FORT COLLINS — Things broke the best way they possibly could early on for Jarrod Huwa and the Valley Vikings in Friday night’s semifinal against Peyton at Moby Arena.
Panthers star Brett Green, who had scored 48 points the night before, was forced to the bench with foul trouble early in the second quarter with just two points.
The second half was a different story, and Green got his revenge. The senior’s 19-point second half helped propel Peyton (23-2) into Saturday night’s title game against the Faith Christian-Eaton winner.
“It was frustrating, but I trusted my teammates to help carry this team,” said Green, who helped the Panthers win their first state playoff game in school history on Thursday.
Valley never took advantage of Green’s absence, outscoring the Panthers only 6-5 in the second quarter.
“I think we should have went at them harder. Brett’s on the bench and that’s their scorer,” said Huwa, who finished with a game-high 22 points. “We should have gone at their big guys and gotten them in more foul trouble.”
Green made his point — and his points — in the third quarter, scoring 10 of his 21 points and turning a seven-point halftime deficit into a 32-28 lead after three quarters.
Huwa and Green made the floor their personal showcase in the third period and into the fourth, trading baskets and trying to one-up the other.
“We’re going to try to rise to the occasion, and we both did there for while,” Green said. “But everybody was involved in both teams’ success.”
Peyton’s Chandler Bartlett carried the offensive load for the Panthers along with Green, chipping in with 15 points.
Valley (20-7), in addition to Huwa’s 22, got 17 from 6-foot-5 senior Ben Dellenbach.
Jon E. Yunt: 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com
