Highlands Ranch – It took a jolt of Lightning to get George Washington back to life Wednesday night.
After a strong first quarter, the Patriots shut down in the second and managed just three points on 1-of-9 shooting.
“We just kind of idled,” Patriots guard Sean Stokes said. “We can never let that happen. We got to peak and keep going, you can never come down from that.”
The Patriots took control in the second half en route to a 50-38 victory over the Legacy Lightning in the first round of the Ray Ball Region of the Class 5A state basketball tournament at ThunderRidge High School.
George Washington, seeded seventh in the 12-team region, got 18 points from Jordan White and 10 points from Stokes to snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 15-9.
“The playoffs are a whole different story,” White said. “We just came out focused, ready to play, ready to get this one down.”
Ready, that is, after halftime.
The Patriots led 11-3 early only to watch the 10th-seeded Lightning rally behind a 9-1 run. The Patriots’ lone basket of the second quarter came from Michael Johnson with 1:05 remaining to give the Patriots a 16-15 advantage at halftime.
The Patriots were up 31-23 late in the third quarter and led 42-28 on a basket by Jerrome Millard with 3:38 remaining while holding Legacy scoreless for nearly the first four minutes of the fourth quarter.
Legacy (9-14), which lost its third straight, struggled with George Washington’s traps, turning the ball over 18 times. The Lightning shot just 28 percent from the field.
Junior Deandre Molden led the Lightning with 15 points and nine rebounds and 6-foot-5 sophomore Trevor Noonan had 14 points on 2-of-9 shooting from 3-point range.
George Washington will face No. 2 seed ThunderRidge (18-5) on Friday at 7:15 p.m.
Legacy 6 9 11 12 – 38
George Washington 13 3 18 16 – 50
Legacy – Molden 6 3-4 15, Noonan 4 4-4 14, Coniglio 0 2-3 2, Maly 1 1-3 3, Ipsen 0 0-0 0, Edwards 0 0-2 0, Ruhl 1 0-0 2, Finger 0 0-0 0, Dresen 1 0-0 2, Arquelles 0 0-0 0, Brewer 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 10-16 38.
George Washington – White 7 3-6 18, Brown 1 5-6 7, Millard 2 1-4 6, Stokes 4 1-1 10, Jones 0 0-0 0, Johnson 2 1-2 5, Drumgo 0 0-0 0, Teague 2 0-0 4, Carter 0 0-0 0, Davis 0 0-0 0, Harris 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 11-19 50.
3-point goals – Noonan 2; Millard, Stokes, White. Total fouls – Legacy 17, George Washington 19. Fouled out – Jones. Technicals – Jones.
DOHERTY 64, DAKOTA RIDGE 45
Three Doherty players scored in double figures and the Spartans outscored the Eagles 24-13 in the fourth quarter.
The Spartans, seeded sixth, won their fifth consecutive game and improved to 16-8 one season after winning just four games and missing the tournament.
“Last year we couldn’t finish a game for anything,” Spartans guard Steve Clark said. “This year we’ve learned to finish.”
Derek Harris and V.J. Holmes each scored six points in the fourth quarter to lead the Spartans with 13 points apiece. Clark added 11 points and senior Lamarr Houston had nine.
Doherty will face third-seeded Grandview (17-6) on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
The Spartans opened the fourth quarter on a 7-1 run and started getting their transition game going to bury the Eagles (9-15).
Dakota Ridge 11 5 16 13 – 45
Doherty 18 12 10 24 – 64
Dakota Ridge – Szabatura 2 0-0 5, Medrum 0 0-0 0, Baal 2 0-0 4, A. McDonnell 1 0-0 3, M. McDonnell 1 0-2 2, Anderson 7 0-0 18, Pritchett 0 0-0 0, McClelland 3 1-1 8, Wujek 1 0-0 2, Buckner 1 1-2 3. Totals 18 2-5 45.
Doherty – Lucero 0 0-0 0, Hatcher 2 0-0 4, Bennett 0 0-0 0, Dowell 1 0-1 2, Allen 1 0-0 2, Clark 5 0-0 11, Holmes 6 1-2 13, Parence 0 0-0 0, Harris 4 3-7 13, Houston 4 1-3 9, Fiddler 3 0-0 6, Moritz 1 2-2 4. Totals 27 7-15 64.
3-point goals – Anderson 4, McClelland, A. McDonnell, Szabatura; Harris 2, Clark. Total fouls – Dakota Ridge 20, Doherty 13. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
