PALISADE (1/26/17) – Visiting Glenwood Springs basketball fans had to be thinking, “Oh no, here we go again.” Two weeks ago, Palisade, now 3-16 after the Demon boys held on for a 51-44 road win, upset the Demons at home. Once again, the Bulldogs refused to roll over and play dead, but this time, Palisade’s 4th-quarter 3’s did not fall, an unlikely hero emerged for Glenwood, and 4 free throws in the final 25 seconds locked up the win.
GLENWOOD BOYS 51, PALISADE 44
When Aaron Smith collided with the ‘Dogs’ 220-pound quarterback, P.D. Riddle and hobbled off the court with 5:43 left in the 4th quarter, Glenwood was clinging to a 40-39 lead.
Sophomore Wyatt Ewer, who had made just one, brief first-half appearance, replaced Smith and, taking a pass from Chano Gonzalez, pulled the trigger on a 3-pointer for a 45-39 lead, and following an out-of-control bull-rush by Riddle, ruled an offensive foul this time, Ewer hit a jumper for an 8 point Demon lead, the biggest of the game with 4:05 to play.
However, Demon fans had only to look back at the close of the 3rd quarter for evidence that the Bulldogs were as tenacious as their nickname.
The teams had exchanged leads 8 times in the first half, but Smith’s 3-pointer and a free throw by Carlos Nolasco-Montes capped a 6-0 stretch that seemed to have the Demons in control, leading by 7 with 39 seconds left in the third quarter.
After Max Noland, who scored 26 in Palisade’s previous win in Glenwood, made two free throws, Luke Gair answered with a jumper, then Sam Erickson made Palisade’s only 3-pointer of the game at the buzzer to trim the lead to 38-34 going into the final frame.
Five points by Dan McLean had trimmed the visitors’ advantage to one, 40-39, before Ewer’s heroics revived the Demons. But Glenwood went scoreless for the next three-and-a-half minutes while McLean and Noland cut five points off the lead.
Trailing 47-44, Palisade called time out with 42 seconds left in the game, presumably to set up a 3-point attempt. The Demons took away the Dogs’ best shooters, leaving Miguel Quintana, who had made just 3-of-21 treys this season, to take the shot. AJ Crowley rebounded the miss, outletted to Smith, who knocked down two free throws for a 5 point lead with 25 seconds to go. After two more long-distance misses by Palisade, Crowley hit two more from the line to ice the victory with 17 seconds remaining.
McLean led all scorers with 17 for Palisade (3-13, 2-4) with Crowley’s 15 pacing the Demons. Holden Kleager, though just scoring two points, played solid defense on Noland and grabbed 9 rebounds. Angel Garcia tallied 8 points and Smith 7 for Glenwood (10-7, 5-2 WSL), which holds on to second place with the hard-earned win.
PALISADE 45, GLENWOOD GIRLS 30
The young Glenwood girls (7-10, 3-4), with just one senior on the team, still have no answer for an experienced Palisade unit (14-2, 5-1) that features Christa Brown and her 8 senior teammates. Two weeks ago, Brown turned 12 steals into 13 points in a 47-30 win in Glenwood. An almost identical score resulted on the Lady Bulldogs’ home court, with Brown scoring 9 points, including 3 offensive rebounds, as Palisade used a 15-4 first-quarter as a springboard to a 45-30 win.
Glenwood fell behind 9-0 at the start of the game before Maddie Bolitho hit the Demons’ only 3-pointer in 12 tries to draw within 6. They never got any closer.
Brown finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Bolitho and Tatum Peterson, who grabbed 10 rebounds and had 3 blocks, each scored 8 to lead the Demons.
Glenwood will host Grand Junction Central in a non-league game Saturday afternoon.
