BOULDER — To beat Colorado Springs rival Lewis-Palmer a third time this season, Sierra coach Otis Johnson had his Stallions thinking like boxers.
The Class 4A defending state champions wanted to get in the first punch and use enough bodies to wear down the Rangers Thursday at the Coors Events Center.
“I told them that if we stepped on them early in the first quarter, in the second half, the team that we are, it’s going to be like a heavyweight fight and we may be able to run away with it,” Johnson said. “But Lewis-Palmer didn’t let us do that.”
The Stallions saw their 19-point lead whittled down to five, but they recovered in time to ease their way to a semifinal victory, their 20th consecutive of the season.
Sierra (25-2), the preseason No. 1 and undefeated this season against 4A competition, used strong interior defense, perimeter ball pressure, a quick-strike transition game and midrange jumpers to take over in the second and third quarters.
Chris Fielder scored 18 points, Jahmall Fountain had 16 and Kamryn Williams added 12 for the Stallions. Williams, along with 6-foot-7 sophomore Wesley Gordon (eight blocked shots, six rebounds), held Rangers leading scorer Josh Scott to 11 points through the first three quarters.
“We jumped on them early, and that really got in to them,” Williams said. “It scared them, I think.”
The Stallions led 52-33 late in the third quarter before the 2009 semifinalist Rangers (21-6) made a run.
Behind all-state senior Kyle Engelhardt (game-high 23 points) and Scott (20 points), the Rangers rode a 13-0 flurry into the fourth quarter, eventually cutting the deficit to 53-48 with 4:35 remaining.
The Stallions ultimately put the Rangers away from the free-throw line and with defensive stops.
Fountain put the Stallions up by nine with 3:18 left, and Tyrell Johnson extended the lead to 14 with two minutes left.
“We made a few mistakes early on, and I think that got in a few of the guys’ heads,” Engelhardt said. “But I’m proud of the guys for fighting back the way we did.”
Lewis-Palmer 16 10 9 17 — 52
Sierra 15 21 16 12 — 64
Lewis-Palmer — Cavera 0 0-0 0, Snyder 0 0-0 0, Ververs 2 0-0 5, Lane 0 0-0 0, Engelhardt 9 3-6 23, Hiser 0 0-0 0, Shaum 0 4-4 4, Scott 5 10-10 20. Totals 16 17-20 52.
Sierra — Williams 5 2-3 12, Hatcher 1 0-0 2, Fountain 6 4-4 16, Johnson 2 4-6 8, Brown 1 0-0 2, Fielder 7 3-3 18, Martinez 0 0-0 0, Saunders 1 1-1 3, Gordon 1 1-4 3. Totals 24 15-21 64.
3-pt. goals: Engelhardt 2, Ververs; Fielder. Fouled out — Lane. Technical foul — Ververs.
