Columbus will travel to Van Buren on Monday for a basketball double header. The Columbus boys are 6-8 on the year and 4-7 in the conference. In their last game they had a 74-51 win over Highland. Ellis Hills-Carrier led the way with 22 points. The Wildcats jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter 21-17. The game was still close in the second as Columbus only had a nine point lead going into half 43-34. Columbus closed out the gap in the second half by outsourcing the Huskies 31-17 to win their fifth game of the season. In the 2024/2025 season, the Wildcats are scoring 47.4 points per game. They are fifth in the conference in shooting percentage with 33.3% along with fifth at the 3 point line at 25.5%. The Wildcats average 30 rebounds per game, which is third in the conference. Columbus averages two blocks per game, which is also top five in the conference. Individually, Ellis Hills-Carrier is averaging 15.8 points per game.
During our latest episode on the KCII Coaches Corner, Columbus boys head coach Marcus Hall joined the show to talk about their loss to Waco. “Tonight I felt like we were a totally different team. We battled back in the second half, execution, connection, focus, effort. I thought that we really cut it loose tonight and represented ourselves much better in this game. I thought he (Juan Chairez) was a warrior tonight. He (Juan Chairez) was sprinting back. In the transition getting blocks and getting boards. Played a ton of minutes. We need Juan (Chairez) to be that guy for us night in and night out. So to have that version of Juan (Chairez), was definitely great to have him play well”.
Van Buren is 4-10 and 3-8 in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference. In their last game, they fell in a heartbreaker to Davis County 68-67. On the season, the Warriors average 54.3 points per game, which is fifth in the conference. They also average 25 rebounds, 9.5 assists, 7 steals and 1 block per game. They shoot 28.3% from the three point line, which is fourth in the conference and a best at the free throw line with a 68.3% in the SEISC South. They are led by the senior Izaak Loeffler, who averages 18 points and five rebounds per game.
The Columbus girls are hoping to stay at top of the conference. Columbus is 13-2 on the season and 11-1 in the conference. The Wildcats are coming off a big win over Highland on Friday, in OT 64-57. In the first half, the Wildcats took an early 30-28 lead. In the second half, the Huskies overtook the Wildcats with a 46-40 lead going into the fourth. In the final quarter, the Wildcats would come back and tie the game to force OT. In overtime, the Wildcats would shut down the Huskies 7-0 to win 64-57, a big conference win. In the win, Isabel Rendon had 24 points. For the season, the Wildcats are second in the conference with 52 points per game. They average 11 assists per game, second in the conference. They lead the conference in steals per game at 18 and also have the fourth best three point percentage at 25%. Lily Coil leads the team with 18 points per game.
Head girls basketball coach Kasey Keltner went on this week`s edition of the KCII Coaches Corner talking about the second half of the year. “I think we had a good Christmas break as far as practices and intensity the last few really picked up. I thought that was really difference for us and were in really good shape. We took a lengthy break, but the kids came back and really pushed themselves. They just go for four quarters, so I think that’s it. The second quarter was huge. Only giving up two defensively, that kind of helped separate the game for us.”
For Van Buren, they are 8-6 and 5-6 in the Super Conference South. In their last game, they came back to beat Davis County 51-46 in overtime. They trailed in the first half, but outscored the Mustangs in the second. In the fourth, they tied the game at 44 to force OT. In OT, they would squeeze past the Mustangs to win. They were led by Sophia Jirak, who scored 12 points in the win. For the season, they average 40 points per game, fourth in the conference, 26 rebounds, 7 assists, fifth in the conference and 11.6 steals, fourth in the conference as well. They shoot 32% from the floor and 56.8 at the charity stripe, which is the best in the conference. They shoot 30% at the three point line, which is second in the conference. Callie Kracht leads the team in scoring with 8.3 points per game.
You can catch all the action on the KCII3 stream at kciiradio.com tonight starting at 5:30 where we will have the girls game first. The boys game will follow starting at 7:30.