Littleton – Standley Lake got back to basics Friday night and got back into the win column.
The slumping Gators were crisp with their passing, distributing the ball inside and out to notch an impressive 66-53 victory over Columbine in a Class 5A Jefferson County League matchup.
“We wanted to get back to the team aspect of basketball, moving the ball, passing the ball, making sure everyone gets involved,” Gators coach Jon Baskin said.
The Gators (12-10, 5-4) got points from eight players, and had five or more players score in three of the four quarters to win for just the second time in five games.
Junior Andrew Zehnder led the Gators with 13 points and seven rebounds, junior guard Brad Hernandez had 10 points and Austen Lott added nine.
The teams exchanged the lead nine times until the Gators took over midway through the second quarter and led by nine points on three occasions to go up 50-36 with 3:14 left in the third quarter.
“Everybody came to play tonight, which is a plus,” Zehnder said. “It was probably one of the first games where everybody came to play.”
The Rebels (14-7, 5-3) rallied to cut the deficit to 56-51 on B.J. Tucker’s baseline layup with 3:36 remaining. Columbine, which lost for the third time in four games, had its rally halted as the Gators finished the game on a 10-2 run.
Columbine never found its rhythm in the fourth quarter, shooting 3-for-10 from the field and turning over the ball three times.
“Give them credit. They played well, they made shots,” Rebels coach David Eicher said of the Gators. “We couldn’t get a call. It was brutal. I don’t usually go there, but it is what it is.”
Behind Hernandez, the Gators focused defensively on stopping Rebels guard Sean O’Donnell, who scored a game-high 20 points, but the Gators did a good job limiting his passing ability.
The Rebels got points from just three players in the second and third quarters.
“Coach emphasized at the beginning of the game that (O’Donnell) was the guy to beat,” Hernandez said. “That was my main focus (and) the offense just kind of flowed.”
Tucker and 6-foot-6 sophomore Ben Tedford finished with 10 points apiece for the Rebels.
Standley Lake 17 17 20 12 – 66
Columbine 15 14 16 8 – 53
Standley Lake – Hernandez 3 4-4 10, Claeys 2 2-3 6, Pahl 3 0-0 7, Taylor 3 2-2 8, Norloff 3 0-0 7, Zehnder 4 4-7 13, Lott 4 1-5 9, Crandall 0 0-0 0, Soukup 3 0-0 6. Totals 25 13-21 66.
Columbine – O’Donnell 6 8-12 20, Miller 0 0-0 0, King 3 2-4 8, Rose 2 0-1 5, Tucker 4 0-0 10, Tedford 3 4-6 10, Holtzinger 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 14-23 53.
3-point goals – Norloff, Pahl, Zehnder; Tucker 2, Rose.Total fouls – Standley Lake 18, Columbine 21. Fouled out – King. Technicals – None.
