For a basketball team that is one of two in Class 5A that has yet to lose a game this season, George Washington’s boys seemed to be as tight as a spot in a Denver parking lot.
So instead it was a more loose Patriots team, save for a shaky second quarter, that ran the floor Saturday afternoon in an 80-43 pounding of host North to open the Denver Prep League season.
GW coach Michael Rogers said he noticed a problem the past couple of games.
“We were the (most tense) undefeated team you’ve seen,” he said. “So we talked about having fun, and that’s what we did today.”
In improving to 16-0 overall, the Patriots, ranked No. 4 in The Denver Post/9News Class 5A poll, appeared to have a good time, particularly by opening briskly with a 23-7 lead after a quarter. Ten of the points were by a happy senior guard, Tony Adams, who lent some perspective.
“Sometimes we forget we’re in high school, so we need to enjoy the time,” Adams said.
About the only stretch not enjoyed by GW was the second quarter, in which it had 19 possessions but scored only five points while committing nine turnovers.
However, the glee returned after halftime as Thomas Bropleh scored seven consecutive points on the way to a game-high 36. GW scored 52 in the half.
“We knew we were playing badly in the second quarter,” Bropleh said. “But then we started to make some shots.”
North (9-5, 0-1) had no answers. The Vikings, entertaining ideas of making noise within the DPL, were game but got lulled into thinking they could play the Patriots’ crisp style that included sharp passing, working inside and outside, and transition.
“They forced us into their game,” North coach Mario Lozoya said, “because when we ran our basketball, that’s when we came back.”
Adams (18 points) and Tyrelle Millard (15) backed up Bropleh.
Keene Sharp (13) and Richard Ascenzio (11) paced the Vikings.
George Washington 23 5 26 26 — 80
North 7 12 12 12 — 43
George Washington — Millard 6 0-0 15, Adams 6 3-3 18, Bropleh 13 7-10 36, Johnson 2 0-0 4, Sather 1 0-0 3, Santisteven 1 0-0 2, Ford 0 0-0 0, Balous 0 0-0 0, Marshall 0 0-0 0, Lear 1 0-0 2. Totals 30 10-13 80.
North — Ybarra 2 2-3 6, Quintana 0 0-0 0, Lopez 1 0-0 2, Ascenzio 5 1-2 11, Pace 0 0-2 0, Garcia 0 0-1 0, Jacobsen 2 0-0 6, Sharp 5 2-4 13, Simms 0 0-0 0, Copeland 0 0-0 0, Kindel 1 2-2 5. Totals 16 7-14 43.
3-point goals — Adams 3, Bropleh 3, Millard 3, Sather; Jacobsen 2, Kindel, Sharp. Total fouls — George Washington 16, North 14. Fouled out — Kindel. Technicals — George Washington bench, six players on the floor.
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
