FORT COLLINS — These slow starts are becoming annoying for the Broomfield Eagles and coach Kevin Boley.
Still, the top-ranked team in The Denver Post/9News Class 4A poll continues to wake up and churn out victories.
As usual, the Eagles stumbled early, then got it together in a 64-52 road decision at Fossil Ridge. The Eagles improved to 11-0 overall and are in command of the Northern League West at 7-0. Fossil Ridge dropped to 9-3, 5-2.
During the opening minutes, Broomfield threatened to have more turnovers than points, and looked lethargic and indecisive.
But the Eagles gathered themselves, benefiting from better ball movement and the hot shooting of Zac Claeys, and let their defense harass the SaberCats into woes of their own.
“We need to address that,” Boley said of slow beginnings.
Claeys agreed: “(The SaberCats) did a really good job early. We did come out slow again, but we picked it up and found a way to win.
“They zoned us for a while, and sometimes we struggle against that. So we just tried to move the ball, spread it around and find open guys.”
Andrew Nobles drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the first half to give Broomfield the lead for good, then Claeys hit two open 3-pointers and scored eight points in the third quarter to take control.
In addition, the Broomfield defense was effective, notably on Fossil Ridge leading scorer Cody Mivshek. With Broomfield’s Conor Nehf providing pressure, Mivshek paced the SaberCats with 18 points, but had only one field goal through three quarters and missed seven free throws.
Broomfield’s depth, which should come in handy down the season’s stretch and into the playoffs, was evident — 11 Eagles played and 10 scored. Claeys led the way with 19 points and Nobles added 10.
For newer Fossil Ridge, quickly bidding to become a contender, Mitch Ackelson and Keith Kegerreis each added a dozen, but the turnovers (16), subpar free-throw shooting (22-of-34) and other botched chances didn’t help.
Coach Matt Johannsen sees it as part of the process.
“They don’t get down, they bounce back and they’re pretty resilient,” he said. “The thing we’re trying to teach them is that no matter what happens or no matter the adversity, you have to come back and earn that respect. . . . We’re trying to respect ourselves because it’s easy to get our heads down after this type of game.”
Broomfield 11 14 20 19 — 64
Fossil Ridge 12 12 13 15 — 52
Broomfield — Nehf 1 3-4 5, Barthule 2 4-6 8, Claeys 6 3-3 19, Gorman 1 0-0 2, Stahler 1 2-2 4, Biegner 2 0-0 4, Tomsick 1 3-5 5, Nobles 4 0-0 10, Whipple 0 0-0 0, McCormick 2 1-2 5, Zimmerman 0 2-2 2. Totals 20 18-24 64.
Fossil Ridge — Ackelson 2 7-11 12, Mivshek 4 8-15 18, Kahn 0 0-0 0, Penrod 2 4-4 9, Kegerreis 4 2-2 12, Dorlac 0 0-0 0, Petersen 0 1-2 1, Hansen 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 22-34 52.
3-point goals — Claeys 4, Nobles 2; Kegerreis 2, Mivshek 2, Ackelson, Penrod. Total fouls — Broomfield 26, Fossil Ridge 20. Fouled out — Stahler, Penrod. Technical fouls — None.
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
