COLORADO SPRINGS — Both the Cheyenne Mountain Indians and the Pine Creek Eagles boys basketball are starting the 2014-15 season with a totally clean slate.
Pine Creek coach Joe Rausch opened his first season with the Eagles after a stint at Sand Creek, and Indians head man Bryse Velasquez began his tenure, taking over for J’on St. Clair who moved on to Rampart.
It was the veteran coach in Rausch who walked away the victor, leading his Eagles (1-0 overall) to a 74-62 win over the Indians (0-1) in the first game of the season for both squads.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
“We’ve got some issues that we certainly need to work on,” Rausch said. “We have some things to work on, but we’ll take this one, it was a nice first win for us.”
The Eagles took some time to get their offense rolling, trailing 14-13 after the first quarter. But that’s when the skies opened up and started raining three’s on the Indians. The Eagles found plenty of open looks the rest of the way, scoring 33 points from behind the arc in the final three quarters.
“If you noticed our size, we don’t have a whole lot of height so we need to play a little unconventional,” Rausch said. “If we get those open threes, we’re going to take them.”
A 38-26 lead for the Eagles at halftime would only grow thanks in part to Jared Savage, who is fresh off winning a Class 4A state football championship on Saturday. Savage led the team with 17 points, but was big on the defensive end of the floor as well.
Much like his football team, Savage is aware that this team’s success will greatly depend on its performance on the defensive side of the ball while still being able to knock down key shots.
“Defense is definitely going to be the key to us winning,” Savage said. “If we can exploit teams with our shooting, there’s not going to be a lot of people that can stop us when we’re on fire like that.”
The Eagles built a 16-point cushion after three quarters, leading 56-40. That put them in a position to coast the final eight minutes and walk away with a key first win of the season.
The Indians — a final four team last year — didn’t necessarily lack the talent to content with Pine Creek. Cheyenne held a one-point lead after the first quarter and showed signs of being able to push the floor and dominate in the low post.
But Velasquez was disappointed with the team’s effort from the start and felt that they didn’t work as hard as they could have once the game tipped-off.
“I don’t think we defended like we wanted to defend, we didn’t play as hard as we should have played,” Velasquez said. “I don’t know if it was because it was the first game or we just weren’t ready to play.”
Despite the tough loss, Velasquez didn’t see any overly glaring issues that will hinder the success of his team this year, but knows there is some urgency for the players to clean up their mistakes moving forward.
“All of the mistakes we made tonight are easy fixes,” he said. “But it’s all about ‘Do I want to fix it? Do I want to get back on defense and contest threes?’ We’ll adjust and we’ll be ready to go on Friday.”
LAFAYETTE — Fiona Bell scored over half of Dawson School girls basketball’s points in the win over No. 6 St. Mary’s Academy, 37-29, on Tuesday.
Bell scored 19 points, including three 3-pointers, in addition to grabbing five rebounds.
Dawson got off to a hot 14-0 start and never looked back.
St. Mary’s was shut out in the first quarter, but cut the Dawson lead to seven after going on a 9-0 run. The St. Mary’s flame was doused by a Bell 3-pointer in the last minute of the third quarter
St. Mary’s went on another run, scoring eight points in a row in the fourth quarter, to cut the lead to eight, but they couldn’t complete the comeback.
More photos. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)
AURORA — Preseason rankings might be only a rough sketch of where the season is headed, but that doesn’t mean everybody isn’t paying attention.
Based on the packed crowd at Overland High School Tuesday night, people were mindful of a least the potential for a great matchup. Fans got that and more, but it was Raiders fans who went home happy, as the CHSAANow.com’s preseason Class 5A No. 2-ranked Raiders defeated preseason No. 1 Overland 61-45.
“You’re going to look at those, but preseason rankings in my opinion don’t mean a lot,” said Regis senior Kip Boryla after the game. “But they’re a great team, we know that. We’re going to love this win and continue this throughout the season.”
Facing an Overland team loaded with talent, including two players – guard Austin Conway and center/forward De’Ron Davis – that garnered second team all-state honors last season, the Raiders were able to keep their cool long enough to pull away from the Trailblazers in the second half despite a shaky start.
“It was a great win. Not a great game, but a great win first game out,” said Regis head coach Ken Shaw. “We competed hard. They’re hard to look good against.”
Both teams started out slowly, but the Raiders carried a 13-10 lead into the second quarter when the Trailblazers started to pick up the pace on both ends of the court. Overland’s active defense forced a few key turnovers, and Davis started to take over, nailing a three and repeatedly bullying his way into the post.
But just when it looked like the Trailblazers would carry momentum into halftime, senior Regis guard Taylor Kallsen came up big. The Raiders leading scorer from last season stole in inlet pass and scored to cut the Overland lead to five, then two possessions later nailed a three to tie things at 23.
More photos. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)
“Taylor’s a veteran guy. He’s a calming influence, both with ball-handling and shooting. We expect a lot out of him,” said Shaw. “I’d tell you it was a below-average game from him in terms of what he’s capable of, but again, Overland’s a hard to play against. They do a lot of things to get you out of your comfort zone.”
Overland still carried a 29-28 lead into halftime, but Regis came out of the break looking much more comfortable against the aggressively trapping Trailblazers. The Raiders consistently found the open man out of the double team and built a 43-36 edge heading into the fourth.
“First half was so chopped up for us. It seemed like we’d play well for a few minutes, and then we had a span where we turned it over three times,” said Shaw. “In the second half I thought the consistency was much better.”
