ARVADA — Admittedly, this is not that talented of an Arvada West team.
“But we’re playing really hard, and that can be enough,” coach Jeff Parriott said.
It may just be. With a spirited 60-54 home victory over rival Ralston Valley on Saturday night in front of a good, loud crowd for both sides, the Wildcats are in command of Class 5A Jefferson County. And in what has been a 5A season in which anything goes, the left side of the metropolitan area may suddenly have a chance to be among the elite, a perch Jeffco hasn’t occupied since the 1990s.
Unranked A-West, which will be looking to crack The Denver Post/9News 5A poll this week, moved to 11-3 overall, 7-0 in league.
The Wildcats, who led by as many as 10 points, rode 18 of Isaac Gillespie’s 21 points in the first half, then leaned on 13 of Sam Porter’s 19 and 11 of Sean Leslie’s 13 in the second half. Porter said he enjoys these kinds of games. Even a referee noted the intensity.
“It’s RV, a packed house, two great teams, playing for first place,” the 6-foot-2 senior forward said.
Overall, A-West kept the No. 6 Mustangs (13-2, 6-2) trailing and weathered all moves. Trading baskets, rebounding or winning loose balls, the Wildcats stayed a step ahead by taking turns.
Said Porter, “You never know who’s going to go off .”
A-West could have sealed it earlier but missed five free throws late. And while Ralston Valley, which had four double-figure scorers, stayed close, the missed layups and free throws and turnovers didn’t help, nor did it have answers for the streaky Wildcats.
Said Mustangs coach Mitch Conrad: “They definitely rode those guys . . . you have to give them credit. But that’s the way it goes. We’re fairly young and getting better.”
Ralston Valley 11 17 9 17 — 54
Arvada West 16 17 12 15 — 60
Ralston Valley — Hornung 4 2-2 12, Anderson 4 3-4 12, Duben 7 1-2 15, Combes 0 1-4 1, Peterson 4 4-8 12, Metropulos 0 0-0 0, Svejcar 0 2-2 2. Totals 19 13-22 54.
Arvada West — Waters 1 2-4 4, Leslie 3 7-11 13, Gillespie 8 1-3 21, Porter 6 7-8 19, Hendrickson 0 0-2 0, Mitchell 1 0-0 3, Porter 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 17-28 60.
3-pt. goals: Ralston Valley — Hornung 2, Anderson. Arvada West — Gillespie 4, Mitchell. Total fouls — Ralston Valley 18, Arvada West 12. Fouled out — Combes. Technicals — None.
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
