Cherry Hills Village – Lots of teams can throw various combinations of height and size on the court.
Colorado Springs Christian did it with a purpose Saturday night at Black Fieldhouse.
The Lions, ranked No. 2 in The Denver Post/9News Class 3A poll, overcame perimeter turnovers and a slew of fouls with a steady inside presence in a 63-48 nonleague win over a depleted Kent Denver.
The Lions’ twin towers of 6-foot-8 senior Taylor Broekhuis and 6-6 junior Matt Baarts combined for 23 points, 19 rebounds and blocked three shots, while 6-3 senior Spencer Smith came off the bench for 10 points and seven rebounds.
Due to 16 turnovers and 26 fouls – most as the result of going after the ball aggressively – the Lions (3-0) failed to establish much of an offensive rhythm. Instead, they seemed to flow from one hot hand to the next.
“Our bigs played so well, especially Spencer coming off the bench, and helped out with the rebounding,” Lions coach Alan Karg said.
Mike Shugart had 11 points for the Lions, who attacked the basket and shot just six 3-pointers, making three.
Already tasked with finding offense in the absence of graduated star Robby Pride, the seventh-ranked Sun Devils were without standout Kyle Lewis, who injured his shoulder last week. Sun Devils coach Todd Schayes said Lewis, a University of Denver recruit, could return as early as this week.
Gunner Wiebe and junior guard Max Holz scored 12 points apiece and 6-4 senior Will Deevy chipped in 10 before fouling out.
The Sun Devils led briefly in the first quarter and managed to answer two of Colorado Spring Christian’s attempts to pull away with a scrappy effort on the defensive end.
Kent Denver (2-1) trailed 19-9 early in the second quarter but fought back behind an 8-0 run to pull within two. The Lions stretched their lead to 47-34 in the third quarter but were again reeled in before finally pulling away late.
Jake Selley scored all seven of his points in the fourth quarter for the Lions, including a 3-pointer with 4:03 remaining that sparked their decisive run.
“When we get the ball inside that just allows our outside shooters to get open and get more flow into our game,” Broekhuis said.
C.S. Christian 13 17 17 16 – 63
Kent Denver 7 17 11 13 – 48
Colorado Springs Christian – Mellema 2 0-1 4, Shugart 4 3-3 11, Selley 1 4-6 7, Broekhuis 3 5-6 11, Baarts 6 0-0 12, Smith 4 2-4 10, Veltkamp 1 0-0 3, Winters 0 0-0 0, Mohnssen 0 0-0 0, Collura 2 0-0 5, Van Cura 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 14-20 63.
Kent Denver – Kraus 1 0-0 2, Clark 0 0-0 0, Holz 5 0-0 12, Deevy 2 6-8 10, Wiebe 2 8-11 12, Reilly 0 1-3 1, Kenney 0 1-2 1, Dunlap 1 0-0 2, Boone 1 2-6 4, Murray 0 0-1 0, Ely 2 0-0 4. Totals 14 18-31 48.
3-point goals – Collura, Selley, Veltkamp; Holz 2. Total fouls – Colorado Springs Christian 26, Kent Denver 16. Fouled out – Mellema; Deevy. Technicals – CSCS bench.
