Horsemen End Colts Season

 

 

3/7/07

 

Albuquerque, NM – Colt basketball’s remarkable season came to an end on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the state tournament with a 56-42 loss to the St. Michael’s Horsemen.  A cold start for the Colts combined with the hot shooting of St. Michael’s left NMMI in an early deficit.

 

Senior postman Tom Bottomly provided all of the Colts offense for the first quarter as they were limited to just five points.  St. Michael’s took a 15-5 lead at the end of the first half. 

 

As the game progressed, St Michael’s sharp shooting continued as the Colts struggles mounted.  The Colts struggled to shoot from the floor in the first half, converting on only six of twenty-seven shots.  As the time ran down in the second quarter, the Colts were down 37-14. 

 

The Horsemen came out after halftime and went on a 14-6 run to increase their lead over the Colts to 50-20. 

 

The Colts made a run in the fourth quarter as they were able to force some turnovers and convert them into points.  DeMarcus Doucette scored seven of his game high twelve points in the fourth quarter. 

 

Connor Williamson was finally able to break free from the St. Michael’s chaser defense that was designed to slow down the Colts leading scorer.  Williamson was able to score five of his seven points in the fourth quarter as well. 

 

The Colts fourth quarter explosion came a quarter too late as time ran out on the Colts as they were down 56-42. 

 

When asked about the loss, Coach Pilar Carrasco added, “I think it had a lot to do about not being here in the past.  We’ve been here now and hope to continue to build on this tradition.  The underclassmen were able to get a taste of what the state tournament is about.”

 

The loss comes at the end of a remarkable turnaround for the Colt basketball program.  This year’s group of seniors improved drastically over the last three seasons.  As sophomores, they won only two games.  They were winless as juniors.  As seniors, they help guide one of the most outstanding turnarounds in sports as they went 19-11 and made it to the quarterfinal round at the state tournament.