Teach your children well. Basketball players, too.
Facing a surprising nine-point deficit late in the third quarter against the scrappy Kent Denver Sun Devils, Denver Lutheran didn’t panic. The Lights’ stars just shined a little brighter by falling back on what they knew how to do.
“We’re not used to being down at all,” Lights 7-footer Trevor Williams said, “but we responded with execution on the offensive end. That’s what kind of team we are.”
Williams and guard Terrance Brockman rallied the Lights and helped carry them through overtime Saturday as they outlasted the Sun Devils for a 61-58 victory in the Class 3A Metropolitan League opener for both teams.
Williams, who picked up his fourth foul one minute into the fourth quarter, played without reservations as he scored 21 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked four shots. Joel Haywood scored 19 and Brockman scored nine of his 12 points after halftime for the No. 4 Lights (6-0), who had won their previous games by an average of 26.6 points.
There were 13 lead changes before the Sun Devils (6-2) went on an 8-0 run, sparked by Spencer Dunlap’s 3-pointer and Holt Dunlap’s free throws, to go up 38-29 with 1:47 left in the third. The Lights would tie it twice in the fourth, take a small lead but get sent to overtime when Spencer Dunlap’s free throws tied it at 51.
It was all Lutheran in the extra frame. Williams put the Lights up for good early in overtime when he rebounded Brockman’s miss and put it back as part of a 7-0 run that was enough to withstand a late flurry from the visitors.
The victory capped a strong finish by the Lights, who used the perimeter screens of Williams to slice to the rim and feed the ball in the low post, where the Sun Devils had little in the way of stopping him.
It was a strong rally mentally for Williams, who picked up a technical foul for slapping the backboard during the Sun Devils’ run in the third quarter.
“The best thing about our team is we know how to execute,” Brockman said.
Holt Dunlap scored 21 points, including all seven of the Sun Devils’ points in overtime, before fouling out. Spencer Dunlap scored 12 as the Sun Devils got points from eight players, compared with just four by the Lights.
“We did a great job. We’re a young team and this will help us through the year,” Holt Dunlap said. “I know this game will make us play better.”
Kent Denver 10 11 17 13 7 — 58
Denver Lutheran 11 13 10 17 10 — 61
Kent Denver — Holz 1 0-1 2, Brittan 1 0-0 3, S. Dunlap 3 4-6 12, Wiepking 3 1-2 7, H. Dunlap 7 6-8 21, Finer 3 0-0 7, Smith 2 0-0 4, Blackwell 1 0-0 2, Early 0 0-0 0, Lantz 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 11-17 58.
Denver Lutheran — Brockman 5 2-3 12, J. Haywood 6 6-8 19, Williams 9 3-7 21, Duensing 3 2-2 9, Beach 0 0-2 0, Brott 0 0-0 0, P. Haywood 0 0-0 0, Hock 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 13-22 61.
3-point goals — S. Dunlap 2, Finer, H. Dunlap, Brittan; J. Haywood, Duensing; Total fouls — Kent Denver 19, Denver Lutheran 19. Fouled out — Wiepking, H. Dunlap. Technicals — Kent Denver (bench, Coach Schayes); Williams.
