After all the questions East’s boys basketball team had to answer about the transfer of 6-foot-7 senior Eric Miller, the Angels did not want to deal with a loss to Fountain-Fort Carson.
For one half, it looked possible. Then it didn’t.
East forgot the headaches of dealing with the Miller saga along with the upstart Trojans after trailing at halftime Saturday. The Angels scored the first 10 points of the third quarter, triggering a 25-4 run that eventually led to East’s 79-55 victory in a nonleague, cross-classification game.
The Colorado High School Activities Association reviewed the paperwork concerning Miller’s transfer from Eaglecrest and cleared him to play after missing three games.
“It was bad. It was like someone kicked me in the stomach and I couldn’t do anything about it,” Miller said. “But now that I’m back, it felt like nothing happened.”
Miller finished with eight points and 10 rebounds for East (11-3), ranked No. 3 in The Denver Post/9News Class 5A poll. Donell Wells led the Angels with 16 points, and sophomore Mookie Gilbert scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Had Miller not been cleared by the CHSAA, East would have had to forfeit eight victories.
“I applaud (CHSAA commissioner) Bill Reader and his staff for making their decision based on the facts rather than submitting to external pressures,” East coach Rudy Carey said in a statement released on Friday, when the CHSAA announced it had cleared Miller.
For two quarters against the Trojans, it appeared the Angels’ heads may have been elsewhere.
Class 4A Fountain-Fort Carson (5-7) took an early advantage and held one-point leads at the end of the first and second quarters. Ben Valdez scored eight of his team-high 17 points in the second quarter, and East needed a jumper at the buzzer from Ben Boyd to go into the half down 30-29.
“We came out a little sluggish. We had a big head about this game,” Gilbert said. “It’s nice to have Miller back. We need him.”
After the break, East looked similar to the teams that won two state titles since 2003 as they outscored the Trojans 28-7 in the third quarter.
The Angels cleared the bench with more than four minutes left in the game and led by as many as 29 points.
Fountain-Fort Carson 12 18 7 18 – 55
East 11 18 28 22 – 79
Fountain-Fort Carson – Hutchins 4 2-2 10, Valdez 7 3-4 17, Lockridge 1 0-0 2, Johnson 2 0-0 4, Walker 1 2-2 4, Anderson 0 3-4 3, Lozano 3 0-2 8, Jeffery-Davis 0 1-2 1, Paddock 2 0-1 4, Miles 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 11-17 55.
East – Miller 4 0-0 8, Williams 2 0-0 5, Swain 6 0-0 15, Wells 5 3-4 16, Gilbert 5 4-4 15, Duncan 0 0-0 0, Boyd 2 1-1 5, De. Thornton 1 2-2 4, Martinez-Doublin 0 0-0 0, Ross 1 3-6 5, Flitter 0 0-0 0, Hildreth 0 0-0 0, Battle 3 0-0 6, Da. Thornton 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 13-17 79.
3-pt. goals – Lozano 2; Swain 3, Wells 3, Gilbert, Williams. Total fouls – Fountain-Fort Carson 17; East 15. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
Brian Forbes contributed to this report.
