Chaparral shot 1-for-14 in the first quarter, scoring only two points, and hit only 2 of 11 shots in the second, scoring seven. The Wolverines, though, came back to score 15 in the third and 23 in the fourth.
Shot selection and open looks were not the problem in the first half. The Wolverines were getting decent chances, but just three of them went down. Jordan Adams led a comeback with four baskets in the third period and a 3-pointer and another basket in the fourth, but it’s hard to recover from a 30-9 deficit.
Regis coach Ken Shaw was disappointed his team was outscored in each of the final two quarters.
"I don’t think our focus was sharp enough," he said.
Shaw didn’t mention some reasons that dropped Regis down, mainly an injury to the right hand of shooting guard Joey Ptasinski. Ptasinski jammed his fingers trying to pick off a Chaparral pass and came out of the game immediately. Though a couple of his fingers were taped together, Ptasinski really didn’t shoot upon his return, and he was angry he couldn’t follow up on the three 3-pointers he hit in the first half.
The extent of Ptasinski’s injury was revealed when he missed a free throw in the fourth quarter. Normally, he is a deadshot, but one of seven attempts rimmed out after the fingers were hurt.
Another anomaly for the Raiders was that Bud Thomas didn’t shoot any free throws, nor did he make a 3-pointer. The 6-foot-6 senior is one of the best big men around on the dribble-drive, but he didn’t take the ball inside himself. He posted up well to take a lob pass from junior point guard Michael Clark and also threw down a two-handed dunk that excited his friends. Even though Thomas finished with a creditable 16 points, the drives weren’t there.
"I don’t think we got to the line nearly enough," Thomas said of Regis’ 13 free-throw attempts.
Ptaskinski passed some praise Chaparral’s way for its second-half surge.
"They got great shots; they ran the floor really well," he said.
The full Monty
Fort Collins coach Monty Alcaraz was an interested spectator at the Regis gym, and it was just the start of a full schedule for him.
Fort Collins hosted Fairview (12-5 but dangerous) Tuesday, and then on Friday has to travel to Mountain Range (14-5), a generally overlooked team that nevertheless has good players in Nick Kuhl and Mitch Castillo.
The Lambkins are 16-1, and that’s the same record as No. 1 Regis and No. 2 Rampart. Fort Collins has lost only to Regis, 64-45 at home on Dec. 19, but has somehow missed out on getting into the top five for Class 5A in MaxPreps’ computer-generated rankings.
Most people know that Fort Collins is led by its superb senior twosome of Austin Maage and Nate McAuliffe, but Alcaraz also had praise for 6-6 junior Greg Svitavsky.
Svitavsky had to sit out half the regular slate last season after transferring from Windsor, along with another notable in Ben Marum, but Alcaraz said his big man is now much improved.
Gateway back to being Olympian
Gateway, 9-8, certainly had some rocky moments this season, enduring two three-game losing streaks in the early going. Coach Jeff Sweet said the number of new faces on the varsity had to become acclimated to the Olympians system, particularly on defense.
It looks as if the break-in period has now been achieved, as the Olys have won eight of their past nine games, and the only loss in that span was to Regis, 72-53. Gateway has put the defensive squeeze on Columbine (45-28, Wheat Ridge (49-26), Mountain Vista (53-30) and Littleton (56-30). From those defensive numbers, it looks just like the old Gateway.
Upsets rule the top in Class 4A
Two undefeated teams joined the rest of the crowd Saturday, as Berthoud knocked off Sterling 61-58 on Saturday and Pueblo Central beat Pueblo East 63-53.
Although they joined the crowd of teams that have lost, the Tigers and Wildcats still have a leg up on the rest of the state. They still are the teams with the fewest losses, and are being pursued for best record by Sierra and Pueblo Central, both 15-2, and Longmont (14-2) and Broomfield 13-2.
