Cottonwood reaches title game

It's been 17 years since the Cottonwood Colts have had a taste of the boys basketball finals, but tonight they'll get another shot at that elusive crown.

Cottonwood has never won a boys basketball title. The Colts led in the 1987 championship game with three seconds remaining and lost. They also lost in the semifinals three straight years in the mid 1990s.

The Colts, after jumping out to an early lead and defeating the Northridge Knights 53-42 Friday afternoon, ended that semifinal jinx and will meet Hunter tonight at 5 p.m. at the E-Center for the Class 5A crown.

"We're just happy to get a chance to play anybody," Cottonwood coach Blair Martineau said.

After losing eight games during the regular season, Martineau understands why his team is considered a surprise to be among the final two. However, the Colts were two points from the Region 3 title and lost several other tight contests.

"It's not like we weren't playing tough all year . . . and it only counts how you're playing at the end," Martineau said.

Currently, that's pretty good. The Colts opened the first quarter Friday with a quick 3-pointer and ended the period on a last-second 3-pointer. In the middle they ran off eight straight points that put Northridge behind by double digits early.

It was a three-man show of Weston Anderson, Cody Holfeltz and Andre Carter that got things rolling early for Cottonwood that gave the Colts a 14-4 first-quarter lead.

"We missed our first three shots, they hit their first three and then it kind of went that way," Northridge coach C.K. Hansen said.

Thanks mainly to tough defense administered by Cottonwood, Northridge was slow to get on track. The Knights were not only shooting poorly, but they were also turning the ball over. Cottonwood was in a 1-3-1 zone that was keeping the Knights athletic scorers from penetrating, forcing them to shoot from outside. The strategy worked as the Knights made only three of 15 3-point attempts.

"It doesn't matter what defense you play. It's how hard you play. I just think that right now our guys are playing pretty hard," Martineau said.