Size mattered in a big game for Montbello.
The Warriors, competing without injured 6-foot-9 Oklahoma transfer DeAndre Clayton, used superior height and relentless inside play Tuesday night to earn a 71-68 victory at Abraham Lincoln.
The win pushed Montbello, ranked No. 4 in The Denver Post/9News Class 5A poll, to 5-0 in the Denver Prep League. The Warriors (18-2) are tied with perennial power East, which they will face Saturday afternoon at the Thunderdome.
In all, it had to be considered Montbello’s ultimate victory of the regular season, enhancing the promise for more, arriving from down low.
“Oh, yeah, that’s the one thing about us, we have a three-man rotation there,” Warriors coach David Carey said. “We missed one and the other two stepped up.”
Clayton cracked his head and back on a recent dunk attempt and wasn’t cleared medically. But no problem — Roderick Taylor scored 25 points, Azlan Williams made vital shots from the perimeter on the way to 18 and Lamar Cherry played sticky defense, scoring 13 points and adding 16 rebounds.
“He’s a three-year varsity player, a veteran,” Carey said of Cherry. “We knew going in that the one thing that would give (the Lancers) problems was going inside, the interior.”
Montbello’s Cherry was definitely on top. Nine of his points came in the second half, and he complemented Taylor with a series of putbacks, effective moves close to the basket and shot-blocking. They and others also benefited from lane penetration by point guard Isiah Cooper, who added 11 points and ball movement. Montbello also made 19-of-23 free throws.
“With Dre out, Rod and I had to step up,” Cherry said. “We felt like everything was a mismatch.”
Ninth-ranked Abraham Lincoln (15-5, 4-1) never really got going. Top-flight junior Dominic Williams earned two fouls early and sat out the second quarter. The Lancers had rhythm problems, as well as issues from the peri-meter and free-throw line.
There were a combined 48 turnovers and plenty of athleticism in a tooth-and-nail scrap, and it was surprising the Lancers somehow managed to stay within range until the closing seconds.
Chris Abeyta’s shooting slump continued — he was 5-of-20 — but he managed 16 points, as did Sean Williams. Dominic Williams settled for 14.
“This one hurts,” coach Vince Valdez said. “You have to credit Montbello, which forces you into mistakes. (The Warriors) did a good job of changing defense and they keep you on your toes.”
Montbello 10 17 22 22 — 71
Abraham Lincoln 13 11 20 24 — 68
Montbello — Williams 7 2-2 18, Taylor 11 3-6 25, Cooper 1 9-10 11, Cherry 5 3-3 13, Conyers 0 0-0 0, Smith 1 2-2 4, Turner 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 19-23 71.
Abraham Lincoln — Zamora 3 0-0 7, Abeyta 5 4-7 16, D. Williams 3 8-8 14, Jurado 2 0-1 5, S. Williams 7 0-1 16, Vasquez 1 0-0 2, Rogers 3 0-0 6, LeRoy 1 0-0 2. Totals 25 12-17 68.
3-pt. goals: Montbello — Williams 2. Abraham Lincoln — Abeyta 2, S. Williams 2, Zamora, Jurado.
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
