Boulder – Run the offense. Score. Repeat.
It was about that simple Thursday for Harrison as Panthers put another notch in a surprising season and reclaimed their spot in the Class 4A state final with a 58-36 victory over Greeley Central.
The Panthers, finalists in 2005, took over late in the first quarter and never let up, breaking down the Wildcats with their ball movement, cashing in high-percentage shots and contesting every attempt at the Coors Events Center.
“We just wanted to take them out of their game,” said Panthers junior John Register, who ran a steady show from the point. “We knew they were real good on defense so we wanted to try to not let them set up on defense.”
Harrison, which advanced out of the Ron Shavlik Region as a No. 6 seed, won its sixth straight to improve to 19-9 under first-year coach Jerry Austin. The Panthers graduated eight players from last year’s team that finished 26-2 before losing in the final to Thomas Jefferson.
The Panthers will get another shot at TJ in the final here at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Panthers and Spartans split two games this season.
Thursday’s game was the fifth Final Four appearance for Austin but first as a head coach. Austin replaced longtime Harrison coach Butch Thorpe and maintains the same system.
“We knew Greeley Central was scrappy, but the guys were hoping they hadn’t seen a team like us,” Austin said.
Antoine Watson scored 18 points and pulled down 14 rebounds and 6-foot-4 junior O’Bryan Hewitt had 11 points to head up a Panthers team that got points from eight players. Junior Arthur Kaufman came off the bench in the first quarter to score seven of his nine points.
Harrison trailed 6-2 and then blew past the Wildcats with a 12-1 run. The Panthers methodically built upon their lead and were up by 17 points in the second quarter and 22 in the third quarter before going up 53-27 early in the fourth quarter on a basket by Watson.
Said Watson: “We got on a break and never let up.”
Greeley Central’s run to the Final Four was equally surprising as the Wildcats emerged as a No. 4 seed from the Bill Weimar Region. But their formula of good defense and steady offense never materialized Thursday.
The Wildcats (19-8) shot 26 percent from the floor and missed numerous layups and close-range shots.
“It’s not intimidation,” Wildcats sophomore Isiah Martinez said. “I think it was more jitters coming out in the first half.”
Martinez led the Wildcats with 11 points and sophomore forward Drew Willeke had 10.
