COLORADO SPRINGS — The Sierra Stallions can’t prove how good they are until the culmination of the Class 4A state tournament next month.
Down two starters and embroiled in a see-saw game Saturday against rival Mitchell, the refocused Stallions won 76-53, outscoring the Marauders 47-26 in the second half in a Colorado Springs Metro League game.
The Stallions (17-2, 11-0 league) used balanced scoring, an inside-out game and rampant rebounding to win their 12th straight game and remain undefeated against 4A competition. The Stallions were missing all-state power forward Kamryn Williams (tonsillitis) and point guard Tyrell Johnson (ankle).
“That was one of our big goals tonight,” Jahmall Fountain said of rebounding. “Kamryn is a big rebounder, so we had to grab more rebounds than we usually did. We like to play inside-out too. Feed the big dog.”
The “big dog” would be 6-foot-7, 215-pound sophomore center Wesley Gordon, who was often the first option inside. He finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots.
“We came out with more intensity and focus,” Gordon said of the second-half eruption.
Fountain and Chris Fielder paced the Stallions with 17 points apiece, while guard Mark Hatcher drained three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points. Fountain added six rebounds and Fielder had eight.
The Stallions led 29-27 at halftime, but were up 16 toward the end of the third quarter and pushed their lead to 24 on three occasions. It was a sharp contrast to a back-and-forth first half. Neither team led by more than three points in the first half, while exchanging the lead nine times and knotting the score eight times.
David Snipes kept the Marauders flying in the first half as he scored all of his 18 points before halftime, draining four 3-pointers off high screens. Snipes was 0-for-4 in the second half.
“They’ve been here, and we’re trying to get to that point,” Mitchell first-year coach Jeff Cooks said. “It’s hard. It’s hard for my guys, for an entire game, to be that mentally tough.”
Sierra 10 19 27 2076
Mitchell 12 15 14 12 — 53
Sierra — Hatcher 4 0-0 11, Fountain 6 4-4 17, Fielder 7 2-4 17, Saunders 3 0-0 6, Gordon 7 1-1 15, Brown 2 0-0 6, Charleston 0 0-0 0, Martinez 1 0-0 2, Livingston 0 0-0 0, Kersey 1 0-1 2. Totals 31 7-10 76.
Mitchell — An. Hamilton 6 0-0 12, Snipes 7 0-0 18, Sims 2 2-2 8, Benson 2 3-4 7, McCray 1 2-4 4, D. Jones 1 0-0 2, Powell 1 0-0 2, T. Jones 0 0-0 0., Martinez 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 7-10 53.
3-point goals — Hatcher 3, Brown 2, Fountain, Fielder; Snipes 4, Sims 2. Total fouls — Sierra 14, Mitchell 11. Fouled out — Benson. Technicals — None.
