Evergreen – The Evergreen Cougars got their glue back Thursday and stuck one on No. 3 Widefield.
Guard Travis Tucker returned after missing the first two games and was the steadying force throughout the Cougars’ 57-55 Class 4A nonleague upset in which they led by 18 points early in the third quarter and nearly squandered their advantage.
Breaking the press, finding the open spot and slicing to the basket, Tucker made an impact just about everywhere – except for the free-throw line. The all-state senior shot 3-for-11 at the stripe, including two misses with 33.8 seconds remaining with the score tied at 55.
But forward J.T. Petrelli grabbed the rebound, was fouled and sank both free throws for his only points of the game as the Cougars improved to 2-1 in a matchup of teams that lost in the state quarterfinals last season.
Tucker led the Cougars with 16 points and Charley Blackstock and Will Vickstrom came off the bench to add 11 and 10 points, respectively.
“It was a lifesaver,” Tucker said of Petrelli’s offensive board. “I think we were more focused on containing and holding on to the lead than attacking, so we weren’t playing aggressive and were a little more timid.”
The Gladiators (3-2) had several chances to win or send the game into overtime in the final 25 seconds. Widefield nearly turned the ball over three times and used two timeouts before Brandon Lutz had to settle for a desperation heave well outside the 3-point line.
Alex Clark grabbed the airball and was fouled on the follow-up attempt with half a second remaining. Clark missed his first free throw and intentionally missed the second, but the Gladiators could not come up with the tip-in.
Vicente Valdez led the Gladiators with 12 points, and Lutz chipped in 11.
With their Princeton-style halfcourt set and scrambling defense, the Cougars rattled off the first 11 points and led 35-19 at halftime thanks largely to 15 Widefield turnovers.
But the Gladiators answered. Behind six points in the fourth quarter from Julien McCollum and four each from Lutz and Valdez, the Gladiators tied the game with 38 seconds remaining.
Widefield 8 11 19 17 – 55
Evergreen 18 17 13 9 – 57
Widefield – Hunter 1 0-0 3, Lutz 4 1-2 11, Vaughn 3 0-0 6, McCollum 2 2-2 6, Valdez 6 0-3 12, Anding 2 2-2 6, Felton 1 1-2 3, Farrior 1 0-0 2, Clark 1 4-7 6. Totals 21 10-18 55.
Evergreen – Tucker 6 3-11 16, Esmaeli 3 1-2 8, Petrelli 0 2-2 2, Proch 2 0-0 4, Sutton 2 0-0 4, Blackstock 5 0-0 11, Vickstrom 4 0-0 10, Philbin 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 6-15 57.
3-point goals – Lutz 2, Hunter; Vickstrom 2, Blackstock, Esmaeli, Tucker. Total fouls – Widefield 19, Evergreen 19. Fouled out – McCollum; Sutton. Technicals – None.
