Parker – He who leads last, leaves loudest.
That honor fell to Chaparral and its packed house Tuesday night as the fourth-ranked Wolverines rallied for a dramatic 62-55 victory over No. 7 Gateway.
The Wolverines (18-1, 8-0 league) trailed for most of the second half and led by no more than two points until midway through the fourth quarter, when they rattled off a 16-10 run to move into the driver’s seat for their first Class 5A Continental League title.
Yale-bound senior Nate Rohnert scored 11 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter, including a floating layup with 1:47 remaining and four free throws in the final 39 seconds to put an end to the up-and-down game that had 14 lead changes.
“It’s all repetition for me,” Rohnert said. “I shoot a lot of free throws, so I had all the confidence in the world.”
Jameson Gann (eight points) had a key layup in the fourth as did 6-foot-10 senior John Madsen (14 points, four rebounds) as the Wolverines won their 10th straight game and third straight over Gateway (15-5, 7-1).
Gateway lived by the 3-pointer early but couldn’t get one to fall late. The Olympians overcame 13 first-half turnovers with seven 3-pointers but were just 1-for-9 from beyond the arc in the second half.
The Olympians led by six points on three occasions, trailed by five late in the fourth quarter but cut it to 56-55 with one minute remaining on Trevor Oliver’s turnaround bank shot.
After Rohnert’s free throws put the Wolverines up 58-55, senior Greg Bolling missed a 3-pointer from the wing. Rohnert made it 60-55 with 21 seconds left and then blocked Oliver’s attempted 3-pointer from the top of the key to snap Gateway’s nine-game winning streak.
“The game was right there,” Olympians coach Jeff Sweet said. “In a game like that, one or two plays make the difference. Winning and losing is so minute.”
Oliver sank four 3-pointers to lead the Olympians with 17 points and sophomore O’Rion Hughes had 15 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots.
Chaparral must navigate Regis, Arapahoe and Douglas County to clinch the league and probably one of the four top seeds for the state tournament.
Gateway 18 11 14 12 – 55
Chaparral 14 15 10 23 – 62
Gateway – Bolling 3 1-2 9, Gainey 3 0-0 6, Oliver 6 1-2 17, Jack 1 0-0 2, Hughes 4 7-7 15, Smith 2 0-0 6, Belhachmi 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 9-11 55.
Chaparral – Gann 4 0-0 8, Schraufnagel 1 1-2 3, McKnight 0 0-0 0, Rohnert 8 9-10 28, Madsen 5 3-3 14, Kraus 0 0-0 0, Bracht 3 3-4 9. Totals 21 16-19 62.
3-point goals – Oliver 4, Bolling 2, Smith 2; Rohnert 3, Madsen. Total fouls – Gateway 14, Chaparral 11. Fouled out – Gainey, Kraus. Technicals – None.
