(Lauren Renck/CHSAANow.com)
PUEBLO — Kids dream about this moment.
Pueblo South’s Deshiloh Stanley lived it Wednesday night.
The junior hit a runner in the lane off the glass at the buzzer, propelling the fourth-ranked Colts to a dramatic 59-57 win over No. 5 Pueblo West in a South-Central League boys basketball game.
“I got the ball and I drove to the basket in the lane and shot it, and I thought it was going in,” the 5-foot-11 Stanley said. “Coach (D.J. Johnson) and my teammates all give me confidence, and that was going through my head when I shot it. I wasn’t planning on banking it, I was just trying to get my team win. This was definitely the biggest shot I’ve ever hit.”
A nanosecond after the ball fell through the hoop, the standing-room only crowd at the SHS gym rushed the court and mobbed Stanley.
“It was very crazy,” said Stanley, who drove past West’s David Simental to nail the winning shot and give him 10 points for the game. “I’ve never experienced anything like that before.”
South, No. 4 in the latest CHSAANow.com Class 4A poll, ran its record to 16-1 overall and alone atop the S-CL with a 5-0 mark. The Colts, who were ranked No. 1 in the state last week, regrouped after suffering their first loss of the season – 54-52 to Air Academy Jan. 30.
West dropped to 15-3 overall and to 4-1 in the S-CL, and also saw its four-game winning streak snapped.
Johnson, South’s veteran coach, praised Stanley for his heroics.
“We wanted to run a high pick and roll and let Maleek (Johnson) try to get loose and they did a great job of taking him away, but you know Deshiloh is a good second option for us to have,” Johnson said. “He got himself in position to score and when he shot it, I was saying to myself, ‘Please go in,’ and it was exciting when he made it.”
Johnson, who finished with a team-high 18 points, scored six consecutive points, the final two giving the Colts a 57-55 lead with 39 seconds remaining.
“I was just try to be a leader and do what coach told me to do and that was take over,” the 6-foot-1 Johnson said. “They (West) took me out of the last play and Deshiloh took it to the paint and made a great shot. I was really glad he made it because I didn’t want to go to overtime.”
Simental, who had a game-high 22 points, tied the game with a bucket with 26 seconds ticks left, setting the stage for Stanley.
West’s Kenny Tack, who had 12 points, was trying to digest the tough defeat.
“We had our eyes on Maleek,” said Tack about the final play. “Of course Deshiloh is a good shooter and it just got away from us and hopefully we can get it next time. There were just too many plays in that game that got away from us.”
Johnson acknowledged his team’s victory against West was crucial – especially at home. The Colts will visit Pueblo West Feb. 19 in the final regular season game of the season for both teams.
“West is a great team and we feel fortunate to beat a team like that,” Johnson said. “There are not too many teams better than them in the state. We are lucky to have them in our league and get to see them twice and get prepared for the playoffs, but we had to protect our own court.
“We’re going to have to face them out there in their place in a couple of weeks and that’s a very tough place to play, so it was very important for us to try and hold serve if you will, here at home.”