LIBERAL, Mo. — St. Mary's Colgan boys basketball fell 57-50 against Galena Friday to end the string of winning the Tony Dubray Classic championships.
The Bulldogs built a quick 10-0 lead to open the game before the Panthers could find their way offensively. Galena stayed ahead by a comfortable margin the rest of the contest, though Colgan made it a two-possession game late in the fourth quarter.
The Panthers were led offensively by Dominic Piccini’s 10 points and Simon Higginbotham’s nine points.
Galena splashed home a 3-pointer to open the contest against the Panthers in the championship game of the Tony Dubray Classic.
After a second 3-pointer rattled home just a short while later, it was 8-0 Bulldogs, forcing a timeout for Colgan.
It was Jeremiah Buche who got the Panthers started offensively, when he knocked down all three free throws following a foul to end the 10-0 run by Galena to begin the quarter.
A putback basket by Josh Hayes made it 10-5, and a steal and layup by Alex Brown quickly got the Panthers back to 10-7. That is as close as Colgan got the rest of the game.
Following another 3-pointer from Galena, Higginbotham got on the board for Colgan by knocking down a running floater to get the game to 15-9, which was the score heading to the second quarter.
A second-effort basket for Higginbotham got Colgan to within 17-11, and a Zach Hizey put back off a miss made it 17-13 a short time later to give the Panthers a little bit of momentum in the game.
Consistently on the night, when it looked like Colgan was on the verge of tying the game or making a run, Galena had an answer. After Hizey’s layup, the Bulldogs converted an old-fashioned three-point play on their way to a 25-19 halftime lead.
An off-balance shot fell for Galena to give them an 11-point advantage at 30-19 early in the second half, but Higginbotham answered right back with a corner 3-pointer.
With three minutes to go in the third quarter, the Bulldogs were back up 12 points at 36-24 and extended to 38-24 on the next possession from the free-throw line, where Galena spent a lot of their time in the second half.
A Piccini jumper stopped a run by Galena but could only get Colgan to get the Panthers to within 39-26 entering the final quarter.
Having to foul to extend the game, the fourth quarter saw the Panthers cut a 13-point deficit to six points at 50-44, thanks in part to two buckets from Billy Dickey as well as 3-pointers from Piccini and Austin Lindsey.
Not enough shots fell for Colgan to complete the comeback, even though Galena struggled from the free-throw line down the stretch.
The Bulldogs made enough from the stripe to keep the Panthers at arm’s length, allowing Galena to take home the championship by a final score of 57-50.