COLORADO SPRINGS — Fountain-Fort Carson has already faced a who’s who of the state’s top talent, and handled just about all of them.
Tuesday night, the eighth- ranked Trojans had to deal with one of Class 5A’s most dangerous scorers in Liberty senior guard Wes McKenzie.
McKenzie poured in 31 points, willing the Lancers back in the second quarter, before the Trojans put on a second-half display of depth and talent for an 86-68 C.S. Metro League victory.
“We’re a very athletic team,” Trojans junior Chris Davis said. “We can rebound, jump, shoot; we’re a smart team and we understand the game very well.”
Davis scored a team-high 21 points, Dominique Wright had 18 points and eight rebounds and seniors Malcolm and Martin Thomas combined for 25 points as the Trojans (9-1, 4-0 in league) won their fifth straight.
The Trojans have beat 4A’s No. 1 Sierra, city rival Palmer and Abraham Lincoln, with their only loss — by five points — coming against top-ranked 5A defending champion Regis.
“Our preseason schedule is crazy,” Trojans coach Anthony Ribaudo said. “Out of our six games before Christmas, all six of them were ranked opponents. . . . I think we learned a lot in that stretch.”
The Trojans used their size and athleticism inside to build a 13-point lead in the first quarter before succumbing to Mc-Kenzie’s takeover, which gave the Lancers (5-4, 1-2) a 33-32 lead 51 seconds before halftime.
But Davis tied it with a free throw, and Ja’Van Donnell’s offensive rebound and putback at the buzzer had the visitors up by two at the break.
“At halftime, we had to really think about if we wanted to win or not,” Davis said.
They responded with everything — an inside game, transition scoring and nailing 3-pointers with their big men.
The Lancers couldn’t keep up. Starting guard T.J. Holt injured his thumb early in the game and eventually sat. Mc-Kenzie missed his first six shots in the third quarter and the Trojans were up by 18 before the fourth.
“We went into the locker room feeling real good,” McKenzie said. “We just came out a little flat.”
McKenzie is averaging just under 25 points a game. He was honored before tipoff for breaking the school’s all-time scoring mark set more than a decade ago. He now has 1,382 points for the Lancers’ varsity.
Fountain-Fort Carson 21 14 27 24 — 86
Liberty 12 21 11 24 — 68
Fountain-Fort Carson — Hunter 2 4-7 8, Wright 7 2-4 18, Mal. Thomas 5 1-2 13, Davis 5 9-12 21, Mar. Thomas 6 0-0 12, Dorsey 0 1-2 1, Lewis 3 1-5 8, Horne 0 0-0 0, Parks 1 0-0 2, Donnell 1 1-2 3, Lee 0 0-0 0. Totals 30 19-34 86.
Liberty — Weeden 2 0-1 4, Holt 2 1-2 6, Biondi 1 0-2 2, McKenzie 10 8-11 31, Masterson 4 0-1 10, Springsteen 3 2-2 8, Coutts 0 0-0 0, Meier 0 3-4 3, Lark 2 0-0 4. Totals 24 14-23 68.
3-point goals — Wright 2, Davis 2, Mal. Thomas 2, Lewis; McKenzie 3, Masterson 2, Holt. Total fouls — Fountain-Fort Carson 25, Liberty 25. Fouled out — Weeden, McKenzie. Technicals — Weeden.
