Cheyenne Mountain Men's Basketball: Indians In The News

The Denver Post - denverpost.com

Many assumed the loss of Josh Scott meant Lewis-Palmer would not be able to repeat as champion.

Well, Jordan Scott picked up right where his older brother left off — and, as the best player in Class 4A, led the Rangers to a repeat.

After the win, Jordan said of Josh while laughing, "I can rub it in his face a little bit. I got my own without him."

Scott, a senior, averaged 18.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.7 steals per game this season. His length made for a nightmare matchup defensively, and his tendency to come through in the clutch during the tournament earned the respect of opposing coaches along the way.

— Ryan Casey, The Denver Post

4A Pikes Peak Athletic Conference

Player of the Year: Jordan Scott, Lewis-Palmer

Coach of the Year: Joe Rausch, Sand Creek

First team

Jordan Scott, Lewis-Palmer, sr.; Josh Smith, Sand Creek, sr.; Justin Smith, Lewis-Palmer, sr.; Ghassan Nehme, Cheyenne Mountain, jr.; Brandon Nachbar, Discovery Canyon, sr.

Second team

Dylan Clark, Sand Creek, jr.; Andy Stauffer, Discovery Canyon, sr.; Chance Matlock, Falcon, jr.; Darrin Haynes, Cheyenne Mountain, sr.; Nick Lenhard, Falcon, sr.

Honorable mention

Bryan Jenkins, Sand Creek, sr.; David Louthan, Air Academy, so.; Chase Stone, Lewis-Palmer, jr.; Tyler Owens, Lewis-Palmer, sr.; Matt Cameron, Palmer Ridge, so.; Donivan Harville, Cheyenne Mountain, sr.; Pierre Copeland, Vista Ridge, sr.; Tim Clemens, Sand Creek, sr.; Recee Eddy, Cheyenne Mountain, jr.; Shaun Livecchi, Falcon, so.; John Sims, Air Academy, jr.; Michael DeCarmo, Sand Creek, jr.; Christian Nehme, Cheyenne Mountain, so.; Paul Fertig, Air Academy, jr.; Geo Fry, Discovery Canyon, sr.; Peter Call, Discovery Canyon, jr.; Dylan Tucker, Lewis-Palmer, sr.; Avante Nelms, Vista Ridge, so.

First team

Anthony Davis- Fountain-Fort Carson

DJ Hanes- Wasson

Jordan Scott – Lewis-Palmer

Josh Smith – Sand Creek

Justin Smith – Lewis-Palmer

Coach of the year: Damion Copeland - Wasson

Second team

AJ Bohuslavsky — Liberty, junior

Alan Herndon — Widefield, senior

Ghassan Nehme — Cheyenne Mountain, junior

Brandon Nachbar — Discovery Canyon, senior

Richie Perea — Wasson, senior

HONORABLE MENTION

Dylan Clark, Sand Creek, jr.

Andy Stauffer, Discovery Canyon, sr.

Shane Fox, Doherty, jr.

Nick Lenhard, Falcon, sr.

Chances Matlock, Falcon, jr.

David Louthan, Air Academy, so.

Bryan Jenkins, Sand Creek, sr.

Titus Rice, Coronado, sr.

Dominic Garcia, Wasson, sr.

Nathan Raak, Palmer, so.

Matt Love, Liberty, sr.

Jase Hamstad, Pine Creek, sr.

Donivan Harville, Cheyenne Mountain, sr.

Tyler Owens, Lewis-Palmer, sr.

Sam Vieux, Liberty, sr.

Thomas Fife, Rampart, jr.

NEAL REID

THE GAZETTE

March Madness extended to the Doherty High School gym Thursday night.

Wasson senior Richie Perea hit a jumper from the free-throw line with 3.5 seconds left to give the 5A All-Stars a thrilling 107-105 win over the 4A All-Stars. Perea – who played with the 5A squad along with fellow Wasson senior D.J. Hanes to even out the rosters – finished with a game-high 23 points after getting the game-winner to roll in.

“It was a lot of fun,” Perea said. “It was a real intense game, and even though it’s an all-star game, both teams don’t want to lose.”

Hanes added 17 points, with Doherty junior Shane Fox chipping in 16 for the victorious 5A team. Fountain-Fort Carson senior Al Davis and Doherty junior Eli Peterson added 9 apiece.

The back-and-forth battle was a thriller from the start, with the teams headed to the locker room tied 60-60 after combining for 22 3-pointers in the first half. The 5A team used a 30-19 third to build a double-digit lead, but the 4A team roared back behind clutch 3-point shooting and physical rebounding.

Lewis-Palmer senior Jordan Scott tied the game at 105 with 32.6 seconds left with two of his 16 points.

Discovery Canyon senior Andy Stauffer led the 4A squad with 21 points, with Cheyenne Mountain junior Ghassan Nehme chipping in 16and Sand Creek senior Josh Smith adding 15.

“Any time you get the chance to coach the best players in the city and some of the best players in the state, you have to be excited about that,” said Discovery Canyon coach John Paul Geniesse, who coached the 4A team. “It was a great end to a tremendous high school basketball season here in Colorado Springs. The biggest thing is that you want these kids to be able to leave with some memories.”

The girls’ game was not as close, with the 5A All-Stars using five second-quarter 3-pointers to build a 47-30 halftime lead. Rampart senior Macy Meyers led the way with 18 points, while Palmer sophomore Jenn Urbaniak adding 15 and Palmer senior Chyna Hardy 13.

“We had a great time, and it was a great experience,” Meyers said. “This was a really great group of girls. To come out here and put a good beating on (the 4A team) was a lot of fun.”

Sand Creek junior Mikayla Reese led all scorers with 21 points and was the only 4A girl to finish in double figures.

The victory snapped a string of 4A dominance in the all-star game, which has been contested for more than 20 years.

“It was a good time had by all, and that’s what it’s all for,” said Palmer coach Dave Shackelford, who led the 5A team. “The 4A team has had a monopoly on this, so we decided to turn the tables. This was a great group of girls, and they were a fun bunch.”

All-Star game rosters

5A boys

A.J. Bohuslavsky, jr., Liberty; Al Davis, sr., Fountain-Fort Carson; Anthony Davis, sr., Fountain-Fort Carson; Shane Fox, jr., Doherty; Jase Hamstad, sr., Pine Creek; D.J. Hanes, sr., Wasson; Rhett Lopez, sr., Pine Creek; Matt Love, sr., Liberty; Donovan Oldham, soph., Rampart; Richie Perea, sr., Wasson; Eli Peterson, jr., Doherty; Nathan Raak, soph., Palmer.

4A boys

Matt Cameron, soph., Palmer Ridge; Geo Fry, sr., Discovery Canyon; Bryan Jenkins, sr., Sand Creek; Nick Lenhard, sr., Falcon; David Louthan, soph., Air Academy; Chances Matlock, jr., Falcon; Ghassan Neheme, jr., Cheyenne Mountain; Jordan Scott, sr., Lewis-Palmer; Josh Smith, sr., Sand Creek; Andy Stauffer, sr., Discovery Canyon.

BOYS' ALL-STAR GAME

5A All-Stars 107, 4A All-Stars 105

4A All-Stars—Cameron 5 0-0 10, Fry 2 0-0 6, Jenkins 5 2-5 14, Lenhard 1 0-0 3, Louthan 1 2-2 4, Matlock 1 2-2 4, Nehme 6 1-2 16, Scott 5 4-9 15, Stauffer 9 3-4 21.

5A All-Stars—Bohuslavsky 3 0-0 7, Al Davis 2 5-8 9, An. Davis 1 0-0 3, Fox 6 0-0 16, Hamstad 1 0-0 3, Hanes 7 0-0 17, Lopez 3 0-0 7, Love 2 0-0 5, Oldham 1 0-0 3, Perea 9 0-0 23, Peterson 4 1-1 9, Raak 2 0-0 5.

4A All-Stars 35 25 19 26 — 105

5A All-Stars 34 26 30 17 — 107

KEVIN CARMODY

THE GAZETTE

The area’s top high school basketball players have been chosen to compete in a pair of all-star games this week. On Thursday at Doherty, it’s the annual 4A-5A games, starting at 6 p.m. with the girls' game. The action is preceded by a 3-point shooting contest.

Discovery Canyon coach John Paul Geniesee leads the 4A boys’ team, highlighted by Jordan Scott of two-time defending state champion Lewis-Palmer, Ghassan Nehme of Cheyenne Mountain, Brandon Nachbar of Discovery Canyon and Josh Smith of Sand Creek. That squad will be opposed by such 5A players as twins Al and Anthony Davis of Fountain-Fort Carson, A.J. Bohuslavsky of Liberty, Eli Peterson of Doherty and Pine Creek’s Rhett Lopez and will be led by Wasson coach Damion Copeland.

On the girls’ side, Sand Creek’s Jamie Carey will lead a 4A team with players such as two of her own in sisters J’Nae and Oliana Squires, along with Palmer Ridge’s Ali Meyer and Madison Thomas, and Kassady Huffman of Air Academy. On the other side, Dave Shackelford of Palmer will coach the 5A girls, including the likes of Palmer’s Jenn Urbaniak and Shanna Leaf, Cassidy Budge and Macy Myers of Rampart, and Angela Vigil of Doherty.

On Friday, the best of the 4A Metro League boys face off against the South Central League at Harrison, first in a junior varsity game at 6:30 p.m., followed by a varsity game at 8.

The varsity girls play under the same format at Pueblo West at 7 Friday.

