GLENWOOD SPRINGS (1/20/17) – Whimsically dubbed, “The game that shall not be named,” a dual drubbing in Fruita the night before had no residual effect as Glenwood Springs’ boys and girls basketball teams got back on track with relatively easy wins over the visiting Summit Tigers.
GLENWOOD GIRLS 46, SUMMIT 31
After an early 8-2 lead over the 14-1, 5A Fruita Wildcats Friday night, Glenwood was overtaken in a 17-6 second quarter and buried 20-11 in the third before falling 47-29. Tatum Peterson had all 8 first-quarter points and finished with 20 for the Demons.
With four other players adding to Peterson’s six, Glenwood turned the tables on the Tigers, racing to an 11-3 lead on the way to a 17-8 first-quarter advantage and an eventual 46-31 victory that improved the Demons’ league record to 3-2, good for third in the Western Slope.
Behind the 3-point shooting of Kate Tomlinson, Summit made a mini-run early in the second quarter, slicing the lead to four, but Glenwood scored the next 13 points in a little over three minutes to wipe out any hope of an upset by the Tigers, who fell to 0-4 in league play.
The run that gave Glenwood a 30-15 halftime lead featured two rebound follow-shots by Peterson and five points by Ellie Moser, including a 3-pointer.
Peterson led all scorers with 16 points, added 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Lauren Howell made a pair of 3-pointers as she and Saylor Warren each had 6 points. Maddie Bolitho had 8 assists running the revitalized offense, and Dani DeCrow helped shut down the Tigers with 4 steals and 7 rebounds.
GLENWOOD BOYS 68, SUMMIT 40
Coach Cory Hitchcock called the Demons’ 78-33 demolition at Fruita Monument, which included falling behind 22-0 in the first quarter, “The worst game I’ve ever been a part of,” but the Demon boys redeemed themselves by matching a season-high point total 68-40 over Summit, remaining on top of the Western Slope League with a 4-1 record.
Summit scored the game’s first five points and led 7-3 before a 6-0 finish gave Glenwood the lead after one quarter, 9-7. Angel Garcia, in a preview of what would be a team-leading 17-point game off the bench, put the Demons ahead with a driving, weak-side layup just before the buzzer, then triggered an 8-0 surge with back-to-back 3-pointers as Glenwood took a 17-9 lead.
Following a time out, Summit rallied to within three points, 19-16, but another 8-0 run, featuring 3-pointers by Holden Kleager and Garcia pushed the lead to eleven. AJ Crowley capped an incredible 6-for-6 three-point performance in the first half by the Demons for a 33-20 lead at intermission. In addition to making all five treys they tried, the boys shot 9-of-11 in outscoring Summit 24-13 in the quarter.
Aaron Smith joined the fun with 7 third-quarter points, including the seventh straight splash from beyond the arc as the Demon lead topped 20 points at the 4:30 mark. Smith made two technical free throws for a 51-28 lead going into the final period.
In the fourth quarter, Kevin Ayon dropped in the Demons’ eighth 3-pointer in ten tries for the game. Overall Glenwood made 24-of-45 shots from the floor, and for good measure, went 14-of-17 from the line, effectively wiping the “Game that shall not be named,” from memory.
Besides Garcia, Crowley (with 12) and Kleager (10) also reached double-figure scoring, with Smith adding 9 and 4 assists, Ayon 7, and Luke Gair 6.
The Demons will travel to Gypsum on Monday to make up their snowed-out games from January 5th before going to Palisade on Thursday and hosting Grand Junction Central in a pair of non-league games next Saturday.
