Fort Collins – Smoky Hill opened the basketball season looking a lot like the team that advanced to the Class 5A state semifinals in March.
The Poudre Impalas, however, didn’t begin their season until the second quarter.
The fourth-ranked Buffaloes jumped on the ninth-ranked Impalas early Thursday and built a lead they would not relinquish in 65-45 nonleague victory.
The Buffaloes, who led 14-2 late in the first quarter, never let the Impalas within six points and pulled away in the third quarter while eight players scored.
“We’ve been playing together for a long time so that chemistry is already there,” said Buffaloes senior Phil Ross, who scored six points. “A lot of other teams are building it up as they go, we already have it.”
Senior Scott May led Smoky Hill with 19 points, Josh Cassaday scored 11 and had six rebounds, and Travis Stroth had nine points off the bench as the visitors shot 50 percent from the field.
Poudre missed its first 12 shots and didn’t get a basket until the final seconds of the first quarter on Anthony Crenshaw’s jumper.
The Impalas turned over the ball nine times in the first half, shot 31 percent from the field and were 8-of-17 from the free-throw line.
Poudre, which grew impatient with the slow start, began forcing shots and never got into a rhythm.
“The frustration is larger than that. We didn’t do the things that we are committed to doing,” Impalas coach Jeff Schelly said. “Offensively, we didn’t commit to the type of spacing we needed, we didn’t fill our spots hard, and we weren’t committed to waiting for great shots.”
Junior standout Dallas Elmore led the Impalas with 18 points, including several dunks for the home crowd, while collecting five rebounds and blocking three shots. Crenshaw had seven points and Anthony Rodriguez came off the bench to score six.
Elmore’s dunk early in the second quarter energized the crowd and sparked a brief rally that cut the deficit to six points. But the Buffaloes stayed poised, led 29-18 at halftime and extended their lead to 47-28 late in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Ryan Perry from the right baseline.
“I would have liked to play better in spots but I thought the effort overall was good,” Buffaloes coach Ken Shaw said. “We didn’t shoot well at times and that kept us from maybe getting out a little quicker … but for us, I thought it was a solid season opener.”
Smoky Hill 14 15 18 18 – 65
Poudre 4 14 10 17 – 45
Smoky Hill – Agyei 3 0-0 6, May 7 4-4 19, Ross 3 0-0 6, Cassaday 5 1-2 11, Huebner 1 1-2 3, Stroth 4 0-0 9, Rice 0 0-0 0, Perry 2 0-0 5, Whittington 3 0-2 6, Pandorf 0 0-0 0, Carter 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 6-10 65.
Poudre – W. Casey 2 1-2 6, Fulgencio 1 0-1 3, Crenshaw 3 0-1 7, Shaw 0 0-0 0, Elmore 5 6-7 18, Rodriguez 2 0-2 6, P. Casey 2 1-4 5. Totals 15 8-17 45.
3-pt. goals – May, Perry, Stroth; Elmore 2, Rodriguez 2, W. Casey, Crenshaw. Total fouls – Smoky Hill 20, Poudre 11. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
