Cherry Hills Village – The Sun Devils got into the details Saturday to get back into the game against upset-minded University.
After struggling through a first half marked by nine turnovers, 14 fouls and uncharacteristic shooting by standout Robby Pride, top-seeded Kent Denver came out after halftime and played like a new team.
“Lately, we’ve been struggling in the first half and coming out with a sluggish pace,” Sun Devils guard Kyle Lewis said. “Second half is where we seem to just collect ourselves.”
Kent Denver stayed out of foul trouble and got after it defensively to win running away 68-50 over the Bulldogs, seeded fourth in the Bob Chavez Region of the Class 3A state tournament. Lewis was the Sun Devils’ only steady hand.
The junior scored a game-high 28 points, including buzzer-beating 3-pointers at the end of the second and third quarters.
“At the beginning of the season, we used to panic at halftime,” Lewis said. “We’d get in the locker room and yell at each other. This team has matured so much. Now we go in there, we laugh, we just know the second half is our half.”
Kent Denver (20-3) will face Pagosa Springs, a 58-36 winner over Bishop Machebeuf, in the Great 8 on Thursday at Moby Arena in Fort Collins.
Pride, bound for Dartmouth and one of the top scorers in 3A, scored nine of his 13 points in the second half after a 1-for-10 start from the field. His layup at the start of the third quarter gave the Sun Devils the lead for the first time since late in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs (19-6) put themselves in position for the upset by attacking the basket, getting the Sun Devils to go to their bench and avoiding a transition game. The Bulldogs led 29-21 with 3:50 remaining in the first half on a long jump shot by Andy Eberhard, but were up just 33-32 at halftime.
Kent Denver opened the third quarter on a 9-0 run and pressured the ball without fouling, forcing 11 second-half turnovers.
“Coach (Todd Schayes) taught us to play hard and play smart, so we just put up our hands instead of going for blocks,” said Sun Devils forward Tim Collamore, who finished with 10 points.
University 20 13 8 9 – 50
Kent Denver 17 15 17 19 – 68
University – Eberhard 4 0-1 8, Schauermann 2 5-6 9, Crespin 1 0-0 3, Shweers 2 0-2 4, Fry 4 1-2 9, Hardenburger 1 1-2 4, Da. Palmer 1 6-6 8, De. Palmer 1 1-4 3, Reeve 0 2-2 2, Sjoberg 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 16-25 50.
Kent Denver – Stabler 1 3-4 5, Lewis 8 8-8 28, Pride 5 2-2 13, Deevy 3 0-4 8, Collamore 4 1-2 10, Warkintin 0 0-0 0, Clark 0 0-0 0, Ramirez 0 1-2 1, Wiebe 1 0-0 3, Christian 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 15-22 68.
3-pt. goals – Crespin, Hardenburger; Lewis 4, Deevy 2, Collamore, Pride, Wiebe. Total fouls – University 21, Kent Denver 18. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
