FORT COLLINS, Colo.—Faith Christian only led once during the state title game Saturday. But it came just in time to hand the Eagles their second consecutive Boys 3A title.
Deron Rindles won the game for the Eagles with a basket with 1.7 seconds left on the clock at Moby Arena. The shot put Faith Christian over the Peyton Panthers 64-62 as time expired.
“I can’t find the words to describe it,” said Rindels, a junior who was mobbed by his teammates on the court and again when he returned to the locker room. “I got there as quick as I could, and did what I needed to do.”
For the first half of the game, Peyton dominated.
The Panthers went inside to 6-foot-7 senior Chris Spurling. The senior scored 10 first-quarter points, and with three 3-pointers from Brett Green, the Panthers jumped out to a 19-4 start.
“The rest of the team stepped up, and it was different kids at different times,” Peyton coach Brian Green said. “We got into foul trouble, and there is always going to be that question of whether or not we have enough depth.”
Faith Christian narrowed the gap in the third quarter, going on a 15-4 run. Even though Brent Green, who finished with a game-high 36 points and was named the tournament MVP, was seemingly unstoppable, the Eagles had done enough to set the stage for a brilliant fourth quarter.
After Peyton’s Chandler Bartlett missed a layup with 27.5 seconds left that would have put the Panthers up by two, Faith hauled in the rebound and drew up one last play.
The open shot went to 6-foot-7 Justin Gallagher in the corner; it rimmed off and Rindels hauled in the rebound in the lane and put back the game-winner.
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On the Net:
Colorado High School Activities Association:
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Information from: The Denver Post,
