BOULDER — The basketball court at Boulder may be four feet shy of regulation and the fabled Pit gymnasium may be on its way out in a year or two, but it still adds to its legacy.
The current Panthers did so Wednesday in earning an exhausting 74-71 triple-overtime victory against Eaglecrest in the Centennial League.
“I thought it was going to go on forever,” said Boulder’s Mitchell Fraser, who followed up a steal and layup by teammate Kelly White with two key free throws in the closing seconds despite severe cramps in both calves. “I was just happy I was able to come back in and help my team win.”
Boulder improved to 11-1 overall. Both teams are 2-1 in league. Eaglecrest (10-2 overall) had its chances, too, but Boulder picked it up after trailing 36-24 in the second quarter.
The game’s best stretch and shape of things to come occurred in the third, when the Raptors inexplicably had turnovers on six of eight possessions and Boulder cranked up its defense, scored nine straight points to tie it at 41.
From there, each team played deliberately and had opportunities to end it at the end of regulation and the first two extra sessions.
Boulder executed better late.
“I’ll tell you what, that was great,” Panthers coach Alan Schulz said. “As a coach, you should never feel this way, but I thought we had it won three times. And I look over there at (Eaglecrest coach John) Olander and he’s coaching his butt off. They kept responding and what a tribute to those guys.”
But Fraser finally shook off his cramps and finished with a game-high 23 points. David Bremner, who had a couple of monster dunks, but missed three others — including a breakaway — and misfired on a couple of last-shot opportunities to win it, was resilient and scored 18 points. Aaron Ragin (12 points, four blocked shots) added further support as the Panthers got assorted help from a half-dozen others.
Eaglecrest, which had trailed 61-55 with 1:24 to play in regulation, enjoyed its usual balance with five players in double-figure scoring, led by Gage Wooten’s 19, and Josh Turner (15) added three vital 3-pointers late.
“We didn’t get the ball to the right people at various times,” Olander said, “but we had a big effort.”
Eaglecrest 20 18 8 16 2 4 3 — 71
Boulder 13 13 19 17 2 4 6 — 74
Eaglecrest — Okoye 0 0-0 0, Wooten 9 1-3 19, Sanders 4 2-3 10, Turner 5 1-1 15, Mable 4 0-0 12, Kyle 1 0-1 2, Johnson 0 0-0 0, Dennis 4 2-2 11, Thompson 1 0-0 2. Totals 28 6-10 71.
Boulder — Bremner 7 4-6 18, Fraser 6 7-7 23, Harper 2 0-0 4, Ragin 5 2-2 12, Hall 0 0-0 0, Pericak 0 0-2 0, Noolas 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 0-0 0, Staarmann 3 0-0 8, White 3 3-3 9, Colter 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 16-21 74.
3-point goals — Mable 4, Turner 4, Dennis; Fraser 4, Staarmann 2. Total fouls — Eaglecrest 21, Boulder 13. Fouled out — Okoye. Technicals — None.
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