4A state playoffs

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

#1 Lewis Palmer (24-3) 51 vs Valor Christian (21-4) 40

FINAL FOUR

Friday, March 15th – CU Events Center

#2 Broomfield (22-4) 74 vs Valor Christian (20-4) 75

#1 Lewis Palmer (23-3) 61 vs #1 Wasson (25-1) 54

GREAT EIGHT

#1 Wasson 60 vs #2 Thomas Jefferson 48

#1 Lewis Palmer 66 vs #3 Cheyenne Mountain 49

#1 D’Evelyn 65 vs #2 Broomfield 84

#1 Valor Christian 54 vs #2 Sand Creek 46

SWEET SIXTEEN

#1 Lewis Palmer beat #4 Evergreen 52-37

#3 Cheyenne Mountain beat #2 Pueblo East 46-37

#1 Wasson beat #5 Greeley Central 78-61

#1 Valor Christian beat #4 Widefield 58-55

#2 Sand Creek beat #3 Denver South 63-53

SECOND ROUND

Guy Gibbs Region

#1 Lewis Palmer (20-3) 93 vs #8 Roosevelt 48

#2 Pueblo East (19-2) 73 vs #7 Coronado 48

#3 Cheyenne Mountain (17-6) 50 vs #6 Durango 39

Jim Baggot Region

#1 Wasson (22-1) 67 vs #8 Pueblo West 50

#3 Thompson Valley (16-7) 52 vs #6 Sierra 49

Maceo Brodnax Jr. Region

#4 Longmont (18-5) 53 vs #5 Discovery Canyon 42

Bill Weimar Region

#1 Valor Christian (18-4) 76 vs #8 Falcon 42

#4 Widefield (17-6) 73 vs #12 Wheat Ridge 62

#2 Sand Creek (21-13) 66 vs #10 Mesa Ridge 41

FIRST ROUND - 48

Guy Gibbs Region

No. 1 Lewis-Palmer (20-13), bye

No. 10 Skyview (13-10) 44 at No. 7 Coronado (12-11) 46

No. 3 Cheyenne Mountain (17-6), bye

Jim Baggot Region

No. 1 Wasson (22-1), bye

No. 11 Denver North (8-15) 66 at No. 6 Sierra (14-9) 71

Maceo Brodnax Jr. Region

No. 12 Vista Peak (9-14) 46 at No. 5 Discovery Canyon (16-7) 65

Bill Weimar Region

No. 9 Green Mountain (12-11) 49 at No. 8 Falcon (13-10) 54

No. 4 Widefield (17-6), bye

No. 2 Sand Creek (21-3), bye

No. 10 Mesa Ridge (9-14) 51 at No. 7 Pueblo County (12-11) 45

By Daniel Russell

March 15, 2013

The Cheyenne Edition

Last Saturday the eight best teams remaining in 4A played at the Denver Coliseum to see who would advance to the Final 4 the next weekend at the Coors Event Center at CU Boulder in Boulder, Colo. The crowd was entertained by several close games including Valor Christian’s 54-46 victory over Sand Creek,

Broomfield’s 84-65 dismantling of #1 seed D’Evelyn, and the continuation of Wasson’s swan song with their 60-48 victory over Thomas Jefferson.

The key match-up Saturday was the rematch of Pikes Peak Athletic Association rivals Cheyenne Mountain and Lewis-Palmer. The two teams had played twice prior to Saturday night’s game, with the Rangers coming out on top both times winning by 16 and 13 respectively. The Indians came into the game ready to upset the defending state champs aware that the key to the game was controlling the boards and making the shots when they mattered. The Rangers had been the Indians kryptonite, holding them to 33 and 34 points in the two games, both the lowest scores that the Indians had scored all season.

The two teams exchanged shots and leads early in the game before the Rangers began to pull away just before the end of the first quarter. The Indians would not go quietly as junior Ghassan Nehme put up a shot and was fouled to give the Indians a three point swing to start the second quarter. The Indians Achilles heel for the first half was fouls.

The Indians committed seven shooting fouls in the first half, three by junior Reece Eddy who led both teams in scoring for the first half with eight points. Nehme also scored six points in the half, but the Rangers began to pull away again late in the half as seniors Dylan Tucker, Justin Smith and Tyler Owens scored seven, six and six points respectively in the half. “We would get within a few points and then they would go on a run and we would be back to where we were,” said second year Cheyenne head coach J’on St.Clair, “We forced a lot of shots.” The Indians shot just 26 percent in the first half, making just one of eight shots from beyond the three point arc.

The Indians tried to make several runs in the third quarter, but the Rangers answered right back, preventing any momentum as they went on a run of ten points and increasing their lead to 14 points at one time in the third quarter. At the end of the third quarter the Rangers led again by ten points.

The teams exchanged baskets in the fourth quarter preventing the Indians from making a dent in the Rangers lead. In the end, the Indians rebounding proved to be the killer as they accounted for only 43 percent of the total rebounds and just 42 percent of the offensive rebounds.

When the final buzzer sounded the Rangers came out on top with the 66-49 victory as Smith led all scorers with 19 points, Nehme totaled 16 points of his own and Eddy added another 7 points in the half bringing him to a total of 15 points on the night. The Indians second half shooting percentage was again just 29 percent making just two shots all game from beyond the three point arc and making just 19 of 57 shots from inside the arc.

The Indians will graduate just four players this spring, but return eight players to next year’s squad as the Indians will again attempt to make school history and go even further into the playoffs. “I am excited that we made it here and to take these guys to somewhere that no other Cheyenne team has ever been to,” said St.Clair, “But I still believe that we could have done some other things better to get even further.”

Last year in St.Clair’s first season with the Indians they were eliminated in the first round by the Spartans of Thomas Jefferson. “We just need to keep developing our skills and we can’t be just one dimensional.

We have got to be able to advance our offensive skills a little bit more,” said St.Clair, “Defensively were pretty close, but offensively we’ve still got some work to do.”

Justin Smith gathered the ball under the basket, went up with two hands and put down a powerful slam.

It was a punctuation mark late in Lewis-Palmer's 66-49 Class 4A boys basketball quarterfinal win over Cheyenne Mountain, which moved the Rangers to their fifth-consecutive final four.

"It never gets old," said Lewis-Palmer coach Russ McKinstry. "We knew we'd be in for a tough game today, and I thought our guys really responded."

The defending champions, a No. 1 seed this season, ended the second quarter on an 11-2 run to turn a 17-16 game into a 10-point margin.

"I think it was kind of sparked by our defense," McKinstry said. "We got some stops and some easy transition baskets. That's how we are successful. We really live off our defense and creating offense off our defense. After that (run), we just kind of maintained our lead."

Lewis-Palmer already owned 16- and 13-point wins over Cheyenne Mountain from earlier in the season.

Saturday, the Rangers (23-3) got 19 points and 12 rebounds from Justin Smith, while Jordan Scott had 11 and nine. Tyler Owens also scored 13.

"We're real fortunate to have players like that, and it just helps us be balanced offensively," McKinstry said.

No. 3-seeded Cheyenne Mountain (19-7) did close things to 33-29 early in the third quarter, but Lewis-Palmer answered with a 10-0 run. Cheyenne Mountain didn't get within ten points thereafter.

The Indians shot just 33 percent in the game. Lewis-Palmer, by contrast, shot 59.5 percent and was 5-of-10 from 3-point.

Ghassan Nehme led Cheyenne Mountain with 16 points.

Lewis-Palmer moves on to play Wasson in next Friday's semifinal.

"They're really good," McKinstry said of Wasson. "That's going to be a heck of a game Friday night. I really respect what they're doing. Their team quickness combined with (6-foot-10 Lorenz Stalcup), that's - we're going to have to come in and really play well."

— Ryan Casey, The Denver Post

KEVIN CARMODY

THE GAZETTE

DENVER • Jordan Scott didn’t mean to, but the Lewis-Palmer senior artfully found a way to weave Saturday’s snowstorm into describing what it took to keep league rival Cheyenne Mountain at bay and return to the 4A boys’ semifinals for the fifth year in a row.

“We believe that we just keep playing, weather the storm and eventually it’ll go our way,” said Scott, who scored 11 points and added nine rebounds in helping the Rangers hold off the pesky Indians, 66-49 Saturday at the Denver Coliseum. “It’s all about toughness. We were the tougher team today and came out with the W.”

Justin Smith led all scorers with 19 points and 12 rebounds, Tyler Owens added 13, and Lewis-Palmer (23-3) used a pair of runs, one in each half, to ward off a pair of Cheyenne Mountain comeback attempts.

Up next for the defending 4A state champions is Wasson in one of Friday’s semifinals at the Coors Events Center in Boulder.

The Indians (19-7), who lost two previous meetings to the Rangers during Pikes Peak Athletic Conference play — both without leading scorer Ghassan Nehme — hung around early. Reece Eddy’s follow of his missed shot cut the Lewis-Palmer lead to 17-16 with 5:15 left in the first half.

Lewis-Palmer then went on an 11-2 run to finish the half, taking a 10-point lead into intermission.

Two Nehme shots, plus a 3-pointer from younger brother Christian Nehme, brought the Indians to within 33-29 with 4:25 left in the third quarter.

Again, a well-balanced attack and ability to break the Indians’ press opened the floodgates for another Rangers run. By the time four different players scored during a 12-0 run, Lewis-Palmer had built a 45-29 pad and wasn’t challenged again.

“They’re very good, and they do everything right,” Indians coach J’on St. Clair said. “We’d get close, then they’d go on a run. We didn’t execute our defensive game plan, and they were more aggressive in getting after the ball.”

While Cheyenne Mountain grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and forced 15 turnovers, it had little to show for it after shooting just 33 percent (19 for 57) from the field. The Indians missed 18 of 20 shots from 3-point range.

The Rangers, on the other hand, put their accurate shooting on display. They took 20 fewer shots but made three more (22 of 37) then Cheyenne Mountain, and Smith hit three of his team’s five 3-pointers.

