The depth of Class 5A boys basketball appears better than expected and continues to develop.
Consider surging Chaparral, ranked No. 9 in The Denver Post/9News 5A poll, which earned a rugged 51-46 road victory Saturday afternoon at George Washington, the past season’s state runner-up. It pushed the Wolverines to 10-1 record-wise, and who knows how high in terms of confidence.
While it was a struggle, had little flow and was tough at various points on the eyes with an assortment of turnovers, missed free throws and blown chances, Chaparral’s guard play once again saw it through.
“Our post can be good, but our guards are really sound this year,” said Wolverines sophomore Cory Calvert, who led all scorers with 20 points. “This year, we’re handling the ball.”
Calvert led a wave of guard contributors who protected the ball, beat the Patriots (5-5) down the floor at crucial points and got them back in gear when a stubborn GW refused to go away.
Clearly, the Wolverines’ strength is out front.
“It really is,” Chaparral coach Rob Johnson said. “We have good presence inside, but our guards, we have four or five who can play and they present some matchup problems for other teams. They’re skilled, can shoot outside, get the ball inside. But GW’s athletic and presented some problems for us.”
The Patriots provided effort if not savvy. They made only 3-of-10 shots from the floor in the first quarter and didn’t get much better. But every time they closed to within a couple of points down the stretch, Chaparral had answers, notably in Calvert, Jordan Adams, Mykel Morse and Josh Adams. Kristian Keyser and Dalton Patten battled inside.
While GW’s Tyrone Marshall kept the Wolverines honest down low with shot-blocking, rebounding and low-post opportunities, the Patriots had issues passing and finding the open player, not to mention being patient.
“Execution and discipline,” GW coach Michael Rogers said of his team’s woes. “We didn’t execute. We had a bunch of chances and just couldn’t score.”
Odessa Lear led the Patriots with 18 points before fouling out and Marshall added 12, but was just 4-of-10 at the free- throw line.
Said Johnson of his team’s torrid first half of the season: “I don’t think the kids are surprised. I’m not either. I think we have a good team.”
Chaparral 12 10 16 13 — 51
Geo. Washington 6 9 16 15 — 46
Chaparral — Serena 0 0-0 0, Morse 0 2-2 2, Jordan Adams 3 3-4 9, Patten 0 3-5 3, Calvert 6 6-8 20, Keyser 4 0-0 9, Shumbat 0 0-0 0, McBride 0 0-0 0, Josh Adams 3 0-0 8. Totals 16 14-19 51.
George Washington — Marshall 4 4-10 12, Lear 5 7-7 18, Jones 2 0-0 5, Johnson 1 0-0 2, Hudgens 2 0-0 5, Burnette 0 0-0 0, Rose 1 0-0 2, Biermann 1 0-1 2. Totals 16 11-18 46.
3-pt. goals — Chaparral — Calvert 2, Adams 2, Keyser. George Washington — Lear, Jones, Hudgens.
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
