AURORA — For high school sports, there’s nothing like a local backyard battle, and this city to the right of Denver always offers a few.
Boys basketball matchups between district teams have been a happening of sorts for years and Friday night’s 69-63 road victory by Rangeview at Gateway added another substantial chapter to a volume-long array of hotly contested games.
In the Class 5A Continental League opener at a near-capacity and loud Olympians gymnasium, the Raiders continued to fulfill their promise to contend within the league by finally holding off their stubborn rival Olympians through ball protection against strong pressure and balance, a couple of attributes not seen at Rangeview in some time.
“It’s always a rivalry with them; this is our toughest game right here,” Rangeview senior Kellan McLemore said. “It was our most important game.”
The game’s biggest lead while in the balance six points and back and forth it went into the final minutes.
Ultimately, the Raiders (11-1 overall) spread the floor, drove the lane for layups and free-throw opportunities — they converted 21-of-31 — and finally sat on Gateway star O’Rion Hughes.
Big plays down the stretch were spread by the Raiders’ McLemore, Reggie Evans, Justin Clark and Dominic Gunn.
“They were pressuring us the whole game, so Coach told us to put it on the floor and take it to the basket,” McLemore said. “Everybody stepped up and that’ll take us far this year.”
Said Raiders coach Shawn Palmer: “This is a tough place to play, the excitement and atmosphere is here every time we play. And if O’Rion Hughes isn’t one of the best players in the state . . . I’m real pleased with our composure in the fourth quarter.”
Hughes, a senior leaper, was brilliant much of the game, notably scoring 16 of his game-high 32 points in the third quarter. However, he was held to just four shots and three points over the final eight minutes while McLemore (19 points), Evans (22) and others did their things.
Gunn and Crosby each were 4-of-4 at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter and Gunn all but sealed it with a crossover dribble in the lane that resulted in a layup.
Gateway (7-5) lacked scoring punch and was just 6-of-16 on foul shots.
Rangeview 18 15 15 21 — 69
Gateway 17 12 18 16 — 63
Rangeview — Duresky 0 0-0 0, Clark 4 0-0 11, McPeek 0 1-2 1, Gunn 3 4-4 11, Evans 8 5-11 22, McLemore 6 6-8 19, Campos 0 0-0 0, Crosby 0 5-6 5. Totals 21 21-31 69.
Gateway — Hughes 14 1-4 32, Pleasant 4 2-4 10, Goggins 3 0-2 6, Jorge 2 2-4 6, Witherspoon 1 1-2 4, Buni 1 0-0 3, Brever 0 0-0 0, Kauffman 0 0-0 0, Berling 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 6-16 63.
3-point goals — Clark 3, Gunn, Evans, McLemore; Hughes 3, Witherspoon, Buni. Total fouls — Rangeview 15, Gateway 24. Fouled out — Berling.
Neil H. Devlin, 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