“They got Ghassan back, and he’s obviously a great player,” Owens said. “We had to prepare for him, and we had good stops. We play defense first and do our thing. Hopefully, we get good results after that.”

Ghassan Nehme and Eddy, both juniors, paced Cheyenne Mountain with 16 and 15 points, respectively.

“I’m very proud for what we accomplished,” said St. Clair, who guided the Indians to the quarterfinals for the first time in school history. “We’ve done a lot of good things, but I’m still disappointed. I still believe we could have done some other things better.”

LEWIS-PALMER (22-3) vs. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN (19-6)

Time: 1:15 p.m. Saturday, Denver Coliseum

Coaches: Lewis-Palmer, Russ McKinstry (fifth season). Cheyenne Mountain, J’on St. Clair (second season).

Last year: Lewis-Palmer won the 4A state championship. Cheyenne Mountain lost in the first round of the 4A playoffs.

Last meeting: Lewis-Palmer won 47-34 Feb. 8 at Cheyenne Mountain and has claimed six straight in the series.

Key players: Lewis-Palmer, Jordan Scott (18.2 points, 9.2 rebounds), Justin Smith (14.4 points, 6.6 rebounds), Chase Stone (10.4 points). Cheyenne Mountain, Ghassan Nehme (20.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists), Donivan Harville (9.6 points, 7.9 rebounds), Christian Nehme (6.9 points).

Notes: The Rangers are amazingly accurate, shooting 61 percent from inside the 3-point arc and 38 percent behind it. Meanwhile, the Indians pale in comparison at 45 and 26 percent, respectively. In two playoff games, Cheyenne Mountain has cranked up its defense, limiting Pueblo East to 28 percent shooting while keeping its first two opponents under 40 points. Even in two regular-season losses to Lewis-Palmer, the Indians kept the high-powered Rangers under 50 points. Ghassan Nehme missed both games against Lewis-Palmer, and senior Darrin Haynes, the team’s second-leading scorer at 11.1 points, could return after missing the past six games with a broken wrist suffered Feb. 9 at Valor Christian.

KEVIN CARMODY

THE GAZETTE

He doesn’t feel the pressure as much this time. That’s perfectly fine with J’on St. Clair.

The second-year Cheyenne Mountain boys’ basketball coach has the Indians (19-6) in uncharted waters, appearing in the 4A quarterfinals for the first time as they take on defending 4A state champion Lewis-Palmer (22-3) at 1:15 p.m. Saturday at the Denver Coliseum.

Three years ago, he led a 23-2 Rampart squad into the 5A quarterfinals, also at the Denver Coliseum. Playing a Doherty squad the Rams had already beaten twice in the regular season and going up against his father-in-law in coach Dan McKiernan, St. Clair watched his Rams blow a 22-point lead. The Spartans won an overtime thriller 69-64 to advance to the state semifinals.

Time, and opportunity lost, perhaps helped shape St. Clair’s perspective heading into last week’s round of 16 tournament in Pueblo. Something must have worked. The No. 3 Indians defeated Durango, then took out second-seeded Pueblo East.

“I’m usually pretty stern, making sure we do things right in practice,” St. Clair said. “Last week, I was more laid back and did a lot more fun things, and that helped our kids just play. It goes back to my experience before. I need to change and learn from it.”

This time around, it’s St. Clair who is the prohibitive underdog since his Indians fell twice to Lewis-Palmer in league play last month.

“I think there’s definitely pressure on them to win,” St. Clair said. “They beat us two times already, and they’re the defending state champions. People say we’re not supposed to win this game.”

While Cheyenne Mountain is new to the pressure cooker of the quarterfinals, Lewis-Palmer has made a habit of deep playoff runs and learning how to stay composed in just about any situation. Rangers coach Russ McKinstry, in his fifth season, has led his teams to a staggering 20 playoff games, going 17-3 since he took the reins prior to the 2008-09 season.

The Rangers fell in the semifinals three consecutive years before finally breaking through last season, nipping Sierra by one point to win it all. If there’s an experience factor, Lewis-Palmer owns it.

“I think we can use that to our advantage to not make the moment bigger than it is,” McKinstry said. “I think we’ve taken a businesslike approach during practice. But when you take the enthusiasm and momentum they have, that can offset things. It’s still basketball, and the team that executes best and makes plays will be the team that comes out on top.”

McKiernan, a two-time state 5A champion coach at Palmer in 1993 and 2000, reflected on playing a team three times in the same season, and the psychology of coaching needed to counteract momentum swings in pressure-packed situations.

“You’ve got to feel that in a third meeting, they’re not going to change, because they beat you twice,” McKiernan said. “The advantage goes to the team that lost twice. They can manipulate and change and do different things that the other team hasn’t seen yet. By this point of the season, you’ve coached so much, now it’s time to manage them now, not letting them get too high or too low. I sure didn’t outcoach J’on in that game. His kids tightened up and we were able to execute.”

St. Clair thinks back to the plays he saw early as Rampart dominated early. Then, as McKinstry alluded to, the Rams got caught up in the moment and couldn’t recover. Saturday, he has a chance to do things differently.

“We were up big and kind of let down,” St. Clair recalled. “My halftime speech will be different this time.”

Boys basketball week in review (Feb. 25-March 2), and the week ahead

By Thomas Trotman

Class 5A's lower seeds have stolen the headlines so far in our big-school tourney play.

The likes of Heritage, Cherry Creek, Legend and Arapahoe all went on the road and displayed the incredible balance and parity there is on our hoops scene right now.

We saw three of our most celebrated careers come to an end in Aurora Central's Carlton Hurst, Grandview's Eric Garcia and Columbine's Jon Snow. Take a look at the four-year varsity numbers of these three 2013 seniors and you will see they can be matched with other great Colorado prep careers.

We will see other strong careers come to an end, the nature of high school sports, but these three individuals have given our prep scene four strong years of varsity play. Well done, gentleman, and good luck on the next level.

Not much surprise on the 4A level early as all four No. 1 seeds are still alive and three No. 2 seeds advance to the Great 8. Cheyenne Mountain is the only No. 3 seed to crash the Coliseum party and that is not a real surprise based on its strong play all year.

4A preview.

• Lewis-Palmer and Cheyenne Mountain will get to battle for the third time this season. Defending champ Lewis-Palmer swept the season series, but it is always tough to beat a team for the third time.

JUSTIN SHAW

THE GAZETTE

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

Donivan Harville, Cheyenne Mountain

The senior led Cheyenne Mountain with 18 points and 14 rebounds, as the No. 3-seeded Indians won on the road against No. 2 Pueblo East 46-37 Saturday. Harville and his teammates will face Lewis-Palmer in a clash of area teams with the winner heading to the 4A state semifinals.

Cheyenne Mountain 46, East 37

After failing to make connection, East ends season at home

Posted: Sunday, March 3, 2013

Eagles miss scheduled flightBy TRACY RENCK | tracyr@chieftain.comThe Pueblo Chieftain

Their timing could not have been worse.

The East High School boys basketball team had its worst game of the season Saturday on the biggest stage.

The Eagles failed to rebound efficiently and shot a miserable 28 percent from the field.

Couple those together and East was upset by Cheyenne Mountain 46-37 in the Class 4A Sweet 16 at the Southwest Motors Events Center.

MIKE SWEENEY

East's Ty Gavin (22) denies Cheyenne Mountain's Donivan Harville a passing lane during the second half of their Class 4A basketball playoff game Saturday at the State Events Center. Cheyenne Mountain beat East, 46-37, ending the Eagles season. Photo by Mike Sweeney

KEVIN CARMODY

THE GAZETTE

PUEBLO – Cheyenne Mountain has claimed a whopping 77 state championships since 1958. None have come in boys’ basketball.

Behind a monster, 18-point, 14-rebound effort from Donivan Harville, the No. 3 seed Indians took another step toward the goal Saturday, smothering No. 2 Pueblo East, 46-37 at the State Fair Events Center to advance to the 4A boys quarterfinals for the first time in school history.

“Our game is to outwork the other team,” Harville said. “We feel confident that when we play harder, we’ll be on top.”

The Indians (19-6) held the Eagles (20-3) 23 points under their season average.

“We like to get out there and run, but they slowed us town and forced us out of our comfort zone,” said Eagles junior forward Jimmy Valdez, who scored 10 points but only one basket came from the field. “They dictated the tempo. We played their game, not ours.”

After a back-and-forth first quarter, Cheyenne Mountain took the lead for good when Harville hit three consecutive short jumpers to key a 9-0 run that gave the Indians a 19-12 advantage with 5:09 left in the second quarter. Harville scored 13 of his points by halftime.

“Donivan was outstanding,” Cheyenne coach J'on St. Clair said. “He was the MVP of this game. A performance like that was huge when others weren’t finding their shots.”

East appeared to take momentum into the locker room after a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Ty Gavin trimmed the deficit to 21-18. But the Indians never allowed the Eagles a momentum-changing run. Pueblo East scored four straight points only three times.

TJ Gradisar’s steal and layup closed the Indians' lead to 40-37 with 2:01 left, but the Eagles were shut out the rest of the way. Cheyenne Mountain hit all six free throws down the stretch.

“This is how we needed to win,” said St. Clair, who took Rampart's boys to the 5A quarterfinals in 2010. “We knew if we could keep them under 50, we’d have a shot. We had a good scouting report of how we wanted to defend them, and our kids just executed.”

Nathan Resty added nine points for the Indians, while junior guard Ghassan Nehme, sidelined the past four games with a dislocated kneecap, had only seven.

“It was one of those games when you’re not shooting well, but you have to do other things to help the team,” Nehme said. “I wasn’t making the shots I normally make, but I tried to play my best on defense and grab rebounds. I’m glad we all contributed and came out winners.”

