Dominic Williams said he’s not an early bird.
Despite eight points in the first quarter on Friday, the junior followed his usual MO as he finished with 30 points, 11 in the fourth quarter, and grabbed 17 rebounds in leading Abraham Lincoln to a rousing 70-66 victory at home over rival Thomas Jefferson.
While the Class 5A-4A Denver Prep League has been unusually simmering this late in the season, consider it at a boil. Its upper-end has begun to face off as the Lancers, No. 9 in The Denver Post/9News 5A poll, moved to 15-4 overall, 4-0 in league. The 4A No. 3 Spartans, whose 12-game winning streak was snapped, are 15-4, 3-1.
Back and forth the two programs, which combined to win back-to-back 4A titles from 2005-08, went, trading baskets as well as tempo. The play went from sloppy to great as the athleticism warranted before Williams settled it.
He scored the Lancers’ final two baskets and would have scored their final point had a cramp not ended his night. He flourished in transition as well as in pounding the glass.
“I was just trying to get to the basket,” Williams said. “I really don’t like to start my game too early. I look for teammates. But I’m really happy we pulled this one out, it was a big one.”
Said Abraham Lincoln coach Vince Valdez: “We were vying for tempo the whole game. And Dominic’s becoming a complete player, he really is.”
While TJ took away the Lancers’ top perimeter threat, Chris Abeyta (eight points), the Lancers nullified TJ’s talented Ray Riley (four).
For Abraham Lincoln, it became a matter of getting Williams and brother Sean (eight points) into transition coupled with the inside work of Corey Vasquez (14 points). For TJ, strongman Billy Sprague didn’t miss a shot until the fourth quarter in piling up 25 points and 10 rebounds. Plus, the Spartans, as deep as any team in 4A, competed end-to-end and received assorted contributions, notably 11 points from Shane Oliver.
TJ mostly held the lead until the Lancers took it and ran with it down the stretch. Abraham Lincoln was able to finish, the Spartans weren’t.
“We had a lot of good shots that didn’t fall,” TJ coach Grant Laman said. “Our kids wanted to win every city game. Now, we’ll see how they react.”
Said Valdez: “With our league, you win, then the next one becomes that much more important.”
Thomas Jefferson 13 14 17 22 — 66
Abraham Lincoln 14 10 20 26 — 70
Thomas Jefferson — Riley 2 0-0 4, Carter 1 2-2 5, Oliver 4 2-3 11, Fair 1 1-2 3, Jackson 3 3-4 10, Sprague 9 7-7 25, McIntosh 1 0-0 3, Brewer 0 0-1 0, Penn 1 0-0 2, Andres 1 1-1 3. Totals 23 16-20 66.
Abraham Lincoln — Zamora 1 2-3 4, Abeyta 2 3-3 8, D. Williams 11 7-8 30, Jurado 1 0-0 2, S. Williams 4 0-0 8, Vasquez 6 1-1 14, Rogers 1 1-2 4, LeRoy 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 14-17 70.
3-pt. goals: TJ — Carter, Oliver, Jackson, McIntosh. A. Lincoln — Abeyta, D. Williams, Vasquez, Rogers. Total fouls — TJ 18, A. Lincoln 19. Fouled out — None. Technicals — None.
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
