Fort Collins senior Eric Sultzman, left, battles with Golden junior Nick Capaul (34) for a loose ball Tuesday night at Golden High School. The Demons used a 22-point fourth quarter to take a 46-36 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
GOLDEN — Dealing with finals week and an impending Wednesday flight to Florida for a holiday tournament was surely on the mind of Golden’s boys basketball team Tuesday night.
The Demons, ranked No. 2 in this week’s Class 4A CHSAANow.com poll, was able to keep their focus on the court in the fourth quarter for a come-from-behind victory against 5A’s Fort Collins.
“It was a grinder for sure,” admitted Golden junior Ryan Blodgett who scored a game-high 12 points in the Demons’ 46-36 home victory to keep Golden (5-0 overall) undefeated on the season.
Golden junior Nick Capaul (34) gets his hands on the ball as Fort Collins senior Andrew Pfaffinger (44) falls into Capaul under the basket Tuesday night in the non-league game at Golden High School. (Dennis Pleuss)
The Lambkins held a 26-24 lead through three quarters during the defensive struggle. Golden finally got its offense on track in the final 8 minutes. A key 9-0 run by the Demons during a three-minute stretch late in the game allowed Golden to pull away.
Senior Jason Johnson hit a key 3-pointer for the Demons. Senior Ryan Thistlewood pulled off his second 3-point play with a layup and foul.
“I wasn’t really trying to get the and-one. Honestly, I didn’t think I got fouled,” Thistlewood said. “It worked out and making the free throws always helps.”
Blodgett capped off the run with six straight points.
“We can score a lot of different ways, but we are only going to be good if our big guys (Blodgett, Cole Greff and Nick Capaul) score,” Golden coach John Anderson said. “I think Fort Collins did a good job of rushing our guys early. The key was the guards being able to penetrate and break them down to give our bigs some good scoring opportunities.”
Greff and Capaul each finished with eight points. Thistlewood finished with nine points.
Blodgett was held scoreless in the second and third quarters, along with picking up his third foul with 4:18 left in the third quarter.
“I was frustrated, but you have to keep your poise,” said Blodgett about his four points and three fouls heading to the fourth quarter. “You’ve got to slow down. You have to play smart and know what you can and can’t do.”
Blodgett dominated the fourth quarter with eight points, which included going 4-for-5 from the free-throw line.
“I think we had a lot more movement on offense,” Blodgett said of the Demons’ 22-point fourth quarter. “It took us that long to adjust to the tempo.”
Fort Collins senior Henry Deeter (3) tries to get a shot over the arms of Golden junior Ryan Blodgett (33) during the second half Tuesday night. Blodgett scored a game-high 12 points in the Demons’ 46-36 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
Fort Collins (3-3) was led in scoring by seniors Brydon Campanella (nine points) and Andrew Pfaffinger (eight points). The Lambkins’ biggest lead was five points. An 11-0 run in the second quarter gave Fort Collins a 20-15 advantage.
“The tempo of the game favored Fort Collins,” Anderson said. “I talked about it during pregame that we have to be able to win ugly style games, high scoring games and games where we score in the 40s. Defense always gives us a chance to win.”
Golden heads to a much warmer climate Wednesday. The Demons will play in the 2014 Kreul Classic in Florida from Dec. 19-22. After the winter break Golden jumps into 4A Jeffco League play hosting Conifer on Jan. 7.
“It’s going to be a big test. It’s a business trip,” Anderson said. “We’ve got good momentum going and we want to keep it.”
Fort Collins stays on the road for a 2:30 p.m. non-league contest at Ponderosa in Parker on Saturday before winter break.
Golden junior Cole Harris is able to save the ball from going out of bounds during the first quarter Tuesday night at Golden High School. (Dennis Pleuss)