The Indians knew prior to tipoff that Pikes Peak Athletic Conference rival Lewis-Palmer had already defeated Evergreen, and that the victor in Pueblo would meet the defending 4A state champions March 9 at the Denver Coliseum.

The Rangers swept the Indians in the regular-season series. Nehme missed both games.

“We’re coming in with fire,” Nehme said. “We’re done celebrating this one. Now, all of our focus in on LP.”

KEVIN CARMODY

THE GAZETTE

Lewis-Palmer is No. 1. No wait, Wasson is No. 1.

So who is the Pikes Peak region’s best boys’ basketball team?

The Rangers (20-3), the defending 4A state champion, along with the Thunderbirds (22-1), owners of 4A's longest winning streak (17 games) and down to one final playoff run before the school closes later this year, earned top seeds in their respective regions as area teams earned five first-round byes.

“It’s scary how balanced and strong our area is,” Lewis-Palmer coach Russ McKinstry said. “I’m glad the committee was wise enough and did a fair bracket. It’s the way it should have been with the balance throughout the state in 4A.”

Wasson, which played its final regular-season game Feb. 12 to hundreds of alumni, along with current and former coaches, teachers and students, will play host to a round of 16 tournament this weekend. The same holds true for Lewis-Palmer and all Nos. 1 and 2 seeds.

If the top seeding holds out, Lewis-Palmer and Wasson would meet in a state semifinal March 15 at the Coors Events Center in Boulder.

In addition to the two No. 1 seeds, Sand Creek (21-3) is ranked second and will host a round of 16 tournament Friday-Saturday. No. 3 Cheyenne Mountain (17-6) is at the bottom of the Lewis-Palmer bracket and will play at Pueblo East this weekend. The Indians and Rangers could meet in a round of eight game March 9 at the Denver Coliseum.

No. 4 Widefield (17-6), which finished a distant second to Wasson in the 4A Metro League, was placed in the same bracket with Sand Creek and will head to Highlands Ranch this weekend, where top-seeded Valor Christian (18-4) will host.

Discovery Canyon (16-7), Sierra (14-9) and Falcon (13-10) will host first-round games Wednesday, while Coronado (12-11) and Mesa Ridge (9-14) will open up on the road.

The 5A bracket was far less equitable to Colorado Springs area schools.

Colorado Springs Metro League champion Fountain-Fort Carson (15-7) earned a first-round bye but is ranked No. 4, on track with a possible round of 16 matchup with Denver East (21-2), widely considered the best team in the state.

Five schools from the Metro League earned playoff berths. Liberty (15-8), ranked No. 7, and No. 8 Pine Creek (11-12), will host first-round games on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Doherty (13-10) and Rampart (11-12) open up on the road.

“I don’t think we get a lot of respect down here,” said Liberty coach Ivan Chambers, whose Lancers went 8-1 down the stretch. “Our league doesn’t have any signature wins against other teams up north. Regardless, you have to show up and play ball. Hopefully, we’ll get a chance to earn some respect this week.”

Boys basketball week in review (Feb. 18-23), and the week ahead

By Thomas Trotman
Special to The Denver Postdenverpost.com

The Week Ahead

Here are just a few thoughts on the first two rounds of the tournament, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday should be action-packed! Here's a breakdown of the brackets:

Class 4A

• We will dive more into the individual regions as we advance in 4A. The top seeds are all deserving. The top seed D'Evelyn is ready to ride their star Luke Stratman. Valor Christian is hungry for a return to Boulder. A potential Denver South at Sand Creek Sweet 16 looks tempting.

No. 1 seed Wasson has senior leadership that can carry them a long way. Thomas Jefferson's 5A opponents through the season could be great prep for 4A tourney. Defending champ Lewis-Palmer is poised for a nice run, but looks like a potential Pueblo East or Cheyenne Mountain game could be on the horizon if things play out.

It's time to dance! "Lace 'em up"!

JUSTIN SHAW

THE GAZETTE

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

Cheyenne Mountain 63, Discovery Canyon 43

At Discovery Canyon: Reece Eddy paced Cheyenne Mountain with 20 points and Nathan Resty, Ghassan Nehme and Troy Aguilar each added 12 points for the Indians (16-6, 8-5 4A Pikes Peak).

Andy Stauffer led Discovery Canyon (14-7, 5-7) with 16 points and Brandon Nachbar added 15.

Denver Post coaches poll

By Ryan Casey
The Denver Postdenverpost.com

For the third time in four weeks, there's a change atop the Class 4A boys basketball rankings.

D'Evelyn (20-1) returned to the No. 1 spot this week, a place it previously occupied over the winter break. The Jaguars moved up because previous No. 1 Sand Creek dropped its first game of the season and fell to No. 4.

Lewis-Palmer is second, while Valor Christian is third. Wasson rounds out the top five.

Cheyenne Mountain, ranked in every poll since the preseason, dropped out following its fourth loss in a row. It was replaced by Longmont, which joined the ranking at tenth. The Trojans were last ranked Dec. 17.

Complete rankings for all classes are below.

Monday, February 18, 2013 - 2:13pm

Because many conference championships have already been decided, we won’t go into as much depth as last week but we still wanted to provide a breakdown of the important games remaining in each classification.

CLASS 4A

Easily the most important remaining contest takes place on Tuesday as 2nd ranked Sand Creek ventures to 3rd ranked Lewis Palmer. The teams are combined 38-4 and share the Pikes Peak conference lead. Sand Creek won the first battle but lost their one game advantage due to a 51-50 upset loss to Discovery Canyon last Tuesday. That result likely means Tuesday’s winner will end up as the outright league champion. D’Evelyn is also in the mix but the survivor on Tuesday may earn the number one overall seed in the 4A state tournament bracket. Those pairings will be released on Sunday. Because of their upset of Sand Creek, Discovery Canyon can actually move into third by winning their final two games. They host Cheyenne Mountain on Tuesday and Vista Ridge on Wednesday before going to Air Academy in the finale on Friday. Wasson rolled to the CS Metro crown by downing Widefield 77-66 last Friday. The win gave them a three game lead on Sierra and Widefield with only two games remaining. Sierra hosts Widefield on Tuesday with the winner taking over second. Widefield can actually clinch the runner-up spot with a win since they beat Sierra 45-36 in game one. Sierra also meets Wasson on Friday so even with a win on Tuesday, they will have some work remaining before locking up second place.

A top ranked team and two number twos from last week all suffered last week in one of the more exciting weeks of the regular season. Those losses and several others caused many changes in the newest basketball rankings released by Colorado Preps. Also included in the rankings are six new members including two apiece in Classes 4A and 2A.

CLASS 4A

1. D’Evelyn (20-1)

2. Sand Creek (20-1)

3. Lewis Palmer (18-3)

4. Valor Christian (18-4)

5. Wasson (20-1)

6. Broomfield (17-4)

7. Pueblo East (17-2)

8. Thomas Jefferson (14-7)

9. Longmont (17-4)

10. Windsor (16-6)

NEW: Longmont, Windsor

DROPPED OUT: Cheyenne Mountain (15-6), Denver South (17-5)

TEAMS TO WATCH: Sierra (14-7), Widefield (15-6), Evergreen 914-7), Discovery Canyon (14-6), Frederick (16-6), Palisade (14-5), Elizabeth (14-7), Durango (14-5)

NOTES: For the first time in a couple of weeks, we have new members to the 4A rankings as Windsor and Longmont join the top ten replacing Cheyenne Mountain and Denver South. Cheyenne Mountain was seventh last week but suffered two losses and was dropped from the rankings for the first time this season. Denver South came out on the short end of a critical game with Montbello that knocked them out of the City League championship chase. They now face Denver East on Friday and face a must win situation or they could tumble to fourth in the conference heading into the playoffs. Longmont is tied with Thompson Valley for second in the Northern behind Broomfield. The Trojans actually lost to Thompson Valley head-to-head but we went with Longmont because they’ve been the hotter team down the stretch. They also own a win over Broomfield while Thompson Valley was swept by the conference champion Eagles. Longmont and Thompson Valley play a very important game on Tuesday. Windsor clinched the Tri Valley title by beating Berthoud on Friday and makes their first appearance in the rankings this season. Atop the rankings, Sand Creek stays put at number two despite suffering their first loss of the season to Discovery Canyon last Tuesday. We kept them in second because they own a win over Lewis Palmer in the previous week so we didn’t feel it fair to drop the Scorpions lower than the defending state champions. The rematch is set for Tuesday. D’Evelyn, Wasson, Broomfield and Pueblo East all clinched league championships in the past week and stayed put in their respective spot as well. Thomas Jefferson made the biggest move jumping two spots to eighth.

By Daniel russell

This last week was a rough one for Cheyenne Mountain athletics. With the winter season wrapping up in a few weeks the stress is starting to mount as each team attempts to make a push for playoffs.

Boys’ Basketball

Friday night the Indians hosted the defending 4A state champion Rangers of Lewis-Palmer (17-3, PPAC 10-1) in a varsity double-header game. The Indians started off well, holding the Rangers to only three points in the first quarter and keeping them close - tied 18-18 - at the end of the first half. The Rangers high-powered second half offense could not be matched by the Indians as they scored 17 points in the third and 12 in the fourth, while the Indians were only able to add eight points in each of the remaining quarters. The Indians fell to the Rangers by a final score of 34-47. The Indians were led by seniors Darrin Haynes, nine points and four rebounds, and Donivan Harville, eight points, five rebounds and two steals.

The next night the Indians traveled to Highlands Ranch to take on the Eagles of Valor Christian (17-4) in a non-league match. Again the Indians kept the Eagles within arms reach throughout the first half, trailing by one point at the end of the first quarter and then going into the half tied 31-31. The Indians continued to build on their second quarter momentum as they opened up a two-point lead by the end of the third quarter, but the Eagles made sure to rally at home outscoring the Indians 16-21 in the fourth quarter, giving the Eagles the 66-63 victory. Sophomore Christian Nehme took charge for the Indians, scoring 16 points, 3 rebounds, and two steals. Harville again was one of the top rebounders for the Indians, recording nine in the game.

