Arapahoe beat Gateway 44-39, a fine comeback after trailing the Olympians 23-18 at halftime Monday. Apparently the Warriors have suffered no ill effects from a 66-44 shellacking by Chatfield, when the Chargers outscored Arapahoe 17-3 in the first quarter.
"They hit a lot of shots," Warriors coach Dan Snyder said of the Chatfield game. "They played great. Heck, we weren’t even in the game."
Snyder was buoyed by the next game, when Arapahoe beat a good Rangeview team 73-57. Also, senior Tim Billingsley was a force in that one, scoring 27 points. Against Gateway, Arapahoe looked a little tentative early, a common reaction to the defenses of coach Jeff Sweet. But the Olympians backcourt was out of sync with the rest of the team, often making cuts just before passes came to their stationary position. Gateway turned over the ball at a breakneck rate in the second half.
Billingsley provided another boost, hitting a buzzer-beater from 30 feet at the end of the third quarter. Arapahoe outscored Gateway 13-6 in that period. Sweet has had some disciplinary issues prevent a full lineup, but Vince Roybal has looked good for the Olympians. The veteran coach is looking for more cohesion.
"We’re going through a rough period," Sweet said. "I’ve got to get to get them to listen more to what we want to do."
Rousing start
Perhaps the last, best tournament of 2009 got off to a rousing start Monday, as Fairview befuddled a much-heralded Putnam City team before losing 81-76. The Knights trailed by as many as 11 points, but cut that lead down to two by turning up their press and getting several steals in the fourth quarter.
With 25 seconds left and the Knights trailing 76-74, Fairview senior Will Oldham stole the ball in Putnam City’s backcourt and led a 3-on-1 situation. Unfortunately for Knights fans, Oldham spotted a Putnam player racing back to cover and passed the ball directly to him.
O’Neill racks up more points
Darragh O’Neill was the biggest obstacle to an easy Pirates win. The 6-foot-2 senior scored 37 points, including three 3-pointers, and he hit all but two of his 14 free throws. Last season, O’Neill clearly was an excellent defender, especially at picking off outlet passes. He averaged about 11 points per game during Fairview’s 26-1 season.
This year, in the wake of 10 seniors lost to graduation, O’Neill is averaging 25 points a game and still disrupts opposing offenses. Knights coach Frank Lee said O’Neill showed offensive prowess as a sophomore, but suffered a setback with illness that season. Last year, Travis Shepherd and Jonathan Morse did most of the scoring.
"It’s his turn," Lee said of O’Neill’s scoring surge. "He’s a big reason why we are having some success this year."
On the rebound
Lewis-Palmer lost its first three games of this season, a shocking beginning for a team that was voted by coaches No. 2 in the Class 4A preseason poll. Of course, competition had a lot to do with those losses, as the Rangers ran up against surprisingly powerful squads from Pueblo Central and Chaparral, both now 8-1. Arvada West at 5-3 also has a winning team.
With those games out of the way, Lewis-Palmer fled for the friendlier confines of Orlando. The Rangers beat New York and Oregon teams, only to face another tough Colorado team in Overland. Lewis-Palmer won the showdown against the Blazers 64-58 to take the championship in that level of the KSA tournament.
Las Vegas tourneys
Several Colorado teams made their way to Glitter City for tournaments. Denver East, which hasn’t set this state on fire so far, is faring the best. The Angels beat two local teams – Centennial 81-52, and Canyon Springs 57-55 in overtime, before losing to Valley (Nev.) in the semifinals. The Angels will play in the third place game at the Amare Stoudemire Each 1 Teach 1 tournament against Palo Verde (Nev.) on Wednesday.
At the Bishop Gorman tournament, Mullen beat Impact Academy 64-60, lost to Faith Lutheran 58-56 and beat Valhalla 59-50. ThunderRidge struggled at the Gorman event, losing to La Verne Lutheran 78-32 and German team Urspring 50-36.
