GYPSUM (1/21/20) – In 2018, Eagle Valley’s boys basketball team attempted 963 three-point shots. Three Devil gunslingers accounted for over 600 of those triples, and the team averaged 70 points a game for the season. How did they fare? They won only seven of 23 games, but every night was a shootout.
The Glenwood Springs boys and girls basketball teams visited “The Inferno” on Tuesday and came away with a pair of victories, extending their undefeated status in Western Slope League play to 3-0, but it was “Déjà vu” for the Demon boys as they withstood 24, three-ball attempts to win 67-52. The Lady Demons had a much easier time of it, setting a season scoring high in a 66-17 rout.
GLENWOOD BOYS 67, EAGLE VALLEY 52
In the opening four minutes of the first quarter, Glenwood and Eagle exchanged leads and were tied twice before AJ Adams, who scored a career-high 22 points, put back his second offensive rebound within 90 seconds for a 10-9 Demon advantage.
Glenwood, behind six points from Patrick Young padded the lead to 20-13 by quarter’s end and seemed to be on its way to an easy seventh straight win when the 3-bombs began to fall for Eagle’s Keegan Garvey. The senior guard, who is third in the league in treys made, splashed in one to start the second quarter and another at the 3:40 mark, drawing the Devils within a point, 25-24.
Once again, Adams to the rescue with a rebound and score, followed by Will Narvaez’ only basket of the game, then the senior post set up Alec Nykirk for a short jumper, the only score by the Demon bench in the contest, pushing the lead to seven.
A steal and layup by John Ieule right before halftime put Glenwood up, 33-27, and the Demons began the second half with a 7-0 run, highlighted by a triple from Mitchell Burt for a 13-point cushion.
Glenwood couldn’t improve on the lead because Garvey and Bryan Martinez hit from beyond the arc, keeping Eagle within 48-36 going to the final frame.
Nando Vidarri and Garvey each dropped in 3-balls to trim the lead to 50-42 early in the quarter, but Ieule answered from beyond the arc, preceding baskets by Young, Burt, and Adams to match Glenwood’s biggest lead, 59-46 with 3:18 remaining.
Still, the Devils weren’t quite done as Carlos Sanchez made a 3-pointer and was fouled, but missed the free throw. Martinez hit a trey with one-minute to go, getting the lead under ten, but Adams scored three times down the stretch and Burt nailed a pair of free throws to finally seal the outcome.
Speaking of free throws, the Demons’ incredible free throw shooting stretch reached 28 with a pair from Adams in the first quarter. Glenwood didn’t get to the line again until the third quarter, when the magic suddenly vanished and the Demons were 0-for-3.
Adams had a season-high 11 rebounds to go with his spectacular scoring night, which included nine offensive boards, five of which led to scores. Narvaez padded his league-leading rebound total, pulling in 17 to pace the Demons to a 45-23 edge off the glass. Iuele scored 15 and tied his season high with 8 assists. Burt chipped in 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals. Young tallied eight, along with 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
The Demons (11-3, 3-0) have been challenged in the last two league games, pulling out a hotly contested 49-45 win at Rifle a week ago, to sharpen them for a showdown with 4-0 Steamboat Sailors (8-7 overall), who come to Glenwood on Saturday.
GLENWOOD GIRLS 66, EAGLE VALLEY 17
Since the calendar flipped to 2020, the Glenwood Lady Demons (11-3, 3-0) have not trailed in the second half of any of their five straight wins. They have been ahead in every minute of their three league victories.
Tuesday at Eagle Valley was more of the same. The girls took a quick 5-0 lead as Maddie Moser continued to smoke the nets from 3-point land, and by first quarter’s end, led 17-8, with Michelle Marshall pouring in eight points off the bench.
It was Natalya Taylor’s turn to lead a 17-3 second period with 6 points and two assists, Moser making yet another three, giving her 8 in her last 12 attempts and 12 of her last 17 (71 per cent!) as the Demons led 34-11 at halftime.
Marshall, Taylor, and Gracie Dietrich each contributed five points and Kenzie Winder 4 in a 26-4 third quarter blitzing that expanded the margin to 60-15.
Marshall had a career high 15 points to go with 6 rebounds, with Taylor also setting a season mark with 15, adding 4 assists. Dietrich had a near double-double with 9 points and 9 rebounds and Quinn Massie, the league’s second-leading rebounder, had 6 points and 6 boards. Ella Johnson came off the bench to grab 3 steals, leading the team and third in the league with 29.
The Steamboat Sailors, just 4-10 on the season, but 2-2 in WSL play and coming off a 34-30 win over what seemed to be a pretty good Battle Mountain (4-6, 1-1) team, come to Glenwood on Saturday afternoon.
