GRAND JUNCTION (12/6/11) — There was the “beautiful game,†then the down-to-the wire, proverbial “ugly†win, but both Glenwood Springs basketball teams came out of Grand Junction Central\’s gym with victories to improve their unbeaten pre-season marks to 3-0.
Glenwood Girls 82, Central 25
Kenzie Nelson-Buhler torched the 5A Lady Warriors (0-3) for 19 first-quarter points, making 8 of 11 shots, including 3 of 5 from downtown. Sarah Davis was the only other Demon to score as Glenwood grabbed a 21-10 lead. Buehler cooled off, but Delaney Gaddis and Lexie Warkentin took up the scoring role scoring 11 and 15 points respectively in the middle two quarters.
The Demon defense really sealed the game\’s outcome, shutting out the Warriors in the second quarter and holding them to two baskets and two free throws in the third. Meanwhile, with Cassidy and Delaney Gaddis continually finding open teammates, Glenwood added 40 points to lead 61-16 going into the fourth quarter.
The senior Gaddis didn\’t score until the second half, but finished with 6 points and 9 assists, while her sophomore sister scored 14, including 3 of 6 three-pointers, with 6 assists and 5 steals. Warkentin, who tallied 11 points in the 27-6 third quarter, had 15 for the game to go with 7 rebounds and two blocked shots. Nelson-Buehler, the only junior on the team, matched Central\’s entire scoring output with 25 points, added 9 rebounds and two blocks.
Connor Adams, who encountered foul trouble throughout the game, had 4 points in the second quarter; Davis had 6, and Madi Spence, a 5-11 freshman added 4 points and two rebounds in the last half of the 4th quarter when another freshman, Jordan DeCrow dished out 3 assists.
Glenwood Boys 52, Central 49
“We couldn\’t play three perfect games in a row, so we\’ll take an ugly ‘W,†Demon coach Cory Hitchcock said after his team struggled to find its shooting touch, but got key performances from Kellin Casey and Collin Porterfield in the last 3:38 of the game to overcome a 5 point deficit and beat Central, 52-49.
Michael McGraw sizzled at the start, scoring 8 points as the Demons build a 5 point first-quarter lead, but he wouldn\’t score again the rest of the game, and by the end of the period, Central had tied the score at 15. Glenwood led by one, 28-27 at the half, despite shooting just 4 of 14 in the second quarter, and missing 6 of 14 free throws.
The third quarter was no better as Central\’s Taylor Sanchez and Ed Beacoat combined for 10 points and fueled an 8-0 Warrior run for a 41-39 lead into the final period. Central\’s 6-8 Trent Coleman banked in a shot with 4:20 left in the game, giving the Warriors their largest lead, 47-42.
Casey answered with the Demons\’ first trey of the contest on a pass from Porterfield. Sanchez scored a jumper giving Central a 49-45 lead with 2:30 remaining, but the Demon defense shut them out the rest of the way. With 2:05 left, Casey penetrated the lane and found the 6-5 Porterfield for an easy basket, cutting the lead to two.
Following a Central turnover Porterfield drove to the hoop and scored over Coleman to tie the game with 40 seconds left. Casey rebounded a miss by Coleman and was fouled, making both free throws with 22 ticks on the clock for the Demons\’ first lead of the fourth quarter, 52-49.
Beacoat missed a drive, and Coleman rebounded right under the basket, but his follow-shot was too hard and Porterfield cleared the boards, and was fouled with 9 seconds left. He made the first of the one-and-one, but Casey came up with the loose ball after Coleman tipped the second-shot miss. Casey was unable to push the lead to four, missing the front-end of the free throw and Central called a time out with 5 seconds remaining.
Sanchez had made Central\’s only three-pointer in the game and he was guarded on the inbounds by McGraw, who was picked off by one of the Warriors, freeing the senior to drive upcourt. Casey caught up to him and got a hand in his face, but Sanchez still had a pretty good look at a game-tying three. The ball bounced off the front of the rim as the buzzer sounded, igniting a Glenwood celebration.
Porterfield led the Demons with 17 points and 8 rebounds; Casey tallied 14 with 4 assists, and Randy Burbidge contributed 7 points and 8 boards. For the game, Glenwood shot just 19 of 48, and missed 10 of 23 free throws. But they only turned the ball over 14 times and outrebounded Central, despite the 6-8 Coleman, who had 10 points and just 6 boards for the game. Sanchez led all scorers with 19.
Glenwood\’s next action comes in the Demon Invitational next weekend.
