AURORA — Branden Cosby-Lee knows his place as a member of Grandview’s Wolves. It’s right near the basket.
As for his job, it’s to finish.
The long, 6-foot-6 junior was thorough in performing both tasks Wednesday night, when the Wolves earned an uplifting 76-68 victory at home over three-time defending Class 5A champion Regis Jesuit in a nonleague game.
Assorted penetrations in the lane, loose balls and rebounds gave Cosby-Lee multiple opportunities, and he knew what to do with them. He led Grandview with 20 points, 12 in the first half.
Cosby-Lee also helped the Wolves protect the basket on defense and constantly contested the Raiders down low in blocking six shots and changing a handful of others.
“That was our game plan,” Cosby-Lee said of being aware, keeping his head up, catching and finishing. “I want to use my length to go strong to the hole and crash the boards.
“I’d like to get a dunk every time, but if not, just go up strong.”
Wolves coach Gary Childress, who said the two teams off East Arapahoe Road ordinarily would have played later in the season because of football commitments during the playoffs, called it “a silver lining that we had this game as our opener.”
Plus, he added, Cosby-Lee “is a good finisher, and he runs the floor so well.”
Despite assorted turnovers and missed free throws, Grandview led early, fell behind 28-19, then gradually took the lead by halftime.
The Wolves, who received 17 points each from Drake Kennedy and Eric Garcia, didn’t falter frequently down the stretch and competed for everything. They harassed Regis Jesuit front-liners Josh Perkins (24 points) and Tanner Samson (22) the entire game.
And the Raiders missed layups and free throws.
“Give them some credit,” Raiders coach Ken Shaw said. “They were ready to play. Everybody that plays against us gets up for us.
“We had that 11-point lead and relaxed, and we were rushing stuff. It’s probably good for us. There are certain situations where we are smacked in the face and have to take note of.”
Regis Jesuit 17 17 17 17 — 68
Grandview 15 22 15 24 — 76
Regis Jesuit — Perkins 7 7-9 24, Samson 5 10-12 22, French 2 1-2 5, P. Mosley 1 0-0 2, Garbrecht 2 0-0 6, K. Mosley 2 1-4 5, Stemper 1 1-2 4, Nucci. Totals 20 20-29 68.
Grandview — Kennedy 6 2-3 17, Cosby-Lee 10 0-2 20, Hehemann 1 3-4 6, Imam 4 2-4 10, Garcia 2 13-16 17, Montgomery 1 0-2 2, Gentry 0 1-2 1, Brown 1 1-2 3, Wright 0 0-0 0, Sandoval 0 0-0 0, Kapp 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 22-35 76.
3-pt. goals — Perkins 3, Samson 2, Gar brecht 2, Stemper; Kennedy 3, Hehemann. Fouled out — P, Mosley, Garbrecht; Cosby-Lee.
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
