BROOMFIELD — Not even Xavier Talton’s mother could stop him Tuesday.
Sterling’s all-state sophomore had to borrow the jersey of a freshman teammate after Talton’s mom took his black No. 3 out of his bag, thinking the Tigers were wearing white against Broomfield.
Masquerading as No. 55, the 6-foot-2 guard scored 14 points and the Tigers dominated the sixth-ranked Eagles for a 55-38 Class 4A Northern League victory.
It was a key win in the standings and a big emotional test for the No. 2 Tigers (16-1, 13-1 in league), who were upset Saturday in overtime at Berthoud.
“I was really interested in how we would respond,” Tigers coach Mike Holloway said. “We’ve been a solid team all year, but really not as good as we can be. We struggle with decision-making.”
The 2009 state semifinalists never trailed, shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, including 5-for-8 from 3-point range, and took the cold-shooting Eagles (13-3, 11-2) out of their game with a zone defense that rebounded strong and denied the ball inside to the 6-foot-7 Nick Halliday.
“We had a good zone presence down low,” Tigers senior Mike Lock said. “Once he got the ball, we shut him down.”
Bobby Lebsock led the Tigers with a game-high 17 points and Brent Avila and Derek Karg added seven points apiece.
With Talton acting as the throttle, the Tigers patiently controlled the tempo, led by nine early and 16 by halftime. They took their big lead at 46-26 midway through the fourth quarter, then gave up a 10-0 run before regaining control from the free-throw line.
The Eagles grew impatient with their inside game and tried to match the Tigers from the perimeter. Halliday and 6-5 junior Dakota Smith took just five shots in the first half — combined — underscoring an offense that coach Terrence Dunn said has been increasingly anemic.
“We should be able to go inside with our zone,” Dunn said. “When we have two bigs, we should be able to go inside-outside. We weren’t being patient enough. We weren’t getting the flashes we need to. We weren’t getting the penetration that we need to.”
Aric Kaiser had 16 points for the Eagles, while Halliday had eight points, 10 rebounds and blocked four shots. Erik Lockwood added eight points.
Sterling 12 19 7 17 — 55
Broomfield 6 9 6 17 — 38
Sterling — Reyes 1 1-2 4, Lebsock 5 4-4 17, Avila 2 2-4 7, Lock 2 0-1 5, Talton 5 5-9 14, Kurtzer 0 0-0 0, Karg 3 0-0 7. Totals 18 12-20 55.
Broomfield — Reddy 1 0-0 2, Kaiser 6 1-1 16, Lockwood 3 0-0 8, Smith 1 0-0 2, Halliday 4 0-0 8, Wood 0 2-2 2, Maddock 0 0-0 0, Perse 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 3-3 38.
3-pt. goals — Lebsock 3, Reyes, Avila, Lock, Karg; Kaiser 3, Lockwood 2. Total fouls — Sterling 6, Broomfield 18. Fouled out — None. Technicals — None.
