The Colo boys had scoring balance and big margin on rebounding to defeat Collins boys 66-57, earning outright Ta-Ma-Ja Conference title with 13-1 record, one game ahead of Garwin. Colo broke the game open by scoring 10 straight points early in the 4th quarter to take 57-48 lead. Collins scoring: Bill Oswalt 26, Frank Beavers 14, Keith Patterson 10, Jerold Fitzgerald 6, Ken Caulkins 1. Shooting percentage: 40. Collins rebounding: Beavers 11, Caulkins 10, Oswalt 8, others 3. Total rebounds 32.
February 12, 1974. The influenza "epidemic," which has overtaken Story County and other parts of Iowa, is taking hold in many of the school districts in this part of the state. At Collins 16 high school students reported being ill, 9 elementary students, and 6 in junior high. Three teachers also have reported sick.
February 13, 1974. Collins Basketball Teams flexed its non-conference strength against Green Mountain Tuesday night and achieved a double-header sweep. The Clipperettes were 83-67 winners. The Mounties pulled within 70-67 with 2 minutes left, but they committed a rash of turnovers and the quick-moving Collins front court iced the game. Scoring: Deb Carroll 28, Jan Talburt 24, Chris Dunshee 19, Cindy Dunshee 12. Shooting percentage: 57. Guards Rebounding: Donna Barrett 11, Cindy Tiffany 10, Cathy Schmitt 9, Mary Beth Kingman 2.
The Clippers defeated Green Mountain 78-66. Scoring: Bill Oswalt 37, Keith Patterson 16, Jerold Fitzgerald 13, Tony Moses 4, Jim Anderson 4, Steve Lillard 2, Bob Huntrods 2. Shooting percentage: 47. Rebounding: Caulkins 16, Oswalt 13, Fitzgerald 6, Huntrods 5. Season record: 12-5, Ta-Ma-Ja Conference 10-4, 3rd place.
February 18, 1974. Collins basketball girls were eliminated from Sectional action with 89-64 1st round loss to Urbandale Saturday night. The Clipperettes closed their season with a 11-7 record. Urbandale was much taller and more physical than Collins. Halftime score Urbandale 40-36, with Urbandale breaking the game open with a 27-12 splurge in the 3rd period. Deb Carroll, playing her last high school game, took scoring honors with 35 points. Cindy Dunshee had 18, Jan Talburt 11 for the 64 total points. Shooting percentage: 54 (19 of 35 shots). Collins had difficulty getting rebounds as the taller Bluejays front court controlled their front court board. Guard Rebounds: Cindy Tiffany 2, Donna Barrett 2, Cathy Schmitt 3. The Collins guards also had foul problems and all had to set out for stretches of the game. "Urbandale hit the boards hard and got us in foul trouble," said Clipperettes' Coach Bill Brooks. "Our kids never gave up and hustled all night."
February 26, 1974. Revenge for Collins Boys Basketball in Sectional. It was Collins boys turn to be happy after the 3rd renewal of this rivalry as the Clippers turned back Colo 68-56 to advance to the Sectional semifinals in boys action Monday night at Huxley. Collins 13-5 went into the contest with a two-game losing streak to the Blue Devils 14-4 in the Ta-Ma-Ja Conference season. The Clippers went into the contest with the idea of penetrating and keeping the tempo up. "We wanted to move the ball quickly to try to upset their slower patterns," said Collins guard Keith Patterson. "We tried to penetrate and make them come out to get us." Collins took the lead on a long jumper by Jerold Fitzgerald just before the halftime buzzer, 31-29. The Clippers broke into an 8-point lead at 51-43 with 6 minutes left in the game. The contest was put away when Fitzgerald drove into the middle, bounced a pass past 3 Blue Devils and handed Bill Oswalt a 3-point play to make the score 59-49 with 3 minutes left. The Clipper guards continued to dazzle Colo with their ball handling and penetration against a zone defense which got dismantled. Scoring: Patterson 16, Oswalt 16, Fitzgerald 14, Caulkins 12, Frank Beavers 8. Clippers Shooting Percentage: 43, converting 12 of 18 free throws. "We had 12 guys who came to play," said winning coach Rich Behrens.