Littleton – A night after being shot down from the outside by Poudre, Smoky Hill got its groove back on the perimeter.
Sparked by the early hot shooting of Will Figures, Smoky Hill ran past Doherty 64-50 in the second round of the Tip Off Classic, a tournament hosted by Heritage and ThunderRidge.
The Buffaloes improved to 1-1. Doherty dropped to 0-2.
Smoky Hill cruised to a 25-10 lead after the first quarter as Figures made all six of his shots, four beyond the 3-point arc.
It was more than enough of a lead for the Buffs to fend off assorted runs by the Spartans, although eight quarters of play haven’t exactly thrilled coach Ken Shaw.
“We’re still trying to work the bugs out,” he said. “Even though it’s early in the season, we would like to be playing a little better.”
Smoky Hill rolled to a 9-0 lead and appeared primed to rout Doherty, but the Spartans eventually gathered themselves and the Buffs had numerous lapses.
“It was a little bit like (Thursday) night,” Shaw said. “We had our moments of good; other times it was rough. We’ve been playing a lot of basketball. It shouldn’t take us too long to get into it.”
Figures’ 15 points in the first quarter en route to a game-high 27 kept the Buffs in command. He cooled the rest of the way, but Sam Huebner (11 points) and Kevin Daugherty (10) picked it up.
“I just had some open looks, and I guess you could say I was feeling it,” Figures said. “(Thursday’s loss) was a learning experience. We had to come back and show people what we can do.”
What the Buffs can do is shoot from the perimeter and get up and down the floor. They have a little size, too, although Doherty – after nine turnovers in the first nine minutes – took a while to get it going and battled inside.
“(The Buffs) are quick and we’re struggling at guard,” Doherty coach Dan McKiernan said. “But I think we’ll be very good. We’re legitimately strong inside.”
Spartans junior forward Garrett Fiddler, a transfer all-stater from Oregon, scored 13 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked five shots, but Doherty didn’t protect well and frequently was a step slow in getting to the Buffs’ open man.
Steve Clark led Doherty with 14 points.
Doherty climbed within 13 points midway through the third quarter, but a rash of turnovers helped keep Smoky Hill’s lead closer to 20.
Doherty 10 13 12 15 – 50
Smoky Hill 25 15 12 12 – 64
Doherty – Hatcher 1 2-3 5, Clark 7 0-0 14, Harris 1 0-0 2, Houston 1 2-4 4, Fiddler 3 7-10 13, Bennett 0 0-0 0, Allen 0 0-0 0, Parence 1 0-0 2, Mortiz 1 0-0 2, Holmes 3 2-2 8, Dowell 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 13-19 50.
Smoky Hill – Figures 10 1-2 27, May 0 0-0 0, Daugherty 3 2-2 10, Cassaday 1 0-0 3, Huebner 5 1-2 11, Perry 1 1-2 3, Roberts 0 0-0 0, Natt 0 2-2 2, Holsteen 4 0-0 8, Tryon 0 0-0 0, Stroth 0 0-0 0, Carter 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 7-10 64.
3-point goals – Hatcher; Figures 6, Daugherty 2, Cassaday. Total fouls – Doherty 14, Smoky Hill 19. Fouled out – None. Technicals – Doherty coach McKiernan.
