The Thunderdome rocked and was packed — more than a few fans hoping to join the jammed-in crowd Saturday didn’t get in or had to wait outside until someone left.
So it goes for the big city games, and East and George Washington didn’t disappoint.
East, Colorado’s defending Class 5A champion, outlasted George Washington 66-56 to remain in a tie with 4A Abraham Lincoln for first place in the Denver Prep League.
In improving to 15-4 overall — East had to forfeit an earlier lopsided victory over Brighton — the Angels moved to 4-0 in the city and stayed atop the big-school rankings by The Denver Post/9News.
However, the Angels trailed for nearly three quarters before settling down, executing and protecting against the Patriots (15-4, 3-1), who wilted late after a spirited effort.
“No style points today,” East coach Rudy Carey said.
The Angels, he said, were coming off lopsided victories and seemed to lose some of their sharpness when tested.
It was evident amid myriad missed shots in close, including a series of dunk attempts that didn’t go down, and awful free-throw shooting (13-of-32), but the Angels had enough.
Behind the Thornton brothers, East owned the backboards and paint. DaVaughn, a junior, scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, eight on offense. Demetrius, a senior, added 17 points and 13 rebounds, six on offense.
The Patriots threw different defenses at them, but the Angels were patient or pounded their way inside.
“That’s what teams do,” DaVaughn Thornton said. “We have a target on our backs. We’re other teams’ state championship game. It’s how we see it. So we don’t have any time to play around or lollygag around the court, because we know teams come out to beat us.”
As for free throws, Thornton said in noting that he and his brother were a combined 10-of-23: “Boy, it was just one of those days.”
Early on, it appeared to be a good day for George Washington, which came out firing from the perimeter. The Patriots led 23-17 after one quarter, 30-28 at halftime and by as many as seven points as Tyrell Millard drilled four 3-pointers and Nick Sather threw in two.
GW’s inside play, notably by Cedric Ennis and Ashaun Drumgo, also competed with the Angels before cracking against the East press and going cold from outside.
East pulled away late.
“We missed a lot of inside shots,” Carey said. “We readjusted, but we need to get back to where we were.”
Patriots coach Michael Rogers appreciated his team’s effort against the longtime city and state power, but was hoping for more, particularly inside.
“Our kids lost focus for a second,” he said.
George Washington 23 7 14 12 — 56
East 17 11 19 19 — 66
George Washington — Millard 6 2-2 19, Adams 3 2-2 8, Bropleh 1 0-0 2, Johnson 0 0-0 0, Sather 3 0-0 9, Drumgo 3 0-0 6, Ennis 4 4-5 12, Williams 0 0-0 0, Balous 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 8-9 56.
East — Verner 2 0-0 5, Wiese 1 1-2 3, Da. Thornton 9 5-12 23, Gilbert 5 2-4 13, De. Thornton 6 5-11 17, Hildreth 1 0-0 3, Ross 1 0-3 2, Johnson 0 0-0 0, Hilaire 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 13-32 66.
3-point goals — Millard 5, Sather 3; Gilbert, Hildreth, Verner.
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
