Centennial – That two-win season of a year ago is ancient history for Eaglecrest.
It was also a learning experience for the Raptors, as was a loss this season to fourth-ranked Arapahoe in which they blew a 10-point lead in the final four minutes.
Recent history almost repeated itself Wednesday night as Eaglecrest surrendered a 12-point lead to Boulder in the fourth quarter.
But the Raptors showed their grit and were near-perfect at the free-throw line for an 81-79 overtime Centennial League victory that quadrupled their number of wins for 2005-06.
The victory improved Eaglecrest to 8-3 overall and 2-1 in arguably the state’s toughest league, with four teams – all of which made last year’s Class 5A Final Four – ranked in the top 10.
“We know we have a good team and we need to keep playing hard each night and show the state we are a tough team,” said Eaglecrest senior guard Allen Noble, whose two free throws with four seconds left in overtime sealed the victory.
The Raptors, who return virtually their entire squad from last season, led in the 10-point range for most of the first three quarters, using their superior quickness and passing skills to work the ball inside for easy baskets.
But junior-dominated Boulder (6-4, 0-3) turned up its defensive pressure in the fourth quarter and caught Eaglecrest with a 12-0 run that tied the game at 62 with just more than two minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Raptors, who committed just six turnovers in the first three quarters, coughed up the ball four times and missed two shots during the run.
Eaglecrest steadied itself by making 9-of-12 free throws in the final 2:03 of regulation, but two misses with 25 seconds left by guard Jordan Cobb proved to be costly.
Boulder’s Kelly White hit a 3-point basket to cut the Raptors’ lead to 69-68 with 15 seconds left. After two Eaglecrest free throws by sophomore Gage Wooten, the Panthers’ Mitch Fraser made his second 3-pointer of the quarter with four seconds left, sending the game to overtime.
A basket by Noble (team-high 18 points) and two free throws by Cobb after Boulder’s David Bremner missed the front end of a one-and-one put Eaglecrest ahead 77-73 with 1:03 left in the overtime.
Boulder 11 13 20 27 8 – 79
Eaglecrest 20 14 20 17 10 – 81
Boulder – Fraser 8 1-1 20, White 3 0-0 8, Ragin 6 3-5 15, Lyons 3 1-1 8, Bremner 5 2-5 12, Harper 3 0-0 7, Torrens 0 0-0 0, Pericak 3 1-2 7, Hall 1 0-0 2. Totals 32 8-14 79.
Eaglecrest – Cobb 1 6-8 8, Noble 7 4-5 18, Harrison 3 0-0 7, Williams 2 0-0 4, Wooten 6 3-4 15, Sanders 4 4-4 13, Henry 4 0-0 8, McIlvain 2 0-0 6, Cherry 1 0-0 2. Totals 30 17-21 81.
3-pt. goals – Fraser 3, White 2, Ragin, Harper; McIlvain 2, Harrison, Sanders. Total fouls – Boulder 17, Eaglecrest 13. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
