Arvada – The slumping Columbine Rebels had no desire Wednesday night to become another chapter in Arvada’s surprising resurgence.
So when the hot-shooting Reds cooled slightly in the third quarter, the Rebels took full advantage, overwhelming the home team with a tough inside- out game.
“We really came together as a team, more so than we have been,” Rebels forward Ben Tedford said.
“We’re not up to where we need to be yet, but we were better than last week.”
The Rebels had four players score in double figures and avoided their fourth loss in five games with a 74-53 Class 5A Jefferson County League victory, snapping Arvada’s four-game winning streak.
Tedford scored nine of his 15 points in the third quarter as the Rebels (15-7, 6-3 Jeffco) outscored the Reds 22-8 after the teams battled back and forth throughout the first half.
Columbine guard Sean O’Donnell led the Rebels with 19 points, B.J. Tucker added 13 and 6-foot-4 junior Tyler Holtzinger came off the bench to score 11 of his 13 points in the second quarter.
After starting the season 13-4, the Rebels were upset by Lakewood and Standley Lake and tumbled out of contention for a Jeffco title.
The Rebels moved the ball around and attacked in the paint Wednesday to loosen up the Reds’ defense. It was the kind of back-to-basics approach the Rebels desperately needed with one regular-season game remaining.
“I think we just started out strong and it kind of got to our heads and we let everything go,” O’Donnell said. “We’re not going to let it get to us in the long run.”
Arvada dropped to 10-12 but is still buzzing about its 4-5 mark in Jeffco. The Reds won just three league games in the past three years combined and aim to get a lot of mileage out of wins over city rivals Arvada West and Pomona.
The Reds were in the flow early against the Rebels, swapping the lead seven times before the wheels fell off. The Reds made 3-of-13 baskets in the third quarter and turned over the ball six times.
“We just lost our focus,” Reds senior Steve Walker said. “Mistake after mistake, and it just went downhill from there.”
Walker led Arvada with 19 points and 6-4 senior Sean Lofland pulled down 11 rebounds to go with eight points.
Columbine 14 20 22 18 – 74
Arvada 15 19 8 11 – 53
Columbine – O’Donnell 4 11-12 19, Miller 2 3-4 7, Birkeness 0 0-0 0, Markle 0 0-0 0, King 2 1-2 5, Rose 1 0-0 2, Tucker 3 6-8 13, Tedford 7 1-3 15, Holtzinger 6 0-0 13. Totals 25 22-29 74.
Arvada – Lofland 3 2-6 8, Childers 2 0-0 4, Rice 0 0-0 0, Jensen 2 0-1 5, Ostrom 1 0-0 3, Rosales 4 0-0 8, Bueghly 3 0-0 6, Walker 7 2-3 19. Totals 22 4-10 53.
3-point goals – Walker 3, Jensen, Ostrom; Holtzinger, Tucker. Total fouls – Columbine 14, Arvada 20. Fouled out – Rosales. Technicals – None.
