In 38 seasons, some are calling it Rudy Carey’s best coaching job.
And his Denver East Angels, the defending Class 5A champions, are riding his nephew, possibly to another.
On Saturday at a fairly loud Denver Coliseum, guard Brian Carey scored a game-high 25 points and made a series of key plays in the final moments to lift the Angels to a thrilling 53-48 victory over Regis Jesuit in the 5A Great 8.
The Angels may be a No. 6 seed in name only — despite being 17-10 on the season, the top big-school program of the era has returned to a final four.
“I have to credit my assistants, who readied these kids for this,” coach Rudy Carey said. “They’ve done all of the heavy lifting.”
And as for Brian Carey?
“He’s bad,” coach Carey proudly stated.
In the closing moments, Brian Carey made a couple of key baskets, then missed the front end of a one-and-one situation with 25 seconds to play and the Angels leading by three points.
However, when the Raiders came down the court, Carey made a steal at the free-throw line and was fouled. He converted two free throws with 13.6 ticks to play to make it official for another Denver East trip to the University of Colorado’s Coors Events Center in Boulder.
Brian Carey appreciates how far he and his teammates have come, even going just over and just under .500 for much of the first half of the regular season. He said there’s no reason to stop now.
“I thought we could do this,” he said. “If you have players who work and listen to great coaching, you can accomplish great things. I’m just so proud of everyone on this team.”
And don’t forget, coach Carey said, “Brian’s going to have ankle surgery right after the season.”
The younger Carey, who will play next season at Texas Southern, added five steals, three assists and two rebounds.
Regis Jesuit, which finished 23-3, led early and often before the Angels caught them near halftime. The Raiders had ample opportunities to either take the lead or run away at various points in the second half, but never were able to make the key basket or avoid the vital turnover.
All told, Taylor Kallsen led Regis Jesuit with 17 points. Junior Geoff Kelly added nine points and grabbed 13 rebounds. In fact, the Raiders owned the backboards — they had a 41-25 edge in rebounds.
But Carey wasn’t the only Angels contributor. After a slow start, Jordan Willis had five points, nine rebounds and a couple of blocked shots. Junior Jack Buckmelter scored 11 points and was strong on defense on the perimeter. Ben Potts and Samba Dioum had foul trouble, but combined for nine points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.
Add it all up and the Angels all but danced off the floor.
“I’m so proud of these kids,” coach Carey. “They’ve worked hard, they’ve listened and they deserve it.”
