Arvada – From A to Z, Abram Ziemer has it covered.
The Faith Christian junior proved as much Thursday night as he put on a complete shooting display to lead the Eagles to a 69-49 Class 3A nonleague upset of seventh-ranked Colorado Springs Christian.
Ziemer knocked down three 3-pointers and made 13-of-15 shots to finish with a game-high 30 points. The 6-foot-2 guard was tenacious in the Eagles’ transition game and feathered in turnaround and fadeaway jump shots from all spots on the floor.
Unquestionably, Ziemer was in the zone.
“It’s hard to get there, but it feels good when you’re in it,” he said.
Faith Christian improved to 12-5 and won its third straight game by beating the Lions (14-3) for the third time in as many years.
The Eagles trailed 8-2 early and then blew past the Lions, forcing numerous turnovers with their zone defense en route to wearing them down on the break.
With Ziemer lighting up the perimeter, 6-5 junior Graham Yantis got favorable matchups around the paint and had 22 points and five rebounds. Yantis was 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the first half and didn’t miss a shot until midway through the third quarter.
The Eagles shot 54 percent from the perimeter.
“We were able to do a lot of things tonight, and when you shoot well, that can happen,” Eagles coach Andrew Hasz said. “(The Lions) shot well, but I know they’re battling some sickness on their team.”
If sickness was a worthy excuse, Lions coach Alan Karg wasn’t using it.
“Take no credit away from an outstanding performance by Faith,” Karg said. “They played well and kids, at certain spots, didn’t respond to the (tempo).”
Jeremy Mellema led the Lions with 12 points while Spencer Smith and Taylor Broekhuis scored 10 each. The Lions committed 22 turnovers to put a halt to their five-game winning streak.
Ziemer outscored the Lions 11-10 in the third quarter and his fadeaway 3-pointer with two seconds remaining in the third quarter had the Eagles up 52-33. Before he came out early in the fourth quarter, Ziemer had 30 points to the Lions’ 35.
Colorado Springs Christian 11 12 10 16 – 49
Faith Christian 14 17 21 17 – 69
Colorado Springs Christian – Mellema 4 2-2 12, Veltkamp 0 0-0 0, Henderson 0 0-0 0, Selley 1 2-2 5, Smith 4 2-3 10, Broekhuis 2 6-7 10, Kohere 1 2-2 4, Baarts 4 0-0 8. Totals 16 14-16 49.
Faith Christian – J. Hegarty 0 4-5 4, Wall 1 1-2 4, Ziemer 13 1-2 30, S. Hegarty 1 0-0 2, Colson 2 0-0 5, Jaworski 0 0-0 0, McBeth 0 0-2 0, Chapman 0 0-0 0, Yantis 8 6-6 22, Gilliland 0 0-0 0, Cooney 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 12-17 69.
3-point goals – Mellema 2, Selley; Ziemer 3, Colson, Wall. Total fouls – Colorado Springs Christian 14, Faith Christian 18. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
