EDWARDS (1/7/14) — The Glenwood boys and girls basketball teams brought in the New Year the same way they ended the old one, with a couple of easy league victories, this time at Battle Mountain, as both teams improved to 4-0 in Western Slope play.
GLENWOOD GIRLS 57, BATTLE MOUNTAIN 27
The Lady Demons stretched their defense a little after Christmas break, changing up from a zone to man and trying on a full-court press for size, but it really didn’t matter because Battle Mountain couldn’t score much against any of it. The Huskies began the game making one of their first 7 shots against a 2-3 zone, while Glenwood opened an 8-2 advantage, which reached 14-6 by the end of the quarter. In the second period, Jordan DeCrow and Delaney Gaddis each popped a three-pointer during a 10-0 run that pushed the lead to 17 points. Though Madi Spence was having trouble finding her shooting touch (1-for-6 in the first half), the Demon-D, switching to man in the 2nd quarter, held Battle Mountain to just 4-of-24 from the floor with Glenwood comfortably ahead at the half, 27-13.
The second half was more of the same as the Demons doubled-up the Huskies, 12-6 in the third, and 18-8 when Spence finally found the range for nine, 4th-quarter points. Spence finished with a game-high 15 to go with 7 rebounds. Hailey Armstrong’s 12 boards helped Glenwood gain a hard-fought 42-39 rebounding advantage. Elizabeth Olivas, who led the Huskies with 12 points, also pulled down 9 caroms for the 3-5 (0-3 WSL) Huskies.
Gaddis had 13 points (2-of-4 treys), along with 9 assists and 9 steals in a stellar all-around performance. Bella Diaz provided a spark off the bench with 6 points and 8 rebounds. Glenwood returns home Friday to meet Delta, off to a 2-5 start this season after losing all-conference seniors Skylen Webb and Callie Gafford, who led the Panthers to an undefeated league record in 2012-13 and a 19-5 overall record.
The Lady Demons, now 7-0 (4-0 WSL), have matched their best start (since the 2010-11 season led by Lexie Warkentin, Cassidy Gaddis, and Kenzie Kuhn) in the last dozen years.
GLENWOOD BOYS 78, BATTLE MOUNTAIN 50
Whatever the Glenwood boys had to eat for Christmas dinner should remain on the training table as they set a season-scoring mark against the Huskies after a somewhat sluggish start. Battle Mountain held their only lead of the game at 4-3 and were tied at 6 with “El Toro” Jerry Carrazco scoring all of their points before Glenwood edged in front after one quarter, 10-8. Cam Horning, who opened the game with a 3-pointer, had half the Demon points.
Horning stayed hot in the second frame,concluding a 13-0 start to the quarter, with 7 straight points, accelerating the Glenwood lead to 24-8 with 3:46 left in the half. Led by a pair of 3-pointers by Owen Riley, Battle Mountain responded with a 9-2 answer before Jared Gambrel scored his only points of the half on a put-back just before the buzzer, for a 28-17 halftime advantage.
The Demons made just 11 of 34 shots in the half, but held the Huskies to just 5-of-26. Both teams sizzled in the third with Brian Burbidge, scoreless in the first half, and Gambrel each delivering 8 points in a 26-point period, despite the team not attempting a single 3-pointer (they were 1-for-11 in the first half). Will Gray received three assists from Gambrel to add 6 inside points. Battle Mountain nearly kept pace, scoring 18 points as Riley scored 5, including another trey, and Chase Keep and Creek Kamby combined for 8 points for the Huskies.
Battle Mountain (4-4, 0-3 WSL) fell apart in the final quarter, making just 4-of-23 shots, wilting under the continued offensive onslaught by the Demons. Glenwood scored 50 points in the second-half, to win the game going away, shooting 9-for-14 in the final frame (20-for-32 in the last half). Including the Steamboat game, Glenwood had made just 2-of-21 from beyond the arc until the fourth quarter when Horning and Burbidge sank a pair.
Glenwood had all five starters in double-figures as their 78 points topped the previous high of 71 in the opener with Coal Ridge. Making his initial start of the season, Zack Peterson, who was scoreless after two, first-quarter fouls, rallied to finish with 10 points and 8 rebounds. Gray was solid underneath, adding a season-high 13 points to go with 8 boards. Burbidge scored all of his 15 points in the second half and matched Horning for team honors, while Gambrel also had a strong final two frames to finish with 14 points, adding 9 assists. Riley, who made 4-of-5 from downtown, led the Huskies with 16. Carrazco had 10 points and 9 rebounds.
The Demons, now 8-0 and 4-0 in league play, host a 3-4 Delta team (1-0 WSL) next Friday, with a non-league contest at Roaring Fork to follow on Saturday.
