In the offseason the Colgan Sharks lost two very good players to transfer: Nate Ament (Highland) and Eann Pennix (South County). That doesn’t mean Jason John’s Sharks don’t have talent and aren’t worth watching, however.
They showed that Wednesday night in the team’s season opener, defeating visiting Osbourn 53-50. While the performance was uneven, Colgan generally played hard, and its roster flashed the ability to be competitive this year in the Cardinal District.
Colgan was ready to play from the get-go against Osbourn, which already had a win under its belt this season. Junior guard Isaiah Boateng buried four first half threes while forward Hudson Bock dominated the guard-oriented Eagles inside, scoring eight points and grabbing seven rebounds in the first half.
The Sharks led 34-21 at the intermission, but new Osbourn coach Durmia Marshall had his team ready to counter-punch after half. The Eagles lost some players to transfer in the offseason as well, but still have electric senior guard Tavyahn Faison. Faison led his team on a 13-0 run to tie the score at 34.
Colgan responded with a 7-0 run of its own, and led 45-38 after three quarters. The Sharks took the air out of the ball a little with the lead, but Osbourn made another run to re-tie the game at 47. Colgan responded yet again, as senior Robert Futyma found Bock open for a layup, and senior guard Micah Dancy stepped up to deliver in the clutch his first points of the game.
Faison hit a three to cut Osbourn’s deficit to 51-50, but after two Colgan free throws the Eagles could not hit another triple to tie. Faison was unstoppable for most of the game and he finished with 32 points. Osbourn played much better in the second half in all facets of the game, but still fell to 1-1 on the young season.
Bock led Colgan with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Although not a particularly tall forward, his relentless nature in the paint figures to be a problem for Colgan’s opponents going forward. Boateng added 15 points, and his perimeter game will also be a focus of opposing defenses.
The Sharks (1-0) are back in action at Marshall’s Tip-Off Tourney this weekend.
–Chris Jollay
all stats are unofficial
| COLGAN | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| DANCY | 1-3 | 0-2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| BOATENG | 4-11 | 3-4 | 15 | 4 | 0 | |
| FUTYMA | 3-6 | 0-0 | 7 | 7 | 2 | |
| TROTTER | 2-9 | 5-6 | 9 | 3 | 1 | |
| BOCK | 6-17 | 4-6 | 16 | 11 | 3 | |
| Fleming | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | |
| Carr | 1-4 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Ali | 0-0 | 2-2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Doti | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 17-51 | 14-20 | 53 | 34 | 9 | |
| Threes: Boateng 4-9, Futyma 1-2, Dancy 0-2, Trotter 0-2, Carr 0-1 | ||||||
| OSBOURN | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| WILSON | 1-6 | 4-4 | 6 | 2 | 3 | |
| MORRIS | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| BURRELL | 3-6 | 0-0 | 6 | 4 | 2 | |
| FAISON | 11-19 | 8-11 | 32 | 3 | 1 | |
| WHITE | 1-6 | 0-0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | |
| Aguilar | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
| Arthur | 2-3 | 0-2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | |
| Pierre | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 18-46 | 12-17 | 50 | 23 | 7 | |
| Threes: Faison 2-7, Burrell 0-2, Pierre 0-2, White 0-4, Wilson 0-5 | ||||||