GOLDEN — The one-two punch of Golden seniors Richie Pruett and Luke Anderson was enough to hold off a dangerous Regis Groff squad Wednesday night.
Pruett and Anderson combined for 43 points as the No. 28-seed Demons defeated No. 37 Fusion 73-59 in the opening round of the Class 4A boys basketball state tournament.
“This is a special place. There is nothing like playing at Golden,” Anderson said. “We wanted to give our parents and fans something to cherish as the last memory here.”
It was the end of the Anderson-era in Golden High School’s gym with the youngest Anderson son playing in his final home game. John Anderson, Luke’s father, started as an assistant boys basketball coach in the late-1990s before taking over the head job for nearly 20 years.
Jack Anderson, John’s oldest son, played hoops for the Demons from 2016 to 2020. Luke took up the mantle and finished off his last home game with a game-high 22 points, going 5-for-9 from 3-point range.
Pruett finished strong with a dozen points in the fourth quarter as the Demons (15-8 record) pulled away. The biggest shot the senior guard made actually didn’t count. Pruett made nearly a full-court shot at the end of the first half, but the ball left Pruett’s hand just after the buzzer sounded. The Demons led 34-31 at halftime.
“After something like that it shows that anything can happen,” Pruett said of his nearly full-court shot. “Going into halftime we were confident. We were getting what we wanted. We just needed to tighten up on defense.”
Golden went on a key 13-0 run during a four-minute span in the third quarter to take its first double-digit lead of the game. Seniors James Lacey and Logan Brewer were big attacking the paint for the Demons.
“That was our whole game plan. We wanted to get the ball inside,” Golden coach Lou Vullo said. “We knew (Regis Groff) likes to get out and run. We knew if we started shooting 3-pointer from the outside and start missing they would get those long rebounds. They would leak some guys out to get easy buckets.”
Junior Laif Palmer also had a solid game scoring seven of his nine points in the second quarter for the Demons.
“The big guys were great tonight,” Anderson said of Lacey, Brewer and Palmer that combined for 25 points. “We knew we had a size and strength advantage. We knew we needed to feed them and get offensive rebounds.”
Regis Groff senior Chiedoziem Nwoke single handedly kept the Fusion (12-12) within striking reach for the majority of the game. Nwoke scored a game-high 27 points, including six 3-pointers.
“Our kids stayed very disciplined. We stayed in that 2-3 zone,” Vullo said of the Fusion’s fast start before the Demons took over in the second half. “They were like 8-for-9 on 3-pointers in the first half. We told our guys they weren’t going to shoot like that the whole game.”
Pruett finished the game off in style with his first in-game dunk during his impressive two-year varsity run where he averaged nearly 15 points and over 6 rebounds per game.
“I knew coming in here this would likely be my last game on this court,” Pruett said. “Coach (Vullo) wrote it on the board ‘Leave no doubt’. We left no doubt.”
Golden hits the road to face No. 5 Pueblo Central on Saturday, Feb. 26.
“We talk about the playoffs is about match-ups,” Vullo said. “It doesn’t matter what seed you are.”