KMTS BASKETBALL: Glenwood Boys & Girls Come Back for Second-half Wins
GLENWOOD SPRINGS (1/26/13) – Both the Glenwood Springs girls and boys basketball teams completed second-half comebacks to sweep Steamboat Springs and set the stage for the challenge of taking on two of the better teams in the Western Slope League at Eagle Valley next Tuesday. Both squads used a rare balanced offense and stifling defense in the victories.
GLENWOOD BOYS 42, STEAMBOAT SPRINGS 30
Glenwood (4-9, 3-5 WSL) trailed 16-13 at halftime after Steamboat’s 6-9 sophomore Garrett Bye played the intimidator with 3 blocks and a resounding dunk. But Logan Holmberg, giving up 4 inches in height, but using his advantage in bulk outplayed Bye decisively in the second half, blocking three shots of his own, pulling down 8 boards to Bye’s 3 and shutting him out for the final two quarters.
Grant Fegan scored on a jumper in the lane and a putback of his own miss as Glenwood regained the lead in the third quarter despite missing all seven of its three point attempts (3 by Fegan) in the period. Fegan then set up Gabe Yen for the basket that gave the Demons a 22-20 edge into the fourth quarter when Brian Burbidge combined with Fegan for 13 points in a sizzling finish.
With Burbidge and Fegan doing all the scoring, Glenwood went on a 9-0 run from the 5-minute mark until Ben Custer’s 3-point play with 3:03 remaining. The outburst included Burbidge sinking the Demons’ only trey (in 14 attempts) on a feed from Cam Horning. Then Fegan and Horning closed out the Sailors by making 6 straight free throws in the final minute. The 20-point period came within two of matching the Demons’ total for the first three quarters.
The Demons’ man-to-man defense smothered Steamboat in the final two frames, holding the Sailors to 3-of-21 from the floor and forcing 8 turnovers. Coming off the bench, Fegan and Horning led the scoring with 11 and 9 points respectively. Burbidge added seven, all in the final frame, and Chris Thomas, who had drained 4 of 5 three-pointers in the loss to Summit on Thursday, missed both his triples but chipped in 6 points. Custer’s 12 led the Sailors (6-7, 2-6), with Bye ending with just 4 points and 4 rebounds to go with 5 blocked shots.
GLENWOOD GIRLS 51, STEAMBOAT SPRINGS 41
After Steamboat missed five three-point attempts while falling behind 13-6 in the first quarter, the Sailors suddenly caught fire beyond the arc to outscore Glenwood 18-10 and take a 24-23 halftime lead. McKenzie Repollo, who had four of the first-quarter misses, drained 3 of 5 from downtown and Mikaila Jegtvig added another while the Demons had six turnovers in the second period.
The teams exchanged the lead a couple times at the beginning of the third period before a steal by Delaney Gaddis led to a layup and three-point play for a 29-28 lead halfway through the quarter, and Gaddis dropped in a three-pointer on the Demons’ next possession as part of a 9-0 run. Jordan DeCrow finished the frame by splashing one from downtown with just a few ticks left on the clock for a 37-31 lead heading into the fourth.
Glenwood, which had made just 4-of-27 three-pointers in its last two games, was much more judicious and efficient in downtown attempts against Steamboat, making 4-of-7. The Demons also made a concerted effort to share the scoring and get the ball inside, which resulted in Laura McDermott scoring 11 and Hailey Armstrong and Madi Spence combining for 9 points.
Gaddis opened the fourth quarter by matching a three-pointer from Steamboat’s Alice Holmquist, then made a free throw and set up Armstrong for another basket. Great ball movement from Taylor Kontour to Armstrong to McDermott resulted in a 9-point lead inside four minutes and McDermott’s pass to Kenzie Nelson-Buehler pushed the advantage to 10 and capped a 7-1 run with 2:50 remaining.
The balanced scoring attack was evident in the totals with Gaddis tallying 12, McDermott 11 (along with 10 rebounds) and Nelson-Buehler 10. The Demons (9-3, 5-3 WSL) shot 49 per cent for the game (20-of-41) as they moved into a third place tie with Rifle (7-5, 5-3) and Palisade (6-7, 5-3). After traveling to Gypsum to play the second place Devils (9-3, 6-1), Glenwood hosts Rifle on Thursday, so this week will have an impact on playoff positioning for all three teams.
