More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
AURORA — To be a championship contending team, a squad must exemplify many distinct characteristics that set them apart from the rest of the pack. One mark of a legit title contender is being able to win in many ways — offensively, defensively, with finesse, or by grinding.
There arguably hasn’t been a team all year that has demonstrated the preceding winning characteristic more, than this season’s Overland Trailblazers and they proved it once again with a 72-57 win over Cherokee Trail Wednesday night.
The Trailblazers (19-3, 11-2 Centennial League) came out firing on all cylinders in the first, as they jumped out to 25-12 lead behind hot shooting from the perimeter, as they seemingly couldn’t miss. Overland senior De’Ron Davis was instrumental in his team’s success in the opening period as he had eight of his team’s 25 points, to go along with four blocks and two boards.
However, the No. 2-ranked Trailblazers’ hot start seemed to have led to some complacency in the following quarter, as No. 8 Cherokee Trail (16-6, 9-4) settled down in the second and made a strong push behind a crucial 11-2 scoring run led by senior David Thorton.
“They were hungry and they got really aggressive in the second quarter, got to the free throw line a lot and we shot well in the first quarter, we kind of forgot how we typically play,” Overland coach Danny Fisher said. “We got stagnant and just kind of stopped moving and playing through the post, so that first quarter with us shooting well was kind of a gift and a curse.”
Missed free throws really came back to haunt the Cougars as going into halftime down 31-26, they had already missed half of their 12 free throw attempts. They finished the game 12-25 from the line.
The third and fourth quarters had competitive moments, but the defensive intensity and relentlessness of Overland prevented the Cougars from having any sustainable success on offense.
More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
“We take pride in defense. We feel like we get our work in on defense, we can do well on the offensive end,” said Davis, who also recorded 10 blocks Wednesday. “Me being aggressive, we’re going out getting steals, it allows everybody to come together as one.”
Blazer senior Jervae Robinson echoed the sentiments of his teammate, saying that defense is much more than a mindset for his squad.
“That’s our culture. We usually get after it on defense, but personally I think it’s important to take the challenge on defense to get our offense going,” Robinson said after the game.
And with the regular season coming to a close, it is only fitting that Overland finish its year with another crack at Centennial League rival Grandview, as the Trailblazers point to their tough Jan. 27 53-50 loss at home against the Wolves as a turning point for them this year.
“Since then, we knew we had to stay hungry,” Robinson said when asked what has changed since that loss. “We can’t be comfortable ever, we can’t settle, we can’t play down to the level of competition. We just have to come out and play hard every night.”
For the Overland seniors, it’s one last chance for redemption before they begin the defense of their Class 5A state championship.
“The seniors took Grandview really, really personal,” Fisher said. “We all looked in the mirror and said ‘Gosh, I was bad.’ The seniors called a meeting the next day and felt we had lost a little punch, thinking people were going to just lie down for us.
Their leadership, that has been the biggest thing. That’s something we can depend on the rest of the way, that leadership, that engagement, that commitment is going to be there.”
Overland will look for redemption as they travel to Grandview on Friday to close out the regular season.