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The Columbus Wildcats had a busy close to their basketball schedule last week. The Wildcats boys were in action Thursday against Van Buren, falling to the Warriors 66-49 on the road. Van Buren owned the first half, outscoring the Wildcats 23-10 in the opening frame, and winning the second quarter 19-9 to take a 42-19 lead into the half. In the second half the Wildcats went on a 19-9 run that lasted the entire third period to get within 13, but Van Buren did enough in the final frame to put away the 17 point victory. Mason Hodges led the way for the Wildcats with 15 points and eight boards, Eric Valdez went for 14.

The Wildcats then hosted Louisa-Muscatine Friday in a rival boy-girl doubleheader with the Falcons sweeping both games. In the boys contest L-M scored tight 49-47 victory. Things were tight with the Falcons up one after the first quarter, but they stretched that lead by winning the second frame 19-10, taking a 35-25 lead into the half. It was a defensive battle through the third with L-M leading 41-31 going to the fourth. The Wildcats put together a frantic comeback in the final period, outscoring the Falcons 16-8, but ran out of time. Valdez led Columbus with 14 points, Evan Rees had 10. With the two losses, the Wildcats are now 0-12 overall.

The Wildcat girls fell to the Falcons 62-28. L-M dominated early, going on a 28-4 run that lasted the entire first quarter. The Falcons led 33-8 at the half. In the second half Louisa-Muscatine put the game out of reach with a 15-7 run that spanned the entire third quarter. Lizbeth Paz led the Wildcats in the loss with 10 points. The Columbus girls are now 1-11 on the year.