“Our main thought for the game was composure and confidence,” added Kallsen. “Against an athletic team like Overland, they’re a great team. You just have to stay calm and composed in that situation.”
It helped that Regis was able to get Davis in foul trouble for much of the second half. The 6-foot-nine junior had to sit for a large stretch of the third before fouling out for good with 3:50 left in the fourth. Davis finished with 22 points.
“He’s an outstanding player. You’ve got to double down on him,” said Boryla, who finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. “That was our game-plan going in and we executed. We managed to take some charges and get him in foul trouble and that was a big part of the game for us.”
The Raiders will try and keep things going Thursday at home against Columbine, while the Trailblazers heads to the Free Tax USA.com Shoot-Out before taking on Chaparral next month.
More photos. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)
Arvada West senior Thomas Neff (15) drives the baseline on Smoky Hill seniors Kendrick Sipple (21) and Dalontae Kelly (10) on Tuesday night. Neff had a game-high 35 points in the Wildcats’ 64-48 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
ARVADA — Arvada West senior Thomas Neff brought his entire toolbox of offensive moves to the Wildcats’ boys basketball opener Tuesday night.
Neff, who is already committed to play at the University of Denver, scored a game-high 35 points in almost every way imaginable against Smoky Hill at Arvada West High School.
Arvada West junior Luke Neff (5) dribbles the ball as Smoky Hill senior Dalontae Kelly (10) guards the younger of the Neff brothers Tuesday night. (Dennis Pleuss)
“I’ve worked a lot on my post moves and in the weight room to get bigger so my post moves will be effective,” said Neff, who has grown five inches and put on 50 pounds over the past three years. “I wanted to be more than just a spot-up shooter like I was my freshman year.”
The 6-foot-5 senior drove to the hoop, posted up, hit fade-away jumpers, pull-up jumpers in transition and even buried a trio of 3-pointers to guide A-West, ranked No. 8 in the CHSAANow.com Class 5A preseason poll, to a 64-48 victory.
“Thomas was terrific,” said A-West coach Jeff Parriott of his returning third team all-state player. “We did a nice job getting him the ball in spots where he is hard to guard. He is hard to guard anywhere, but he is partially hard to guard when he gets close to the rim.”
Smoky Hill hung with the Wildcats through the first two quarters. The Buffaloes only trailed 25-21 at halftime, but A-West took over in the third quarter outscoring Smoky Hill 20-6.
“I thought the first half we were solid on defense, but (Smoky Hill) hit some 3-pointers at the end of a few possessions,” Parriott said. “I think our kids played really well defensively during that stretch (third quarter).”
A-West took its biggest lead of 57-31 midway through the fourth quarter when senior Jesse Porter nailed a 3-pointer. Seconds later Neff took a seat on the bench for the remainder of the game with 4:05 left in the fourth quarter.
“It’s exciting. I’m glad to play with my brother (Luke) for the last first game (of the season),” said Neff, who also grabbed 10 rebounds. “We had a good crowd. It was a good way to open the season.”
Porter finished with seven points for the Wildcats. Senior Zach Kuhlmann and junior Will Wittman had six points each in the victory.
While A-West’s opener was impressive. There is the looming addition to the lineup of 6-foot-11 junior Dallas Walton. The transfer from Ralston Valley is still recovering from knee surgery last June.
Arvada West junior Will Wittman (14) goes up for a shot as Smoky Hill senior Jordan Correy (23) comes from behind during the first half Tuesday night. (Dennis Pleuss)
“I know he (Walton) is a difference maker. I’m excited to find out what he does when he gets healthy,” Parriott said. “We aren’t going to rush it. We are shooting for the middle of January, but we’ll see what happens.”
A-West gets right back out on the court Wednesday. The Wildcats travel to Northglenn High School for a 6 p.m. tipoff tomorrow against the Norsemen. Northglenn began its season Monday with a 66-55 victory over Castle View. The Wildcats’ next home game won’t be until just before winter break on Dec. 19 against George Washington.
“I think it will be good for this team,” Parriott said of A-West its next seven games on the road. “It will help us develop some toughness playing on the road and facing some adversity.”
Senior Dalontae Kelly led the Buffaloes with 24 points in the loss Tuesday. Kelly poured in four 3-pointers. His strong second quarter helped Smoky Hill get within striking distance before A-West pulled away in the second half.
Smoky Hill remains on the road when it faces ThunderRidge on Tuesday, Dec. 9. The Buffaloes get on their home court when they host their own three-day tournament starting Thursday, Dec. 11.
Arvada West sophomore Josh Martin (20) splits Smoky Hill’s Jordan Correy (23) and Kyle Colen (2) on a drive toward the basket Tuesday night at Arvada West High School. (Dennis Pleuss)
Arvada West is the preseason No. 1 in Class 5A. (Mark Adams)
Defending champions Arvada West and Paonia are preseason No. 1 teams in On The Mat’s wrestling rankings.
A-West won Class 5A last season, while Paonia captured 2A. 4A’s defending champion Broomfield moved up to 5A — it’s not ranked — and Thompson Valley is the preseason No. 1 in that classification.
In 3A, Brush is the preseason No. 1. Valley, the defending champion, opens at No. 2.
Tim Yount of On The Mat provides weekly wrestling rankings for teams and individuals in all weight classes. To see individual rankings, you can subscribe to On The Mat’s full rankings.
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