Lafayette – Just as school was letting out for the day, Dom Aiello and Nathan Henry put class back in session.
Aiello and Henry each scored 21 points for Longmont and helped thwart Arvada’s late rally attempt for a 55-50 victory in the first game of the Boulder County Basketball Invitational on Wednesday at Centaurus High School.
Henry hit a long 3-pointer to end a 15-3 run by Arvada before tacking on two huge blocked shots at the other end in the fourth quarter, and Aiello hit his only shot of the second half with two minutes to play to give the Trojans breathing room.
“They were sticking on me pretty good. I obviously wasn’t going to score much in the second half, so I was just trying to hustle and find my teammates,” said Aiello, who had to deal with a cold as well as a stingy Arvada defense.
Longmont (2-1) will play Ralston Valley, a 54-50 winner over Ranum, in the second round of the eight-team tournament.
Arvada (1-2) trailed 33-24 at halftime, but a big third quarter by Michael Rosales and Steve Walker pulled the Reds close. Rosales, who had a team-high 16 points, and Walker, who had six blocked shots, scored all 15 of Arvada’s points in that quarter.
It also fell on Rosales to try to slow Aiello, who scored from all angles in the first half.
“We knew (Aiello) had 19 points in the first half, so we put Michael Rosales on him and he did a great job,” Arvada coach Kurt Castillo said.
Longmont seemed to take control of the contest right after halftime by scoring the first five points and extending the lead to 14 points, 40-26, early in the third quarter. But Arvada’s Ben Ostrom hit the first shot of the fourth quarter to pull the Reds within 43-41, and the Reds’ hustle play appeared to have turned the tide.
Until, that is, Henry made his 3-pointer and then started a block party.
“Getting blocks on defense can really change the game,” Henry said. “Coach (Jeff Kloster) doesn’t want me to swat them out of bounds, so we can get the ball back.
Instead of sending the shots to the third row of the bleachers, Henry opted to blast a couple of them off the backboard.
Arvada was able to stay close down the stretch, and big man Sean Lofland backed in for two points to make the score 49-45 with four minutes left in the game, but that is as close as the Reds got.
Henry hit two crucial free throws with 32 seconds left that essentially nullified a leaning 3-pointer by Zach Bueghly.
The championship game is set for 7:30 Saturday night.
Arvada 11 13 15 11 – 50
Longmont 12 21 10 12 – 55
Arvada – Jensen 2 0-0 5, Rosales 5 6-8 16, Ostrom 1 0-0 2, Bueghly 3 0-0 7, Walker 7 0-3 14, Lofland 3 0-0 6, Childers 0 0-0 0, Rice 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 6-11 50.
Longmont – Armenta 3 0-0 6, Henry 8 4-5 21, Patterson 0 0-1 0, Aiello 9 2-6 21, Ohlsen 2 2-2 6, Zuege 0 0-0 0, Brittenham 0 0-0 0, Moulton 0 1-2 1, S. Anderson 0 0-0 0, R. Anderson 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 9-16 55.
3-pt. goals – Jensen, Bueghly; Henry, Aiello. Total fouls – Arvada 18; Longmont 15. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
