LAKEWOOD — The ball doesn’t touch the rim much when Brian Hunt shoots, but that doesn’t mean the Green Mountain guard doesn’t love the iron.
With the Rams’ showdown against the visiting Chatfield Chargers pushed into overtime, the senior Hunt finished the game as he started — shooting with seemingly unconscious ease.
“I knew we were at home and this is our favorite rim,” Hunt said. “We practice on it every day, so I knew we were going to hit some shots coming down at the end.”
Hunt scored seven of his game-high 27 points in overtime Wednesday night to spark a nine-point run and hand the Rams a 67-63 Class 5A Jefferson County League victory.
Hunt’s fadeaway jumper near the free-throw line gave the Rams (13-0, 4-0 Jeffco), ranked No. 8 in The Denver Post/9News poll, the lead for good. He followed it with a sweet dish to Anthony Nicholson for an easy basket, a 3-pointer from the right wing and two free throws to give the Rams a back-breaking 62-54 lead with 1:25 remaining.
It also marked the end to a wild game that had eight lead changes and saw Hunt, who scored 11 points in the first quarter, miss the potential game-winner seconds before the final regulation buzzer.
Rams coach Rudy Martin was a mixture of relief and pleasant surprise that his team was able to overcome the loss of 6-foot-8 senior Nick Sleeman, who was injured in the second quarter. Without a true post player to combat the stronger Chargers, the Rams used a strong perimeter defense and crashed the boards to compensate.
“With our center out, I didn’t know what to expect from our group because he’s been one of our big players. . . . And we battled,” Martin said.
The loss was the second straight for the Chargers (9-4, 2-2), who answered every time the Rams appeared on the verge of busting loose in regulation, but could never extend their lead past three points.
Dean Wright’s free throw gave the Chargers a lead in overtime, but they had no answer for Hunt’s barrage.
“You need guys to step up in big games and hit big shots,” Chargers coach Steve Schimpeler said. “We had our shots from our guys, and we weren’t even close. You got to give (the Rams) credit.”
The Chargers got 13 points apiece from Wright and Landon Vermeer. Keigan Peterson added 13 for the Rams.
Chatfield 16 13 13 11 10 — 63
Green Mountain 16 13 12 12 14 — 67
Chatfield — Ty. Rogers 4 1-1 10, Wright 4 5-6 13, Haidaris 2 0-0 4, Vermeer 4 3-4 13, Wages 4 2-2 10, Ta. Rogers 1 1-2 4, Slavin 3 3-6 9, Teague 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 15-21 63.
Green Mountain — Hunt 9 4-7 27, Swartzendruber 2 0-0 5, Peterson 3 6-6 13, Nicholson 4 2-2 10, Sleeman 0 0-0 0, Swaim 2 2-2 8, Jimmerson 1 1-3 4, Smith 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 15-20 67.
3-point goals — Vermeer 2, Ty. Rogers, Ta. Rogers; Hunt 5, Swaim 2, Swartzendruber, Peterson, Jimmerson. Total fouls — Chatfield 20, Green Mountain 21. Fouled out — Ty. Rogers, Wages. Technicals — None.
