Grandview’s go-to guy Jake Nielson didn’t do much in the third quarter Monday against Thomas Jefferson.
Thankfully for the Wolves, he didn’t have to.
The rest of Grandview’s starters finally came alive after halftime to fuel the decisive run in a 61-45 victory in the first round of the Tournament of Champions at the University of Denver’s Hamilton Gymnasium.
Nielson scored three of his game-high 23 points in the third quarter but the Class 5A Wolves (5-1) got seven points from guard Spencer Childress and 11 points combined from Brandon Sweet, Brandon Gentry and Scott Flanagan to push past the Spartans.
“Coach, my dad (Gary Childress), has been on me all season to be more aggressive,” Spencer Childress said. “I try to get to the basket because, obviously, if Jake’s doing all the scoring it’s easy for us to lose because they just have to stop one guy.”
Sweet finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Down 20-12 with more than four minutes left in the second quarter, the Wolves embarked on a 31-12 run and turned a one-point halftime lead into a 43-32 edge entering the fourth.
The Spartans (5-1) got a monster game from 6-foot-5 senior Pierre Allen, but not much else. Allen scored 22 points, pulled down 19 rebounds and blocked four shots.
Thomas Jefferson 12 8 12 13 – 45
Grandview 6 15 22 18 – 61
Thomas Jefferson – Askew 0 0-0 0, Benford 4 3-4 11, Ratcliff 0 0-0 0, Atherton 1 1-2 3, Shaw 0 0-0 0, Lewis 1 0-0 2, Kane 2 1-2 5, Allen 7 7-9 22, Holt 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 12-17 45.
Grandview – Riddle 0 0-0 0, Morgan 0 0-0 0, Olmstead 0 0-0 0, McClung 1 0-0 2, Childress 2 2-2 7, Mason 1 0-0 2, Gentry 3 1-2 7, Nielson 7 8-10 23, Crader 0 0-0 0, Fernandez 2 1-2 5, Johnson 0 2-2 2, Flanagan 1 0-0 3, Sweet 4 2-6 10. Totals 21 16-24 61.
3-pt. goals – Allen; Childress, Flanagan, Nielson. Total fouls – Thomas Jefferson 21, Grandview 16. Fouled out – Nielson, Sweet. Technicals – None.
