COLORADO SPRINGS – Cheyenne Mountain boys basketball has struggled with slow starts this season. Losers of four straight, the last thing the Red-Tailed Hawks wanted to see was Rampart’s Haydn Benoit knocking down a last second 3-pointer to give the Rams the lead at the end of the first quarter.
But the offense found a rhythm and the Red-Tailed Hawks upped the intensity on the defensive side of the ball to get a 63-47 win over Rampart on Tuesdy night.
“We’ve had a streak of not starting too well,” senior Sullivan Moon said. “(Coach Elgin Fitzgerald) told us to just put our heads down and play our game and that’s what we did.”
Moon led the Red-Tailed Hawks (7-5 overall, 1-2 Pikes Peak Athletic Conference) with 20 points, 18 of which came from the floor. He added two free throws in the fourth quarter and by that time, the game was well out of reach for the Rams (3-8, 0-1).
The key was not letting Benoit’s shot spark a run for the Rams heading into the second quarter. The two teams traded the lead several times in the first eight minutes, but the Hawks extinguished any momentum that could have come from that shot to start the second quarter.
“We have to take it one play at a time, one possession at a time, one quarter at a time,” Fitzgerald said. “That possession wasn’t going to make or break us and we had to push forward.”
Benoit led the Rams with 17 points, but as just a sophomore he is still learning how to take those moments, his buzzer beating 3-pointer at the end of a quarter, and find a way to grasp his momentum. It’s something the entire team needs to do better.
“We definitely need to learn to ride that wave,” Benoit said. “If we can ride that momentum then we can build that energy back which we need to regain the lead.”
Cheyenne Mountain had plenty of energy sparking moments. Dunks from Gabe Lucas, Antoni Smith and Moon fired up the Hawks bench and the home crowd and a late 3-pointer from Braxton Walk helped put the game away.
Having to battle for three quarters before pulling away was a good feeling for the Hawks and something they hope to learn from as they make their way through the PPAC.
“We’re an inexperienced group, even though we’ve played 12 games,” Fitzgerald said. “We’re still learning how to deal with those situations, figuring out who can do what and who can make better decisions. Anytime we can get those close games it helps us reach our goal of getting better every game.”
Playing a high-pressure style of defense, the Hawks forced the Rams into several bad spots where turnovers were made in bunches. With a tough league schedule ahead of them, they know that cleaning up those turnovers will be essential in order to compete against some talented teams in the league.
“It’s our M.O. right now is turnovers,” coach J’on St. Clair said. “That’s just who we are and we just have to learn to figure it out. We have to take care of the ball better.”
The Rams are back in action on Friday when they travel to Fountain-Fort Carson. The Hawks host Class 4A No. 5 Pueblo Central on Thursday.
