The George Washington Patriots are well aware that the rest of the DPL will be trying to grab what they have — the City Crown.
The first major test in the Patriots’ title defense came Saturday at Manual’s Thunderdome against Montbello, a team that beat them before the holiday break.
The Warriors, ranked No. 6 in the Class 5A Denver Post/9News poll, built a lead early in the second half and then held on for a 61-58 victory over the Patriots to improve to 14-2 overall and 2-0 in league play.
“We want to beat George and we want to beat East, and to do so we have to work hard every day,” Warriors senior Roderick Taylor said. “We’ve just got to keep working hard until we see that gold ball in our hand.”
George Washington dropped to 8-9 overall and 2-1 in the DPL.
The Warriors had plenty of open looks in the first half but didn’t get many shots to drop. They went to the locker room tied 24-24 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Warriors’ size took over on the boards. Taylor, DeAndre Clayton (who finished with 10 points and 19 rebounds), Azlan Williams and Lamar Cherry gave coach David Carey’s team second, third and sometimes fourth offensive chances.
“I teach my kids that sometimes the big player is not always scoring,” Carey said. “He might be getting a rebound, diving on the floor for a loose ball and sometimes you might not score. Teams are keying in on DeAndre, but that doesn’t mean he can’t do other things.”
Despite their disadvantage on the boards, the Patriots managed to hang around and never let the game get away from them. Sharpshooter Odessa Lear, who had the hot hand all game for the Patriots, scored 13 of his game-high 27 points in the final eight minutes.
Montbello was ahead 60-55 with less than a minute to play but let the Patriots stay alive with a costly personal foul and technical foul on the bench. Denzel Johnson hit 3-of-4 to make it a 60-58 game.
The Patriots drew up one last play to get the ball in the hands of Lear, but his off-balance attempt at a game-winning shot hit the back iron.
“I wanted Odessa to take the final shot. He carried us the whole second half,” George Washington coach Michael Rogers said. “I felt comfortable with it, and whether we win or lose, I want it in his hands.”
Montbello 12 12 18 19 — 61
George Washington 17 7 10 24 — 58
Montbello — Clayton 3 3-5 10, Smith 4 0-0 10, Cooper 3 1-2 9, Taylor 7 1-2 15, Williams 5 2-2 14, Conyers 0 1-2 1, Turner 0 0-0 0, Cherry 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 8-13 61.
George Washington — Hudgens 2 0-0 5, Lear 8 4-4 27, Jones 1 0-0 3, Johnson 2 7-10 11, Marshall 2 2-4 6, Burnett 1 2-2 4, Paulson 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 15-20 58.
3-point goals — Smith 2, Cooper 2, Williams 2, Clayton; Lear 7, Hudgens, Jones. Total fouls — Montbello 17, George Washington 16. Fouled out — None. Technicals — Smith, Montbello bench.
Jon E. Yunt: 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com