Tuesday night the Indians hosted the Falcon Falcons (12-8, PPAC 5-6). The Indians came out strong, scoring 11 points in the first quarter and went into the half tied 23-23. The Falcons gained some momentum in the third as they outscored the Indians 11-8. The Indians tried to fight back from the deficit, but their comeback fell short as the Falcons came away with the 45-44 victory, putting the Indians on a three game slide with the co-leading Sand Creek Scorpions coming to Cheyenne tonight.

4A Boys Basketball Top 10

NOTES FROM THE POLL:

*We vaulted Sand Creek up to our top spot after their signature win over Lewis-Palmer. The Scorpians proved their are a legit contender.

*D'Evelyn falls from #1 despite not losing last week. That has everything to do with Sand Creek as the Jags did nothing wrong.

*Wasson improved to 18-1 on the season. We will have the ThunderBirds on CET this Wednesday night vs. Harrison. Check them out for yourself.

*And Longmont is climbing the polls after a big win over Broomfield. The Northern Conference is shaping up to be a fun race.

Boys basketball week in review (Feb. 4-9), and the week ahead

By Thomas Trotman

The Week That Was

Tuesday.

Cheyenne Mountain, No. 4 in 4A, got a 10-point win over Discovery Canyon and moved to 15-2 overall.

In another 4A top-5 matchup, Lewis-Palmer was able to bounce back from Tuesday's loss with a 47-34 road win at No. 4 Cheyenne Mountain. Jordan Scott scores 16 to lead the way.

Saturday.

The third 4A top-5 matchup of the week saw Valor Christian move to 17-4 overall after a 63-60 home win over Cheyenne Mountain. Certainly more shakeup in the 4A poll this week!

The Week Ahead

Friday.

• Big one down south as Sand Creek goes to Cheyenne Mountain.

Monday, February 11, 2013

If league leaders take care of business over the next two weeks, there will be little suspense in determining conference championships in Class 4A. Wasson and D’Evelyn already have two games leads in their respective leagues while Sand Creek, Windsor, Broomfield, Palisade and Elizabeth also control their own destiny. Of that bunch, Sand Creek has the most difficult road to a league title as they must beat defending state champion Lewis Palmer a second time before landing the Pikes Peak championship.

PIKES PEAK

With three teams ranked in the top seven, the Pikes Peak is the best league in Class 4A this year and Sand Creek took over sole possession of the lead with their 67-64 win over Lewis Palmer last Tuesday. That loss dropped the defending state champions into second but they’ll get a second shot at the Scorpions on February 19th. Until then, don’t be surprised if both teams hold their positions but if there is a chance for either the Scorpions or Rangers to stumble it will be this Friday when Sand Creek meets third place Cheyenne Mountain. Sand Creek beat Cheyenne Mountain 59-49 in the first meeting. The Indians are 13-4 overall but two of those losses are against Lewis Palmer and the fourth loss was suffered last Saturday against 4th ranked Valor Christian. Cheyenne Mountain though is resigned to the role of spoiler because even if they beat Sand Creek, the Indians will still be in third place and could not move any higher regardless of how the Sand Creek-Lewis Palmer rematch ends up.

Denver Post Coaches Poll

By Ryan Casey
The Denver Post

Sand Creek is Class 4A boys basketball's lone unbeaten team. Now, the school has a No. 1 ranking to go along with an unblemished record.

The Scorpions (18-0) won a showdown with former No. 1 Lewis-Palmer last week, 67-64, then followed it with a 69-60 win over Air Academy to claim the top spot in the Denver Post coaches poll this week.

Sand Creek is the fourth team to hold 4A's top spot this season, following Lewis-Palmer (which was also the preseason No. 1), D'Evelyn and Valor Christian.

D'Evelyn remained at No. 2, while Lewis-Palmer dropped to third. Valor Christian bumped up a place to fourth, and Wasson jumped into the top five from No. 8 last week.

Complete rankings for all classes are below.

CLASS 4A

1. D’Evelyn (18-1)

2. Sand Creek (18-0)

3. Lewis Palmer (16-3)

4. Valor Christian (17-4)

5. Wasson (18-1)

6. Broomfield (15-4)

7. Cheyenne Mountain (15-4)

8. Pueblo East (16-2)

9. Thomas Jefferson (13-7)

10. Denver South (17-4)

NEW: None

DROPPED OUT: None

TEAMS TO WATCH: Longmont (15-4), Widefield (14-5), Windsor (14-6), Frederick (14-6), Durango (12-4), Sierra (12-7), Golden (13-6), Evergreen (13-6), Thompson Valley (13-6)

NOTES: Sand Creek continues their climb up the 4A ladder as their critical win over Lewis Palmer moved them up to second this week. The victory helped the Scorpions also keep their overall perfect record intact and put them in sole possession of first place inside the rugged Pikes Peak. They have a rematch with the Rangers on February 19th in a game that will likely determine whether Sand Cree wins the title outright or if they share it with Lewis Palmer. Despite the loss, Lewis Palmer slipped just one spot to third as they rebounded to knock off Cheyenne Mountain later in the week. The Indians also lost to Valor Christian on Saturday but those two losses only cost them two spots to seventh. Cheyenne Mountain has four losses this year with two to Lewis Palmer and one apiece to Sand Creek and Lewis Palmer. All four of those teams are ranked in the top four this week. Broomfield was upset by Longmont in the Northern league but the Eagles remain alone in first. They dropped two spots to sixth because of the loss. Wasson continues to roll through the Colorado Springs Metro and as they keep winning their ranking also improves. They’re in the top five for the first time this week. Valor Christian’s win over Cheyenne Mountain also brought them back into the top five as well.

THE GAZETTE

A list of student-athletes who signed national letters of intent on Wednesday or will do so on Thursday. List of athletes was provided by schools or parents.

Cheyenne Mountain

Donivan Harville, football, CSU-Pueblo (D-II)

Doug Fitzgerald

The Gazette

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

Cheyenne Mountain 61, Discovery Canyon 51

At Cheyenne Mountain: Darrin Haynes scored a season-high 28 to lead Cheyenne Mountain (15-2, 7-2 PPAC) past Discovery Canyon (12-6, 3-6).

Haynes’ previous high this season was 18 in the season opener against Ponderosa. The senior is averaging 11.4 points per game.

Christian Nehme led the Indians with 10 assists while Reece Eddy had seven rebounds.

The first weekend in February brought basketball fans several great conference matchups between top teams in each classification. Because there were so many head-to-head matchups, the results created quite a few changes in the new Colorado Preps rankings released on this Super Bowl Sunday. Below are the new polls which includes two new number one teams and several new members to the top five.

CLASS 4A

1. D’Evelyn (16-1)

2. Lewis Palmer (15-2)

3. Sand Creek (16-0)

4. Broomfield (14-3)

5. Cheyenne Mountain (14-2)

6. Valor Christian (15-4)

7. Wasson (16-1)

8. Pueblo East (14-2)

9. Thomas Jefferson (11-7)

10. Denver South (15-4)

NEW: None

DROPPED OUT: None

TEAMS TO WATCH: Widefield (12-5), Evergreen (12-5), Golden (11-6), Thompson Valley (12-4), Windsor (12-6), Longmont (12-4), Frederick (12-6), Palisade (11-4), Delta (10-5), Durango (10-4)

NOTES: Sand Creek and Broomfield both scored impressive wins on Saturday to climb into the top four this week. The Scorpions remained unbeaten on the season and stayed that way thanks to a come-from-behind win over Valor Christian. Broomfield pulled away from Pueblo East early and then held on for a six point win in another top six clash. Sand Creek moved up one spot to third with the win and Broomfield jumped two spots to fourth. Sand Creek has another important date on Tuesday as they challenge Lewis Palmer for first place in the Pikes Peak. Both are 8-0 in the conference heading into the first of two meetings between the rivals. Valor and Pueblo East both slid three spots with their losses. Wasson also bumped three spots to seventh. With a two game lead in the CS Metro, the T-Birds have rolled past every league opponent including a 31 point win over second place Widefield. Their schedule though does not stack up against another top ten teams and could hurt them a bit once the post-season opens. Thomas Jefferson scored a nice 56-50 win over Denver South to avenge a non-league loss to the Rebels from earlier in the season. The Spartans moved one position to ninth while Denver South lost three spots to tenth. The loss also dropped them out of a first place tie with Denver East in the City League.

4A Boys Basketball Top 10

NOTES FROM THE POLL:

*We have a new number one in Class 4A as D'Evelyn is back atop our latest poll. This is the second time the Jags have been ranked number one.

*Valor Christian, last week's number one team, dropped to fifth after a stunning 31-point loss to a very good Rangeview team.

*Wasson improved to 14-1 on the season as the the ThunderBirds continue their domination of the 4A Colorado Springs Metro League.

*And Broomfield continues to climb back up the poll. The Eagles have won six straight and have not lost since December 22, 2012.

The newest set of rankings released by Colorado Preps is a bit mixed this week. A few classes experienced only a few changes while the remaining divisions underwent wholesale changes. The new poll also features a new number one team for the first time in several weeks but features only four new teams across the five divisions. Below are the new polls in each class and your comments are welcome at the end of the article.

