Aurora – The Rocky Mountain boys basketball team brought the House and took Boulder to the cleaners.
Tyler House led all scorers with a career-high 28 points and Jacob Houghton wiped the glass for six of his nine rebounds in the fourth quarter as the Lobos dropped Boulder 78-66 in the first round of the Rosa Holiday Tournament Monday night at Aurora Central.
After a scorching start to the game, Rocky Mountain (4-1) awoke from a bit of a third-quarter slumber with active defense that put a stop to a late rally by Boulder (2-4).
“We had a great first half, probably the best we’ve had so far, and then we had (a brain lock) in the third quarter,” House said. “We played solid ‘D’ on their shooters in the end, and that was the key.”
The eight-team tournament of Class 5A programs continues today, with each team playing two games, and winds up Wednesday night with the championship.
For Rocky Mountain, Houghton and guard Shaun Gutting scored 12 points each, and Trent Wahlfeldt hit three shots from long range to finish with 15.
Boulder’s Michael Patton went inside and outside to lead the Panthers with 21 points, and Geoffrey Todd made three of his four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as the Panthers tried in vain to reel in the Lobos.
“When (Boulder) cut the lead down to 10 points, that’s exactly when we re-established our stances and energy on defense,” Rocky Mountain coach Bruce Dick said.
Boulder 13 20 19 14 – 66
Rocky Mountain 22 30 10 16 – 78
Boulder – Fraser 2 0-0 4, Nickerson 1 0-0 2, M. Patton 6 6-6 21, Gonacha 4 0-0 8, Garibay 3 2-2 8, Ragin 0 2-2 2, R. Patton 1 0-0 2, Sarbaugh 1 0-0 3, White 0 0-0 0, Todd 4 4-6 16. Totals 22 14-16 66.
Rocky Mountain – House 12 4-4 28, Jar. Houghton 3 0-0 6, Gutting 5 1-1 12, Jac. Houghton 5 2-2 12, Wahlfeldt 6 0-0 15, Coldiron 2 0-2 5, Jones 0 0-0 0, Sabas 0 0-0 0. Totals 33 7-9 78.
3-pt. goals – Todd 4, M. Patton 3, Sarbaugh; Whalfeldt 3, Gutting, Coldiron. Total fouls . Boulder 14; Rocky Mountain 16. Fouled out – None. Technicals – Rocky Mountain bench.
