Niwot boys basketball drops three straight, falling to 5-13

Niwot High School's boys basketball team continued a three-game slide last week, doubling up on a previous three-game losing streak, falling to the Severance Silver Knights, the Skyline Falcons, and the Thompson Valley Eagles. Starting at 5-7 prior to the slide, Niwot looked strong relative to previous years, but inconsistent production has plagued the team ever since.

The first of the three games came against Severance last Tuesday. Niwot lost 86-50 struggling to get rolling in a 26-15 first quarter. Niwot played close with the Silver Knights in the second, 18-15, but was denied a comeback in a 25-8 third period that carried Severance to their 86-50 win.

As a team, Niwot shot 17 of 45 (38%) with Jerek Funkhouser's 24 points leading the squad. Jackson Carnano's seven points seconded Funkhouser, with five of his points coming from the free-throw line. Funkhouser and Zachary Dawson's four rebounds each led the team's 17 total, while Jack Jarvis's four assists factored toward the team's 10. Jarvis recorded the team's one steal while Carnano got Niwot's only block.

Niwot played their second game on Thursday, losing to Skyline 44-34 in a well-played defensive game. The loss was propelled by a slow start, as Niwot was down 15-5 at the end of the first quarter. Both teams scored 29 points over the rest of the game, but starting down 10 didn't work in Niwot's favor.

The Cougars shot at a much better rate than the previous game, scoring on 45% of their shots, led by Funkhouser's 15 points. Jarvis's seven points seconded Funkhuser, and added two assists of the team's five alongside Julian Lettow's two. Dawson pulled down 11 rebounds out of the team's 31, alongside Funkhouser's eight and Lettow's seven. Drew Buckingham's two steals highlighted Niwot's six-team steals.

Niwot played its final game of the week against Thompson Valley on Saturday. They fell in a similar fashion to the games prior, losing 78-57 due to a slow start during a 22-9 first quarter, and a 21-10 second quarter. Niwot played well in the second half, outscoring the Eagles 38-35, but it was too little too late.

Funkhouser continued to dominate, putting up 23 points, six rebounds, three assists, and a block. Carnano recorded the other of the two Niwot blocks while posting 14 points, four rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Campbell Horning also put up good points notching eight for himself along with two rebounds.

While Niwot is currently on a skid, there are still two more games in the season for Niwot to turn into momentum for next year. While a playoff run may be out of the picture, wins to finish off the season would be a boost to the program.