HS Boys Bball: Pirates Season Ends With 53-49 Loss To Sailors

By Kevin Yoder 

It’s hard to beat a team three times in one season. Unfortunately, that is just what  happened to the Pirates.  

The second round of district play took the Hudson Pirates to Waterloo last Thursday night  for the third matchup this season with the Columbus Catholic Sailors. 

The Sailors took the first two games between the teams by ten and thirteen point margins  respectively. Hudson had won seven of ten games coming in, including a first round demolition  of Oelwein. Columbus advanced to the second round with a bye.  

The game was close from the opening tip, with the Sailors holding a five point lead after  one quarter of play. The teams continued to trade baskets and Columbus grew the advantage  slightly to six at the half, 27-21.  

The Pirates coaching staff has been excellent at halftime adjustments all year, and  Hudson came out and outscored Columbus by five in the third quarter, trailing by a single point  heading to the final period.  

The boys continued to play hard and took their first lead in the fourth quarter. That lead  grew to as many as eight before the Sailors strung together three straight, three-point possessions  to surge back ahead. Two late free throws put the game away and Hudson came up four points  short of victory.  

Sophomore Tade Roberts finished with a game-high 28 points, and paired that with 7  rebounds. Senior Anderson Yoder finished his career with a 13 point, 6 rebound, 6 assist game.  Juniors Jackson Nesteby and Blake Delagardelle rounded out the scoring with 5 and 3 points.  

The Pirates finished with a 13-10 record, an eight game improvement from last year. With  Yoder the lone senior, the remainder of the roster returns to build for the 2026-27 season.