Lakewood – Isiah Martinez’s first buzzer-beater Friday turned out to be a cruel joke.
So with four seconds left in overtime, the Greeley Central junior didn’t leave any room for the referees to have second thoughts.
Martinez sank a leaning shot in the paint and Green Mountain fumbled away its chance to respond as the Wildcats lived up to their reputation of wild victories with a 73-69 nonleague win.
Martinez thought he had won the game in regulation when he tipped in Drew Willeke’s missed layup after the 6-foot-3 junior stole the ball and raced down the floor. The referees waved off the basket but the Wildcats responded by never trailing in overtime before Martinez’s basket broke the 69-69 tie.
“It feels good just to come and win it in overtime, regardless,” said Martinez, a second-team all-state selection last season. “This will help us in the long run. I don’t know, there’s no words to explain it.”
The Wildcats (1-0), ranked No. 9 in The Denver Post/9News Class 4A poll, were the Cinderella team of the state tournament last season and advanced to the semifinals despite being seeded fourth in their region.
“We battled hard,” Willeke said. “If you want to look at our state playoff run last year, every game was big. We just carried it over. I think the three guys on varsity last year showed some true leadership.”
Willeke scored five of his 19 points in overtime and junior guard Ryan Shaw sank five 3-pointers to finish with 19. Martinez added 11 points and pulled down seven rebounds.
Greeley Central shot well in every quarter except the second and did the most damage any time the Rams were in a zone defense. The Wildcats’ biggest lead was seven – late in the first quarter and again midway through the fourth.
The Rams (0-1), who missed the 5A state tournament last season, overcame foul trouble with their post players to mount a fierce rally late in the fourth quarter. Brent Tomsick came off the bench to score 20 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter.
In overtime, Green Mountain rallied again when 6-4 junior Jeff Aspegren scored four points in a nine-second span to tie the game 69-69 with 30 seconds remaining.
The Rams lost 6-6 senior Trent Lovell when he fouled out early in the fourth quarter, which disrupted their double-post offense. With Lovell in, the Rams went up 36-27 early in the third quarter.
Greeley Central 19 8 13 22 11 – 73
Green Mountain 13 15 14 20 7 – 69
Greeley Central – Martinez 5 1-3 11, Masi 3 0-0 8, Mapes 0 0-0 0, Shaw 6 2-2 19, Willeke 7 5-6 19, Sage 3 0-1 6, Elrick 2 2-4 8, Howell 1 0-1 2. Totals 27 10-17 73.
Green Mountain – Juarez 3 0-0 8, Miller 4 3-4 11, Hunt 3 2-5 9, Lovell 2 0-0 4, Aspegren 8 0-1 17, Martin 0 0-0 0, Deignan 0 0-0 0, Tomsick 7 3-5 20, Garbarino 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 8-15 69.
3-point goals – Shaw 5, Elrick 2, Masi 2; Tomsick 3, Juarez 2, Aspegren, Hunt. Total fouls – Greeley Central 15, Green Mountain 23. Fouled out – Lovell, Juarez, Miller. Technicals – None.
