Even with the Denver Prep League championship on the line Tuesday night, neither team seemed overly thrilled with the outcome.
Ultimately, host East outlasted Abraham Lincoln 91-78 to clinch at least a tie for the city title as the regular season approaches its final weekend.
On Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the Thunderdome, East, top ranked in The Denver Post/9News Class 5A poll and the program that has won every DPL crown but two since the 1992-93 season, will go after another as Rudy Carey’s Angels will meet his son David’s Montbello Warriors.
The Angels, also playing for a top 5A playoff seed, are 19-2 overall, 7-0 in the city. No. 2 Abraham Lincoln, in its first season since switching to 4A, is 13-7, 6-1, and missed its share of the DPL title.
“We’re not playing smart,” Carey said. “We’re playing hard enough to win, but to play championship basketball you have to make free throws and layups, and play smart. You have to put people away.”
The Angels, riding a big game from guard Donell Wells (game-high 29 points), also received 27 from reserve Jordan Martinez-Doublin, including 12 in the fourth quarter.
However, East, which could have run away and hidden multiple times, didn’t protect the ball, failed to rebound consistently and gave the Lancers multiple openings. But they had their problems, too.
“Down the line, when we needed to execute, we didn’t and that’s concerning,” Abraham Lincoln coach Vince Valdez said. “To reach our full potential, we have to execute.”
The Lancers, despite 22 turnovers and early foul trouble to Jorge Gutierrez (23 points), got within 77-71 with 2:17 to play, but were done in turnovers and defensive lapses.
“We have to value possessions and after this weekend (playoff brackets will be announced Sunday), nothing is promised,” Valdez said.
Wells agreed for his side.
“We get anxious sometimes, and we have to do better than that,” he said. “We know Montbello is going to give us a run and the playoffs are coming.”
Blake Swain added 11 points for East, and Mookie Gilbert scored 10 despite three early fouls. Kadeem Thomas (20), Francisco Cruz (16) and Ruot Pal (14) aided the Lancers, who will face George Washington on Friday and figure to land one of the top 4A seeds.
Abraham Lincoln 14 21 17 26 – 78
East 22 22 19 28 – 91
Abraham Lincoln – Guitierrez 9 5-7 23, Cruz 8 0-0 16, Thomas 8 0-1 20, Torres 0 3-4 3, Pal 7 0-0 14, Carrasco 0 0-0 0, Preciado 1 0-0 2, Rodriguez 0 0-0 0. Totals 33 8-12 78.
East – Gilbert 5 0-0 10, Swain 4 2-4 11, Da. Thornton 2 1-2 5, Verner 0 3-4 3, Wells 10 7-7 29, Martinez-Doublin 12 2-4 27, De. Thornton 1 4-4 6, Hildreth 0 0-0 0, Russell 0 0-0 0, Brooks 0 0-0 0, Wiese 0 0-0 0, Hilaire 0 0-0 0. Totals 34 19-25 91.
3-pt. goals – Thomas 4; Wells 2, Swain, Martinez-Doublin. Total fouls – Abraham Lincoln 21; East 14. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
Neil H. Devlin can be reached at 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com.
