HIGHLANDS RANCH — It was viewed as a building block that stands tall in the ranks of Highlands Ranch boys basketball.
The Falcons, emerging on Class 5A’s long list of contending teams in the 2009-10 season, knocked Montbello from the unbeaten ranks Friday night with a 68-48 victory that was as convincing as the score indicated.
The unranked Falcons improved to 7-2 with the nonleague victory and were understandably giddy after handing the Warriors, ranked No. 3 in The Denver Post/9News 5A poll, their first loss in 10 games.
“Probably one of the better ones here at Highlands Ranch,” coach Bob Caton said. “We tried to keep them off-balance (on defense) and it worked fairly well for us. It was a great team effort, we had a nine-to- 10-man rotation and everyone did their job.”
Montbello struggled against switching zones and traps — the Warriors scored all of three field goals in the first halves of the first two quarters. By halftime, they had 15 turnovers and trailed 34-18. They got within 10 points in the third quarter, but Highlands Ranch’s wave was too much to overcome. Never mind only five Falcons scored. Marcus Byrd scored all 16 of his points in the first half. And Brett Olson, who had a game-high 20, tallied 14 after halftime.
True, Highlands Ranch shot only 25-of-41 at the free-throw line, including 3-of-10 by Fabian Sebastion, but it was more than enough. The Falcons were quicker, deeper, smarter and got more loose balls and rebounds.
“If we keep the same intensity, then we’ll be a good team,” Byrd said.
Meanwhile, Montbello came crashing down to earth in a tough week. Oklahoma transfer DeAndre Clayton, who sat out Tuesday’s victory over Rangeview, was cleared to play only an hour before the game — and the Warriors’ offensive woes, notably making only 18-of-32 free throws, continued. Two players fouled out and two technicals, one to Clayton, were issued.
“No excuses,” Montbello coach David Carey said. “We’ll use it as a learning experience.”
Neither team can blink — today, Highlands Ranch hosts East; Montbello welcomes Chatfield.
Said Caton: “This is what good teams do, you play one good game against a good team, then you come back and do it again.”
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
