East Nic’s Mason Taylor looks for room to drive in the Spartans’ Jan. 30 loss to Colusa.

COLUSA, CA (MPG) – On a night where at times they couldn’t buy a basket, the scrappy Spartan boys’ basketball team staged a frantic fourth quarter rally against the RedHawks that unfortunately came up just short as they fell 44-47 in a Sacramento Valley League battle last Friday evening.

Down 10 at the end of three quarters, East Nic actually outscored Colusa 15-8 in the final period but missed a chance to tie with five seconds left on the clock.

Wade Lauppe finished with a game-high 12 points, Colby Borges added 10 points, while Mason Taylor chipped in with nine.

The Spartans’ Wade Lauppe had a game-high 12 points although East Nic came up short in Colusa on Jan. 30.

It was the fifth straight loss for the Spartans against SVL opponents as they also dropped games to Durham and Winters last week.

Although no statistics were available, in Durham on Jan. 26 East Nic fell 40-47, then suffered another loss to Winters at home on Jan. 28 by a score of 42-56.

Looking to get back on track in its only game this week, the Spartans (6-18, 1-8) traveled to Willows on Feb. 2.