hand SPASH a crucial loss Feb. 4 as the Panthers attempt to keep pace with the conference-leading Tigers.

Contact USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin sports reporter Zac Bellman at zbellman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ZacBellman_WNY.

Thanks to our subscribers for making this coverage possible. Your support helps local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Marshfield News-Herald: High school boys basketball: Central Wisconsin conference standings