Littleton – Less than four minutes into Wednesday night’s game against Bear Creek, Columbine had to make an unexpected defensive assignment change against 5A’s leading scorer when Sean O’Donnell picked up two quick fouls trying to guard Aromous Robinson.
Good thing for O’Donnell and the Rebels.
Junior Sean Miller, with help from his teammates, made the game miserable most of the time for Robinson.
And once O’Donnell, Columbine’s leading scorer, was no longer burdened with the primary defensive responsibility, he could focus on his offense.
Robinson scored just seven points in the first 2 1/2 quarters and O’Donnell had eight of his 14 points in the second half as Columbine (12-4, 3-0) rolled to a 61-51 victory and maintained a share of the Jefferson County League lead.
“It took a little pressure off me,” O’Donnell, a 6-foot-2 senior, said of the defensive change after he was whistled for his second foul with 4:05 left in the first quarter. “Miller’s a great player; he always plays great defense.”
Robinson, a 6-foot senior point guard who can score off penetration or from the outside, carried a 25.6-point scoring average into the game. He finished with 20 points but missed his first nine shots from the floor in the first half and didn’t make his second basket until 4:12 remained in the third quarter.
Robinson was greeted by two or three Columbine defenders almost every time he tried to move inside and was 1-for-7 from 3-point range.
“We knew he was the leading scorer in the state, and he’s very quick,” O’Donnell said. “We tried to help off the ball.”
Bear Creek (11-6, 2-2) shot 34 percent from the floor to Columbine’s 44 (plus 18-of-23 from the free-throw line), but Robinson, who was held to a season-low 15 points in a loss to Arvada West on Jan. 18, made it interesting in the fourth quarter.
“They’re a good team with a lot of good players, but no question he was the focal point of our defense,” Columbine coach David Eicher said.
Columbine led 54-42 after a 3-pointer early in the fourth by B.J. Tucker (team-high 19 points, including five 3-pointers), but Robinson pulled the Bears to within 54-47 on two driving baskets, the second one with 3:05 left.
But O’Donnell, with an assist from Miller, hit a baseline jumper and Bear Creek never again got closer than nine points.
Bear Creek 13 14 13 11 – 51
Columbine 17 11 23 10 – 61
Bear Creek – Robinson 7 5-9 20, Adams 0 0-0 0, Englund 3 3-5 11, Runkle 2 0-0 4, Nelson 4 0-1 8, Spitzlberger 2 0-0 6, Wolfe 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 8-15 51.
Columbine – O’Donnell 6 0-1 14, Miller 1 4-5 6, King 3 3-3 9, Tucker 5 4-6 19, Tedford 2 7-8 11, Rose 0 0-0 0, Holtzinger 1 0-0 2, Vassar 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 18-23 61.
3-point goals – Englund 2, Spitzlberger 2, Robinson; Tucker 5, O’Donnell 2. Total fouls – Bear Creek 18, Columbine 12. Fouled out – Spitzlberger. Technicals – None.
