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There’s no such thing as easy when it comes to winning a title race in sports. The Cards’ varsity basketball team is finding that out for themselves this season as one of the district’s top teams. After a dominating run to begin district play, they have started to get every team’s best shot as they recently completed a stretch of five straight games that finished with a single-possession final margin. Results have varied for the Cards as they went 3-2 during that stretch, sometimes showing great composure and hitting huge shots, other times just missing on a few key plays late. While the losses brought Columbus to second place behind Edna, the Cards actually started their tight, five-game stretch with a close win against the Cowboys. Columbus will have to find a win against Palacios Tuesday night, but if they complete that task, they set themselves up for a rematch on Edna’s home floor on Friday that will likely decide which of these two teams will claim the district title.
Vs Hallettsville, L, 42-39
The Cards came out somewhat flat against the Brahmas to begin their week. They opened the game with five points in a slow first quarter that helped Hallettsville build a lead. The teams played each other evenly in the second period and went into halftime with the Brahmas holding a 22-16 lead over the Cardinals. Columbus erased the deficit entirely in the third period with a near 20-point quarter to take the lead. They outscored Hallettsville 19-7 in that frame to take a 35-29 lead into the fourth quarter. However, none of the momentum the Cards had built in the third carried into the fourth as the Cards managed just four points in the period. That scoring gulf allowed the Brahmas to get back into the game and tie it up with only a few moments remaining in the game. With one more shot to win it, Hallettsville nailed a three-pointer to take the late lead and secure the clutch victory.
Trevor Berger finished as the team’s leading scorer with 14 points. He was followed by Colton Pitchford who finished with 10 points as the Cards’ only double-digit scorer. Cristian Reyna and Trace Braden combined for 11 points with the next highest totals on the scoring column.
Vs Tidehaven, 57-23
Columbus finally broke their close-game streak with a blowout victory against Tidehaven following one of their best all-around games of the season. Their offense and defense meshed well together during an outing they hope they will be able to remember and recreate in the final games of the season and the playoffs. The Cards held the Tigers to just four points in the second quarter as they built a 28-13 lead by the end of the first half. Columbus held Tidehaven below double digits again in the fourth quarter to finish with just one quarter in which they allowed ten or more points. At the same time, the Cards scored at least 13 points in every quarter as they were not outscored in any period.
The Pitchford brothers had a huge combined effort from deep range. Senior Colton Pitchford finished as the team’s leading scorer with 14 points after knocking down four long-range shots. Sophomore Camdon Pitchford hit three 3-pointers for his nine points as the third-leading scorer on the squad. Trevor Berger took the second spot with 10 points of his own, and Trace Braden splashed two more 3-pointers on the way to eight points.
