Boulder – Donell Wells could have been shooting baskets Thursday, or he could have been just throwing deck chairs in a swimming pool.
Either way, he wasn’t missing and made one heck of a splash at the Coors Events Center.
Wells nearly outscored Doherty by himself through three quarters as East hammered the Spartans in every facet to advance to the Class 5A state final with a 72-51 victory.
Wells outscored the Spartans 12-11 in the first quarter and had his game-high 24 points when Doherty had managed just 28 by late in the third quarter.
And it was only part of the lopsided victory, which was a bit of revenge for the Angels (23-3) after getting blown out by the Spartans (24-3) at the start of the season when they were admittedly confounded by Doherty’s 1-3-1 zone defense.
Mookie Gilbert (17 points) and DeVaughn Thornton were strong in the paint, continually challenging defensive standout Garrett Fiddler around the rim and eventually overwhelming the future Yale player with their athleticism and pace.
“We run all the time in practice and are probably the best- conditioned team in the state, and what we want to do is run that (Fiddler), because he’s a great player,” Wells said. “While he was going from 3-point line to 3-point line we would get a chance to get in the post.”
Even with Fiddler’s good positioning and wingspan, the Angels hung in the air long enough to convert.
“That’s what we got ready for was to change our shots,” said Thornton, who had nine points.
Blake Swain added 12 points for the Angels, who will play Saturday for their ninth state title.
The Spartans trailed by 13 in the second quarter, 28 in the third and were down 66-37 on Swain’s layup with more than four minutes remaining.
Fiddler had 11 points, eight boards and three blocked shots and guard Bryse Velasquez added 11 points. The Spartans missed some close shots early and never got 3-point specialist James Webb going. Webb missed his first eight shots from beyond the arc and finished with three points.
“We tell these kids that when you play championship basketball, your margin of error is almost none,” Spartans coach Dan McKiernan said.
East 16 20 20 16 – 72
Doherty 11 12 7 21 – 51
East – Verner 2 0-0 4, Swain 4 4-4 12, Wells 10 0-0 24, Dev. Thornton 3 3-5 9, Gilbert 7 3-3 17, Martinez-Doublin 2 2-4 6, Dem. Thornton 0 0-0 0, Hildreth 0 0-0 0, Ross 0 0-0 0, Brooks 0 0-0 0, Weise 0 0-0 0, Molock 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 12-16 72.
Doherty – Velasquez 4 0-0 11, Webb 1 0-0 3, Holmes 6 1-2 13, Fiddler 5 1-4 11, Moritz 2 1-2 5, Carlston 1 0-1 2, Davis 1 0-0 2, Lucero 0 0-0 0,
Thomas 1 2-2 4, Guerrero 0 0-0 0, Wilson 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 5-11 51.
3-point goals – Wells 4; Velasquez 3, Webb. Total fouls – East 13, Doherty 16. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
SCHEDULE
THURSDAY
At Coors Events Center, Boulder
Aurora Central 57, Mullen 42
East 72, Doherty 51
SATURDAY
At Coors Events Center, Boulder
Championship game: 8 p.m.
(2) East (23-3) vs. (1) Aurora Central (27-0)
