AURORA — Overland’s 74-61 home decision of Eaglecrest on Wednesday night was entertaining, fun and interesting, as evidenced by the packed house that included everyone from opposing coaches to casual fans.
But not only did it tie the Trailblazers with the Raptors for the Class 5A Centennial League lead at 8-1 as teams hit the stretch run of the regular season, its value mentally to the hosts almost can’t be measured.
“Don’t forget about us,” Overland coach Danny Fisher said. “We really needed that win. I don’t want to call it a statement game, but if we wanted to win the league, we had to have it.”
Speedy senior guard Austin Conway concurred.
“Usually, the team that wins the Centennial is good and gets a No. 1 seed (into the playoffs),” said Conway, who has signed to play for Wyoming. “It was really important.”
Overland (13-5 overall), ranked No. 4 in the latest Associated Press 5A media poll, led early, often and refused to give it back. Having lost the first meeting to the No. 3 Raptors (14-4) in the league’s annual home-and-away series, the Trailblazers manufactured what they needed.
With Denver Post All-Colorado junior forward De’Ron Davis having missed the first meeting between the two, then sitting out most of the second and third quarters Wednesday, contributors lined up for Overland.
Air Force-bound forward Ryan Swan scored eight of his 14 points in the second quarter. Guard Reggie Gibson scored 12 of his team-high 15 in the third. Davis finished with 11, seven in the fourth. Alijah Halliburton contributed 10 points and Conway (13) was a constant throughout, including on defense.
“Very much so,” Fisher said in commenting on a team effort. “At this time of year, we’re hoping that guys without varsity experience would step up and meet the challenge.”
They did. The Raptors’ Ross brothers, Colbey and Elijah, a guard tandem that may be the best in Colorado, combined for 32 points and a series of plays on both ends of the floor, and senior Peter Anderson had 15 points, including four 3-pointers, but Eaglecrest never really made Overland sweat late as its defense and ball protection were solid.
Plus, the Trailblazers were superior inside, missed fewer layups and held Eaglecrest’s Blend Avdili to just five points.
Eaglecrest 12 14 17 18 — 61
Overland 16 16 19 23 — 74
Eaglecrest — E. Ross 3 4-6 10, C. Ross 8 6-8 22, Anderson 5 1-2 15, Karmazyn 2 1-3 5, Avdili 2 1-2 5, Rawlins 1 0-0 2, Turner 1 0-0 2, White 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 13-21 61.
Overland — Gibson 3 8-11 15, Conway 4 5-5 13, Wang 2 0-0 4, Davis 4 3-5 11, Swan 6 2-2 14, A. Halliburton 4 2-3 10, Grant-Perry 1 2-2 4, B. Halliburton 1 0-1 2, Yousef 0 1-2 1. Totals 25 23-31 74.
3-pt. goals — Anderson 4; Gibson. Fouled out — Karmazyn.
