Collegiate boys right where they expected to be after win at Buhler (+video)

The Collegiate boys have been chock full of potential since they finished second in Class 3A last March. With eight seniors, all who play, the Spartans have been considered contenders to win the Class 4A-II title since before the season started.

Yet Collegiate has had some head-scratching moments, including a loss to eighth-seeded Campus in the first round of the El Dorado tournament on Jan. 21.

“We came out really soft,” Collegiate senior Cameron Christian said. “We didn’t play to our full potential. We came out expecting to win.”

Since the fourth quarter of that game, though, Collegiate has risen to the level coach Mitch Fiegel expects.

Friday Collegiate beat host Buhler 76-72 to improve to 12-3. Buhler is 10-4.

“Get beat by the eight seed, that was a wakeup call of all wakeup calls,” Fiegel said. “… We held (Campus) to five points (in the fourth quarter), and basically since that quarter, we did not look back defensively.

“That’s the biggest thing I’ve been getting them to try to buy into — we can bring the attitude and effort on defense every night. That’s in our control.”

The defense was vital against a sweet-shooting Buhler team, which made 10 of 19 three-pointers, including 6 of 10 in the first half. The Crusaders twice made threes in the final seconds of a quarter.

Buhler’s Noah Webster scored a game-high 24 points, making 6 of 7 field goals through the first three periods. Tanner Lackey was 3 of 4 from three and had 16 points. Jace Williams had 15 points with four dunks.

While Buhler shot 24 of 51 from the field, Collegiate was able to keep the intensity high.

“We wanted to come out and be who we are … that was to be tenacious, to share the ball, to do the dirty work,” Fiegel said. “That’s what we did tonight.”

Collegiate raced to a 10-1 lead in the game’s first three minutes, getting a four-point play from Kendall Reed.

“They smacked us in the mouth early,” Buhler coach Ryan Swanson said. “We responded. Showed what we are about.”

Easton Brown hit back-to-back threes to spark the Buhler offense. Buhler took the lead to start the second quarter and didn’t trail until early in the third.

But as well as Buhler’s offense played, Collegiate’s defense caused problems.

“We just played our defense,” said Christian, who had 16 points and two blocked shots. “Disrupted what they wanted to do, and that’s why we got the dub.”

Collegiate trailed by three after three periods — Lackey hit a last-second three to end the quarter — but sophomore Cody McNerney opened the final period with a three-point play after driving inside.

Collegiate went on an 8-0 run to lead 57-52 with 6:17 to go.

Up 64-60 midway through the period, Collegiate guard Xzavaier Adams got a steal and McNerney scored in transition. On the next Buhler possession, McNerney got one of his three steals.

The Spartans’ offense — which is averaging 71.3 points — was also helped by the fact that they rely heavily on a five-in, five-out system, so they were fresh.

“Coach says, ‘keep going, keep going, they’ll tire,’ ” McNerney said.

His four fourth-quarter baskets were all on drives to the basket, including two fastbreaks. He finished with a team-high 23 points, scoring 11 in the final period. He made 8 of 9 free throws and shot 7 of 13 from the field.

Collegiate shot 11 of 14 free throws in the fourth quarter, including Adams’ 6 of 6. The Spartans, who made 24 of 49 field goals, were 25 of 32 from the free-throw line.

“This is the team who we thought we could be,” Fiegel said.

This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 10:47 PM with the headline "Collegiate boys right where they expected to be after win at Buhler (+video)."