CLASS 4A

1. D’Evelyn (14-1)

2. Lewis Palmer (13-2)

3. Valor Christian (15-3)

4. Sand Creek (13-0)

5. Pueblo East (12-1)

6. Broomfield (11-3)

7. Denver South (14-3)

8. Cheyenne Mountain (12-2)

9. Wasson (14-1)

10. Thomas Jefferson (10-6)

NEW: None

DROPPED OUT: None

TEAMS TO WATCH: Evergreen (10-5), Golden (9-5), Thompson Valley (10-5), Discovery Canyon (12-3), Windsor (11-5), Sierra (10-5), Eagle Valley (10-2), Palisade (9-4), Delta (8-5), Roosevelt (9-7)

NOTES: Valor Christian and Thomas Jefferson are among the most difficult teams to rank in any class because the Eagles and Spartans play in Class 4A but play a predominantly 5A schedule. Both teams suffered losses to 5A opponents in the past week but the damage was minimal because of the competition level. Valor Christian though dropped two spots because their loss to Rangeview was by 31 points. That dropped the Eagles to third despite a head-to-head win over D’Evelyn earlier this month. The Jaguars take over the top spot for the first time this season as they’ve not lost since the Valor game and sit alone in first atop the Jeffco. Thomas Jefferson fell one spot to tenth but stayed in the rankings because their loss came against top ranked Denver East (5A) which is widely considered the best team in the state this year. There’s also shuffling in the top five due to strength of conference. Lewis Palmer and Sand Creek both jump ahead of Pueblo East because at this point, the Pikes Peak league seems to be stronger than the South Central. Pueblo East is alone in first but they’re the only team in the conference above five hundred for the season. Lewis Palmer and Sand Creek meantime are just two of three teams from the Pikes Peak ranked again this week plus fourth place Discovery Canyon has posted 12 wins. Spots six through eight remain unchanged and Wasson bumped to 9th with the loss by Thomas Jefferson. The T-Birds have won nine a row including a very impressive 31 point win over Widefield last week.

Brent W. New

THE GAZETTE

BOYS' BASKETBALL

Cheyenne Mountain 77, Palmer Ridge 46

At Cheyenne Mountain: After two tough losses last week, Cheyenne Mountain (12-2 overall, 4-2 PPAC) regrouped with two wins this week.

The Indians led comfortably throughout, as Ghassan Nehme and Reece Eddy each scored 14.

Palmer Ridge (7-8, 1-5) has lost three in a row.

DOUG FITZGERALD

THE GAZETTE

BOYS' BASKETBALL

Cheyenne Mountain 69, Falcon 61

At Falcon: Ghassan Nehme scored 25 points to lead Cheyenne Mountain (11-2, 3-2 4A Pikes Peak) over Falcon (7-7, 0-5).

Nehme, a junior, is averaging 21.3 points per game this season.

Chances Matlock led Falcon with 14 points.

The men’s basketball team spent 2 hours at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore yesterday volunteering our time. We took apart steel fixtures, moved them to other locations around the store and put them back together. We also had some player’s clean windows and price items. I am very proud of our young men for giving back to our community. We saved the store $1,000 dollars in man power hours.

Great job Indians!

THE GAZETTE

PIKES PEAK AREA RANKINGS

BOYS' BASKETBALL

4A

1. Sand Creek (11-0), No. 1
2. Lewis-Palmer (11-2), No. 2
3. Wasson (12-1), No. 3

NOTES: Finally, 5A Metro League plays begins Tuesday with two intriguing matchups right off the bat. Fountain-Fort Carson, which has lost three straight, hosts Liberty, in the midst of a three-game winning streak. The Trojans scored a 60-48 victory at Liberty on Dec. 14 in a tournament game. Rampart travels to Doherty, off to a 9-4 start and owners of a four-game winning streak. … Sand Creek remained undefeated with wins over Cheyenne Mountain and Air Academy. Next up is 12-1 Discovery Canyon on Tuesday. Don’t look now, but Lewis-Palmer travels to Sand Creek on Feb. 5. Wasson has third place to itself after Cheyenne Mountain dropped off. The one-loss Thunderbirds could get a test from Widefield (9-4) Tuesday. …

Post Preps: Boys Basketball

By Ryan Casey

Valor Christian remained atop the 4A poll, though Lewis-Palmer jumped in to the No. 2 spot in that ranking. D'Evelyn is a close No. 3.

Post Preps: Ball Fever

Boys basketball week in review (Jan. 14-19), and the week ahead

By Thomas Trotman
Special to The Denver Postdenverpost.com

Week 8 in boys hoops put the balance in the 4A and 5A divisions on display as league play creates some fun home and away matchups. This week also brought us two young men ready to join the party up north, Jay MacIntyre and Austin Sparks, who have the ability to change the 4A and 5A landscapes.

The Week That Was

Tuesday.

• This night brought us a 4A top-10 matchup of undefeated southern squads when Cheyenne Mountain traveled to Sand Creek. Sand Creek's scoring balance on its home floor proved to be too much as Dylan Clark's 17 points led three in double figures and a 59-49 home court win.

Friday.

• In a 4A top-5 matchup, Lewis-Palmer showed they are not quite ready to hand anything over south of the city. They flexed their defensive muscle in a 49-33 win over Cheyenne Mountain. Lewis-Palmer held the visitor to six points or less in the second and third quarters. Justin Smith scored 16, followed by Tyler Owens 12.

Another week of exciting basketball is in the books and with it comes another set of rankings from Colorado Preps. A new poll is released each Sunday through the regular season and below is a breakdown of the top ten teams in each division.

CLASS 4A

1. Valor Christian (15-2)

2. D’Evelyn (12-1)

3. Pueblo East (11-1)

4. Lewis Palmer (11-2)

5. Sand Creek (11-0)

6. Broomfield (9-3)

7. Denver South (12-3)

8. Cheyenne Mountain (10-2)

9. Thomas Jefferson (10-5)

10. Wasson (12-1)

DROPPED OUT: Evergreen (8-5)

NEW: Wasson

TEAMS TO WATCH: Durango (9-2), Sierra (9-4), Widefield (9-4), Golden (7-5), Thompson Valley (8-5), Discovery Canyon (12-1), Frederick (9-4), Mead (9-4), Windsor (9-5), Roosevelt (7-7), Pueblo West (6-8), Palisade (8-3), Eagle Valley (9-2), Elizabeth (7-6)

NOTES: The top four teams in the rankings again remain solid as Valor Christian, D’Evelyn, Pueblo East and Lewis Palmer combined for nine wins without a loss over the past seven days. Pueblo East had the closest call surviving for a one point win over Pueblo West last Tuesday in the South Central League opener. D’Evelyn also downed a solid Evergreen team 68-54 last Friday that put them alone in first in the Jeffco. Lewis Palmer also had a solid week as they downed Cheyenne Mountain 49-33 on Friday to stay part of a first place tie with Sand Creek in the Pikes Peak. Evergreen fell from the rankings with the loss to D’Evelyn. They were ranked 9thlast week. Cheyenne Mountain also tumbled three spots to eighth as the loss to Lewis Palmer was their second of the week after also losing to unbeaten Sand Creek three nights before. Sand Creek used the win to join the top five for the first time in the history of Colorado Preps. Broomfield and Denver South also moved up closer to the top five. The Eagles moved up two spots to sixth while South climbed three spots to seventh. They used a non-conference win over Thomas Jefferson to climb up the rankings. Wasson is the only newcomer. The Thunderbirds have won 12 of their first 13 games and have won seven in a row since a loss to Poudre. The ThunderRidge are tied with Sierra (both 4-0) atop the Colorado Springs Metro.

JUSTIN FELISKO

THE GAZETTE

Highlights from Friday’s high school sports scene in the Pikes Peak Region:

Boys' Basketball

Lewis-Palmer 49, Cheyenne Mountain 33

At Cheyenne Mountain: Seniors Justin Smith (16 points) and Tyler Owens led 4A No. 1 Lewis-Palmer past No. 3 Cheyenne Mountain in a 4A Pikes Peak Athletic Conference showdown.

Lewis-Palmer (11-2, 4-0 4A Pikes Peak) has won four straight while Cheyenne Mountain (10-2, 2-2) has now lost two straight.

January 16, 2013

JUSTIN SHAW

THE GAZETTE

It’s official: Sand Creek has become a basketball power.

Already sporting a girls’ team that’s one of the best in the city, the boys flexed their muscles on Tuesday night against an undefeated Cheyenne Mountain team in a 59-49 victory.

The Scorpions (10-0, 3-0 4A Pikes Peak Athletic Conference) did enough to gain a lead in the fourth quarter and closed the show with solid free-throw shooting.

“It feels nice to be able to make free throws because it gives our team an option down the stretch when we have the lead,” said Sand Creek point guard Dylan Clark, who scored 17 points and went 10-for-12 from the line. “During the first half we rushed things on offense, but in the third quarter we had patience and executed better.”

The third quarter was the key to the game, as the Scorpions – who trailed 23-22 at the break – got their offense going, scoring more points in the quarter than they did in the entire first half.

As hot as Sand Creek was in the eight minutes, the Indians were that cold. The Scorpions outscored Cheyenne Mountain 23-13 in the quarter, taking a nine-point lead into the fourth.

“I’d like to take credit for giving them a great halftime pep talk, but that’s not what it was,” Sand Creek coach Joe Rausch said. “We missed some easy shots in the first half against a team that played good defense. We got hot and made some shots and that was the difference in the game.”

The lead would increase to double digits in the fourth quarter and Cheyenne Mountain had to play catch-up. The Indians began to foul to stop the clock, but it didn't help, as Clark and the rest of Sand Creek made the majority of their free throws.

“In the third quarter our offense was terrible; we didn’t run good sets and they are one of the better defensive teams in our league,” Cheyenne Mountain coach J’on St. Clair said. “We need to play more as a team, and we have to get more guys better shots.”

The game looked like it might be a laugher midway through the first quarter. Sand Creek took a 14-2 lead out of the gate, but then went cold, allowing Cheyenne Mountain (10-1, 2-1) to go on a 21-4 run of its own to take a 23-18 lead at one point in the second quarter.

