GREENWOOD VILLAGE — Junior guard Reggie Gibson scored a career-high 17 points to lead Overland to a 54-41 road win against Centennial League rival Cherry Creek.
Gibson hit three of the Trailblazers’ six 3-pointers in the first half and connected on six clutch free throws at the end of the game to help Overland, ranked No. 6 in The Associated Press Class 5A media poll, improve to 9-5 overall, 4-1 in league.
“I had the mentality I wanted to come out strong,” Gibson said. “I was a little sluggish at the beginning of the season, so I had to be more efficient.”
With star junior center De’Ron Davis getting double- and triple-teamed every time he touched the ball, Overland leaned on its perimeter shooting.
“We’re asking them to be very aggressive in terms of shooting the ball. Everybody wants to take De’Ron out of what he does,” Overland coach Danny Fisher said. “He’s so unselfish, he’s such a willing passer, we have to take advantage of that.”
Davis — who averaged 17.3 points entering the game — finished with just six points but was a menace on the defensive end, shutting down the Bruins’ inside the paint when he was in the game.
The No. 9 Bruins struggled offensively to get going, especially when Overland employed its four-guard full-court press. Using its speed and athleticism, Overland outscored Cherry Creek 14-5 in the third quarter for a 39-25 lead.
Senior Will Bower led Cherry Creek (9-4, 2-2) with nine points.
“We obviously had trouble scoring. If we can’t score, we can’t win,” Cherry Creek coach Mike Brookhart said. “We have to be able to score more than 41 points to win a game, especially against them.”
OVERLAND 54, CHERRY CREEK 41
Overland 13 12 14 15 — 54
Cherry Creek 13 7 5 16 — 41
Overland — Gibson 4 6-6 17, Conway 2 5-6 9, Wang 2 0-0 5, Davis 2 2-2 6, Swan 4 1-2 10, Grant-Perry 0 0-0 0, A. Halliburton 0 1-6 1, Yousef 2 0-0 6, B. Halliburton 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 15-22 54.
Cherry Creek — Goldsberry 3 0-0 6, Halfon 2 0-0 5, Bower 4 1-2 9, LaNeir 2 0-0 4, Parr 1 3-4 6, Jones 3 0-0 7, Long 0 1-2 1, Van Gytenbeek 1 0-0 3. Totals 16 5-8 41.
3-pt. goals — Gibson 3, Yousef 2, Swan, Wang; Halfon, Jones, Parr, Van Gytenbeek. Fouled out — None. Technicals — None.
Joe Nguyen: jnguyen@denverpost.com or
