FORT COLLINS — It was obvious officials were anticipating something large as the local fire marshal had been in a few days earlier to set ground rules for one of the city’s largest crowds of the season.
On Tuesday night, Poudre seized the moment with a 59-53 victory over crosstown rival Rocky Mountain that will be felt beyond the Class 5A Front Range League.
By knocking off their hosts and returning the favor from last month, the Impalas kept the Lobos from clinching the league title and climbed back into the seeding race.
With nine days remaining in the regular season, Poudre improved to 18-2, 12-1 in league. Ranked No. 5 in The Denver Post/9News 5A poll, the Impalas are in position for at least a tie for the Front Range championship as well as one of big schools’ top two seeds in the playoff bracket.
Third-ranked Rocky Mountain dipped to 18-3, 13-1.
A brilliant second quarter was the difference for Poudre, which faded badly late the last time the teams met.
This time, the Impalas began by making only one of their first 11 shots, but caught fire quickly by drilling nine of their first 10 attempts. Tied at 17, they reeled off 15 consecutive points to take a commanding lead.
“The first quarter we didn’t move the ball at all,” Poudre coach Jeff Shelly said. “We were making one pass and shooting the ball. Then we started moving the ball, and we got some mojo going.”
Poudre’s front line of Boston College-bound Dallas Elmore, Anthony Crenshaw and Trevor Shaw dominated. They combined perimeter prowess and inside muscle for 47 of Poudre’s points.
“We seized the moment, we got going,” Elmore said.
Said Crenshaw: “We just got going, played good basketball. It was what we worked on all week.”
The 15-0 surge, aided by three 3-pointers by Nathan Crabtree, led to a 36-22 halftime lead. The Poudre lead crested at 20 points early in the third quarter, and the Impalas were never pressed.
Rocky Mountain had assorted chances late but fizzled. Turnovers, cold shooting and being a step slow on defense and rebounding were the main culprits in having their 11-game winning streak snapped. The Lobos hadn’t lost since Dec. 22, in an out-of-state tournament.
The Lobos also went cold from the floor — they were 3-of-12 in the second quarter — and converted only 1-of-6 free throws after halftime.
“It’s very uncharacteristic of us,” Rocky Mountain coach Bruce Dick said. “We’re not always going to shoot it well, but give Poudre credit. They defended us well. We didn’t get some shots to go down as we normally do.
“We battled back at the end, but couldn’t come back.”
Elmore led all scorers with 19 points. Crenshaw, who fouled out, added 18. Shaw scored 10, and the three combined for 25 rebounds.
The Lobos lost leading scorer Brian Glenn to an elbow near an eye in the third quarter — he didn’t play in the fourth and finished with 10 points. Kaipo Sabas led the Lobos with 13 points.
Poudre 9 27 15 8 — 59
Rocky Mountain 14 8 17 14 — 53
Poudre — Fulgencio 0 0-2 0, Shaw 4 2-4 10, Rodriguez 1 0-0 3, Elmore 8 0-3 19, Crenshaw 6 5-6 18, Crabtree 3 0-0 9. Totals 22 7-15 59.
Rocky Mountain — Liss 3 0-0 9, Glenn 4 2-5 10, Stewart 2 2-2 7, Sabas 4 4-6 13, Donnelly 4 0-0 8, Campos 2 0-0 4, Peters 0 2-2 2, Musgrave 0 0-0 0, Westra 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 10-15 53.
3-pt. goals — Crabtree 3, Elmore 3, Rodriguez, Shaw; Liss 3, Sabas, Stewart. Total fouls — Poudre 13, Rocky Mountain 20. Fouled out — Liss. Technicals — None.
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