However, the Indians couldn’t capitalize and took their first loss of the year. The road doesn’t get any easier for Cheyenne Mountain, as it travels to defending 4A state champion Lewis-Palmer on Friday night.

“We had 17 turnovers tonight and most of them were unforced, so we’ve got to start taking better care of the ball,” said Indians guard Ghassan Nehme, who led all scorers with 21 points. “We also didn’t knock down shots we usually knock down, so we need to take care of that too.”

Sand Creek had a balanced effort in the scoring column, with Josh Smith scoring 14 points and adding six rebounds and three blocks, and Bryan Jenkins scoring 12 points.

Nehme was the only Indian in double figures. Darrin Haynes was the second-highest scorer with nine.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Colorado Preps

Five games pitting ranked teams against one another highlights an extremely attractive Tuesday night schedule. Record wise, the best matchup takes place in Class 4A where unbeaten Cheyenne Mountain and Sand Creek put a combined 17-0 record on the line. The winner keeps a share of first place in the very deep Pikes Peak Conference.

CLASS 4A

#1 Valor Christian vs Palmer

#3 Pueblo East at Pueblo West

#4 Lewis Palmer at Falcon

#5 Cheyenne Mountain at #6 Sand Creek

It’s a big week for Cheyenne Mountain. The Indians not only face fellow unbeaten Sand Creek tonight but they also tangle with defending state champion Lewis Palmer on Friday. Both are league encounters and serve as the first of two meetings with their in-city rivals. Two wins though will give the Indians a leg up in the first half of the conference schedule. The Indians defense has been solid this year. They’ve given up more than 51 points only once all season (beat Poudre 73-71). They’re also coming off a solid win over Air Academy last Friday. Cheyenne Mountain’s defense could be the difference tonight. They’ve allowed more than 51 points in a game only once all season (beat Poudre 73-71) and they’re coming off a nice win over Air Academy last Friday. With an average of 67 points a game, Sand Creek will look to push the tempo a bit behind the shooting of senior Josh Smith who leads the team with nearly 17 points a game. He’s knocked in 22 three pointers on the season including five in the 84-47 win over Fruita Monument. Lewis Palmer has been dominant in league play beating Discovery Canyon and Palmer Ridge by a combined 77 points last week. Falcon dropped conference openers to Air Academy and Discovery Canyon over the same time frame but has seven wins overall. Top ranked Valor Christian should roll past winless Palmer and 2nd ranked Pueblo East is heavily favored to land the South Central crown as league play opens tonight. The Eagles are the only league member above 500 for the season. Broomfield and Thompson Valley share the Northern League with identical 2-0 record. They face off Friday in Loveland and each team wants a win to gain momentum for that showdown. Windsor needs a win over Mead to maintain sole possession of the Tri Valley lead and Wasson seeks an 11th win in 12 games when they tip against Coronado. The Cougars are coming off a nice home win over Widefield for their first league victory.

January 15, 2013

THE GAZETTE

PIKES PEAK AREA RANKINGS

BOYS' BASKETBALL

5A

1. Fountain-Fort Carson (6-6), No. 1 last week

2. Liberty (6-5), No. 2

3. Rampart (8-4), No. 3

4A

1. Sand Creek (9-0), No. 1

2. Lewis-Palmer (9-2), No. 2

3. (tie) Wasson (10-1), No. 3

Cheyenne Mountain (10-0), No. 3

NOTES: Liberty returned to its spot at No. 2 following wins over Ponderosa and Pueblo South last week, while Rampart had its three-game winning streak ended with a tough loss at Aurora Central. The Lancers won’t play again until the Metro League opener at Fountain-Fort Carson on Jan. 21, both teams’ first game since Jan. 11. … It’s “Judgment Week” for undefeated Cheyenne Mountain. On Tuesday, the Indians travel to Sand Creek, then head north to defending 4A state champion Lewis-Palmer on Friday. … They’re tied with the same record and both are undefeated in the 4A PPAC standings, but not for long.

Denver Post coaches poll

By Ryan Casey
The Denver Postdenverpost.com

In 4A, Valor Christian retained its No. 1 ranking by the narrowest of margins. The Eagles (12-2) are just one point ahead of No. 2 D'Evelyn. Cheyenne Mountain is third. Broomfield rejoined the 4A poll at ninth, marking the Eagles' first spot in the ranking since Dec. 10.

Complete rankings for all classes are below.

post preps: ball fever

By Thomas Trotman
Special to The Denver Postdenverpost.com

The Week That Was

Friday.

Cheyenne Mountain, quietly sitting at No. 3 in 4A and undefeated, got a 15-point win over Air Academy. Balanced scoring with Geno Bigelow and John Sims leading the way.

The Week Ahead

Tuesday.

• Cheyenne Mountain at Sand Creek in a 4A top 10 matchup.

Friday.

• Cheyenne Mountain at Lewis-Palmer in a big one down south.

Sunday, January 13, 2013 - 6:32pm

All five number one teams were able to maintain their hold on the top spots this week but there is plenty of shuffling behind them in the latest Colorado Preps rankings. Four teams also joined the rankings for the first time this week. Below are the new rankings in each division with notes on results from last week and a breakdown of the top games for the coming week.

CLASS 4A

Valor Christian (12-2)

D’Evelyn (10-1)

Pueblo East (9-1)

Lewis Palmer (9-2)

Cheyenne Mountain (10-0)

Sand Creek (9-0)

Thomas Jefferson (8-4)

Broomfield (7-3)

Evergreen (7-4)

Denver South (10-3)

NEW: Evergreen

DROPPED OUT: Longmont (6-2)

TEAMS TO WATCH: Wasson (9-1), Sierra (7-4), Widefield (7-4), Thompson Valley (7-4), Silver Creek (7-3), Discovery Canyon (10-1), Windsor (8-4), Frederick (7-4), Mead (7-4), Weld Central (8-2)

NOTES: No changes inside the top four as Valor Christian, D’Evelyn, Pueblo East and Lewis Palmer all worked through the week without a loss. Pueblo East scored maybe the most impressive win of the bunch as they downed Denver South (57-44). Despite that loss, Denver South maintained their 10th position as they rebounded with a 61-48 decision over Longmont three nights later. Thomas Jefferson lost twice and lost two spots in the rankings, dropping to seventh. The Spartans are 8-4 overall but have already played ten games against 5A opponents compiling a 7-3 record in those games. Losses last week occurred to a pair of big school opponents in Highlands Ranch and Aurora Central. Those losses enabled Cheyenne Mountain and Sand Creek to each bump up one position. Those two teams share the early lead with Lewis Palmer in the Pikes Peak league and they square off on Tuesday. Cheyenne Mountain also visits Lewis Palmer on Friday so it’s a very difficult but important week for the Indians. The only newcomer in the rankings is Evergreen. The Cougars toppled Wheat Ridge and Green Mountain stretching their winning streak to three games. They’re tied with D’Evelyn for the early Jeffco lead (both 2-0) and they collide on Friday. Evergreen earned the ranking ahead of one loss teams in Wasson and Discovery Canyon because of their more difficult schedule. The Cougars have losses to Valor Christian, Heritage, Mountain Vista and Elizabeth.

JUSTIN SHAW

THE GAZETTE

Highlights from Friday night's high school sports action.

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

Cheyenne Mountain 62, Air Academy 47

At Cheyenne Mountain: The Pikes Peak 4A No. 3 Indians (10-0, 2-0 4A Pikes Peak) remained perfect with a late spurt in the fourth quarter to pull away and set up a huge showdown Tuesday night at Sand Creek in a battle of unbeatens.

The Kadets fell to 6-5, 1-1 in conference.

January 11, 2013

By Joe PaiSley

Basketball

Boys’ Hoops Improves to 9-0 Junior Ghassan Nehme pumped in 20 points and the CMHS defense shone during a 46-33 road win over Vista Ridge to open PPAC play for the Indian boys. CMHS scored its fewest points so far this season but held its opponent to the lowest points total, surpassing an earlier 55 -34 win over Sterling on Dec. 11.

Against the Wolves (3-7, 0-1), CMHS led 24-18 at halftime and steadily pulled away. The Indians (9-0, 1-0 PPAC) host Air Academy for a boys/ girls doubleheader starting at 6p.m. on Friday with the girls’ game followed by the boys at about 7:30. The Kadet boys are 6-4, 1-0 after a league win over Falcon on Tuesday while the AA girls are 4-5, 1-0.

BRENT W. NEW

THE GAZETTE

Highlights from Tuesday's high school sports scene.

BOYS' BASKETBALL

Cheyenne Mountain 46, Vista Ridge 33

At Vista Ridge: Cheyenne Mountain’s Christian Nehme scored eight points as the 4A No. 3 Indians remained undefeated (9-0 overall, 1-0 Pikes Peak).

The Indians stretched their lead over Vista Ridge (3-7, 0-1) when they outscored the Wolves 15-6 in the third quarter.

Jerrell Bellot scored 10 points to lead all Wolves players.

THE GAZETTE

PIKES PEAK AREA BASKETBALL RANKINGS

BOYS

4A

1. Sand Creek (7-0), No. 1
2. Lewis-Palmer (7-2), No. 2
3. (tie) Wasson (8-1), No. 3
Cheyenne Mountain (8-0), No. 3

NOTES: 4A league play in the Pikes Peak Athletic Conference starts Tuesday. Discovery Canyon puts its 8-0 record on the line against a Lewis-Palmer squad that not only lost its 34-game winning streak Dec. 20 against D’Evelyn, but suffered another loss two days later at Chaparral. It marked the Rangers’ first consecutive losses since dropping three straight to start the 2009-10 season. The 4A Metro League season commences Thursday.…

Denver Post coaches poll

By Ryan Casey
The Denver Postdenverpost.com

Valor Christian won a showdown with No. 1 D'Evelyn on Friday, then captured the top spot for itself on Monday.

The Eagles (10-2) moved up to the No. 1 spot from No. 5 in the Class 4A boys basketball coaches poll this week. Valor Christian has played a mostly-5A schedule in the early part of the year, but is unbeaten (3-0) against 4A foes.

D'Evelyn dropped to No. 2, while Cheyenne Mountain fell a place to No. 3. Lewis-Palmer remained at No. 4.

Complete rankings for all classes are below.

With the second half of the basketball schedule hitting full stride this week, Colorado Preps has released their first boys basketball rankings of the season. Even though the schedule was limited last week, there were several important games that affected the rankings in the upper three classifications.

CLASS 4A

1. Valor Christian (10-2)

2. D’Evelyn (8-1)

3. Pueblo East (8-1)

4. Lewis Palmer (7-2)

5. Thomas Jefferson (8-2)

6. Cheyenne Mountain (8-0)

7. Sand Creek (7-0)

8. Longmont (5-0)

9. Broomfield (5-3)

10. Denver South (7-2)

TEAMS TO WATCH: Discovery Canyon (8-0), Wasson (7-1), Falcon (7-2), Eagle Valley (7-2), Windsor (6-4)

NOTES: With so many quality teams in Class 4A, the separation between numbers one and ten is not that much. Valor Christian is unbeaten against 4A opponents and based on their exciting win over D’Evelyn, the Eagles take hold of the top spot in our first rankings. The Eagles have dropped games against Doherty and Columbine by a total of 15 points. Against Valor, D’Evelyn was seeking a third consecutive high quality win. They knocked off both Lewis Palmer and Thomas Jefferson to close December so despite the loss to the Eagles, the Jaguars claim the second spot. Pueblo East earned a slight edge over Lewis Palmer in the battle between third and fourth. Pueblo East is unbeaten against in-state competition and also has a win over Chaparral while the Rangers lost to the Wolverines last month. Thomas Jefferson dropped the one point decision to D’Evelyn and also lost to Legend but the Spartans have quality wins over Cherry Creek, Pine Creek, Montbello, Cherokee Trial and Rampart to finish out the top five. Cheyenne Mountain, Sand Creek and Longmont are a combined 20-0 but they have not face the same level of competition as the top five. Discovery Canyon is another unbeaten left out of the rankings because of scheduling. They were bypassed in favor of Broomfield which has four wins against 5A opponents and Denver South which is unbeaten against in-state competition including a 35 point win over 3A five time defending state champion Faith Christian.

*D'Evelyn is a clear-cut number one. The Jaguars are led by Luke Stratman, who averages near 29 points per game.

*Along with D'Evelyn, Cheyenne Mtn, Discovery Canyon, Sand Creek and Longmont are all without a blemish on their resume.

*Denver South and TJ give the DPL strong representation. Those two teams will meet up on January 16th.

*Pueblo East checks in at #10. The Eagles only loss this season has come to 5A's Cherokee Trail.

post preps: boys basketball

By Ryan Casey

Mountain Vista, 9-0 to start this season, is now the No. 2 team in Class 5A boys basketball.

The Golden Eagles beat then-No. 5 Columbine last week and moved from sixth to second in the Denver Post coaches poll as a result. Mountain Vista also beat Liberty last week. The first game following the break will be a daunting test: No. 3 Arapahoe, which is also unbeaten at 8-0, waits on Jan. 4.

Grandview went from seventh to fourth in this week's poll, while ThunderRidge dropped a spot to fifth. Rangeview lost to unranked Chaparral last week and fell from second to sixth as a result. Fossil Ridge is seventh and is followed by Overland (No. 8) and Columbine (No. 9). The 5A poll added Eaglecrest, at tenth.

In 4A, D'Evelyn took over the top spot following its win over then-No. 1 Lewis-Palmer last week. Lewis-Palmer fell to fourth, as Cheyenne Mountain moved up to second and Sand Creek to third. Denver South is the lone newcomer to the 4A poll, debuting this week at No. 8.

Complete rankings for all classes are below.

Class 4A

RK TEAM REC PTS PVS LW

1 D'Evelyn (5) 8-0 66 2 1-0

2 Cheyenne Mountain (2) 8-0 63 4 1-0

3 Sand Creek 7-0 46 5 1-0

4 Lewis-Palmer 7-2 43 1 1-2

5 Valor Christian 9-2 41 3 1-1

6 Thomas Jefferson 8-2 38 6 4-1

7 Pueblo East 8-1 36 8 4-0

8 Denver South 7-2 19 - 2-0

9 Wasson 7-1 15 7 1-0

10 Discovery Canyon 8-0 11 10 3-0

Others receiving votes Longmont 5, Broomfield 1, Widefield 1.

THE GAZETTE

BOYS BASKETBALL

5A

1. Fountain-Fort Carson (6-3), No. 1 last week

2. Liberty (3-5), No. 2

3. Rampart (5-3), No. 3

4A

1. Sand Creek (7-0), No. 2

2. Lewis-Palmer (7-2), No. 1

3. (tie) Wasson (7-1), No. 3

Cheyenne Mountain (8-0), No. 3

NOTES: Don’t look too closely at Liberty’s 3-5 record and four-game losing streak heading into 2013. The Lancers’ five losses belong to teams with a combined 32-8 record, including 7-2 Lewis-Palmer (the Rangers were still undefeated at the time) and 9-0 Mountain Vista last week. … And speaking of Rangers, they dropped two games in the span of three days. Granted it was to 4A No. 2 state-ranked D'Evelyn and 5A Chaparral on the road, but back-to-back losses will get you if you're in the driver's seat. ... Sand Creek and Cheyenne Mountain both remained undefeated last week, as did Discovery Canyon (8-0), which started PPAC league play early with a win over Palmer Ridge. … CSCS had its four-game winning streak abruptly ended by Widefield on Thursday. … With the weather-shortened Mountain Lion High School Holiday Shootout last week at UCCS, Peyton and Calhan face an extended break, neither playing again until the second week of January.

Highest Individual Score: Tristan Strickland 163

Coaches destroy the Seniors in the team competition!

By Joe paisley

The Cheyenne Edition

The unbeaten Cheyenne Mountain boys’ basketball team pledged to “stay hungry and humble” over the holiday break.

It may prove more difficult than it sounds for the home fans after the Indians shredded Class 5A Pine Creek 80-45 on Tuesday night to close out the nonconference portion of their schedule.

Junior guard Ghassan Nehme, who looked every bit the NCAA Division I prospect with a combined 52 points over the past two contests, took the postgame message to the team from head coach J’on St. Clair to heart.

“Without my teammates, we wouldn’t be 8-0,” Nehme said. “Four out of the top five teams in our league are ranked in the state top 10 so we know we have to stay hungry and humble and be ready to play after the break.”

Pine Creek (2-4) entered the game on a two-game winning streak with victories over Niwot (51-48) and Denver North (62-32). But they had no answer for Nehme (game-high 21 points), senior guard Darrin Haynes (16 points), sophomore guard Christian Nehme (13 points, team-high five assists) and junior center Reece Eddy (12 points, nine rebounds).

“We struggled on defense,” said Pine Creek head coach Duke Stewart. “Nos. 1-11, we have to work to get better on defense. We knew coming in that Gus (Ghassan) was going to get his points. One guy cannot stop him; two probably won’t either. We were looking to slow down the others and give ourselves a chance to pull out a road win.”

Ghassan Nehme’s contribution goes beyond the points evident on the stat sheet, St.Clair said. ‘What most people don’t realize is that he makes everyone else around him better,” he said. “He forces other teams to adjust to him.”

The defense of the Indians disrupted Pine Creek for the entirety of the nonleague game. The turnovers generated by the near constant pressure led to an unofficial 18 Cheyenne Mountain fastbreak baskets when fleetfooted Haynes and the Nehme brothers could attack the rim. Eddy worked best in the halfcourt, using his 6-foot-7 frame to control the glass and record a couple offensive putbacks. His height also forced a number of altered shots with some Eagles unwilling to attack the rim. More importantly, Eddy hit 4-of-5 free throws to hurt Pine Creek when they fouled.

“Haynes and Reece Eddy both played well today,” St. Clair said. “Reece made his free throws with is big.”

The cliché about team defense proved true with players such as senior Donivan Harville (eight points) and sophomore Nathan Resty (four points) contributing a team-high five steals to make life difficult for the Pine Creek ballhandlers. “When we defend well, I feel like we are a steam train just rolling along,” Eddy said.

Pine Creek scored most of its points with good passes to the opposite side where players like senior Rhett Lopez found room to attack the basket. The 6-foot-4 guard finished with a team-high 15 points and was PCHS’ only consistent answer to the Indians’ offensive balance. Seniors Grant Morin and Max Roberson added six points apiece and junior guard Austin Meachum chipped in five. “When I really need a basket, he is my go-to guy,” Stewart said. “The problem is when he is not hitting his shots, we struggle to get a bucket.”

With the defense playing well, CMHS steadily pulled away for a 17-10 lead after Ghassan Nehme scored seven points in the first quarter. Haynes scored eight in the second for a 35-21 halftime lead before the Indians slammed the door shut by hitting three 3-pointers on consecutive possessions by Haynes and the Nehme brothers for a 51-29 lead with 3:21 left in the third. An offensive putback by Harville at the buzzer made it 61-35 after three and it was time for the reserves to log some playing time.

The Indians defeated Poudre in the championship game of the Fort Collins-Poudre Shootout tournament last Saturday night in a 73-72 2OT thriller behind 31 points from Ghassan Nehme, who scored the winning basket.