Columbine’s Marcus Tait, right, is able to get a pass off while falling down Monday night in a loss to No. 6 Rock Canyon. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
LITTLETON — Rock Canyon took the court at Columbine High School on Monday night with a purpose.
The Jaguars (11-2 record) had dropped from No. 2 to No. 6 in the CHSAANow.com Class 5A boys basketball rankings released earlier in the day. A 2-point loss to Mountain Range and a narrow overtime victory against Rangeview since winter break ended wasn’t sitting well with the Jaguars.
“Tonight we kind of came in with the mindset that we had to jump on them from the start,” Rock Canyon senior Sam Masten said after a 59-37 victory over Columbine. “We had to throw the first punch and I think we did that tonight.”
The key from the opening tip was defense. The Rebels (8-2, 1-1 in 5A Jeffco) was held to 13 points in the first half. Rock Canyon went on a 14-0 run in the first quarter and pushed its lead to nearly 20 points by halftime.
Rock Canyon’s Jack Bley gets a shot off between Columbine’s Braxton Baum and Buck Ramming. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“It’s hard to simulate that in practice,” Columbine coach Clay Thielking said of the Jaguars’ defensive pressure. “They are very good defensively and made everything tough. The good shots we did get didn’t go down early and it was kind of a snowball effect on us.”
Columbine junior Braxton Baum was the lone Rebel to reach double-digit points, finishing with 10 points. Rock Canyon’s lead hovered around 20 points throughout the second half.
“We just dug ourselves too big of a hole early,” Thielking said.
Despite the loss Monday night, Columbine has nearly matched its win total from last season. The Rebels finished 7-16 last season and didn’t make the 48-team field for the 5A state tournament.
“It will help us a lot. That’s why you schedule these teams,” Thielking said moving forward. “You schedule the best to see what it’s like and learn. We’ll use it as a learning tool and get better because of it.”
The Rebels get back into conference play when they host Lakewood (7-3, 1-1) at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The Tigers had a huge non-conference win Monday night taking down No. 2 Denver East.
Rock Canyon has a week break from games before it starts the journey through the Continental League. The Jaguars host Regis Jesuit on Tuesday, Jan. 17.
Rock Canyon’s Tyson Gilbert (1) drives on Columbine’s Buck Ramming. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
The Jaguars will get plenty of practice time with junior Tyson Gilbert who played in just his second game of the season Monday night after becoming eligible to play. Gilbert, a transfer from Highlands Ranch, scored 16 points through the first three quarters against the Rebels.
“He is going to be phenomenal for us,” Rock Canyon coach Kent Grams said of Gilbert, who led Highlands Ranch in scoring last season averaging 12.7 points per game as a sophomore.
Gilbert, Masten (18 points) and senior Colin Rardin (17 points) was the three-headed scoring monster for the Jaguars on Monday night. The trio combined for all but eight of Rock Canyon’s points.
“We’re happy with the win, but we’ve got to keep getting better,” Grams said.
Knowing his team has plenty of offensive firepower, Grams had put a huge focus on defense.
“We’ve been talking about creating an identity since last May,” Grams said. “We want to be the best defensive team in the state.”
There couldn’t be much of a complaint from Grams about the defensive effort holding Columbine to a season-low 37 points.
“Coach (Grams) always talks about it before every game. We’ve got to make an identity for ourselves on defense,” said Masten, who is averaging 23 points per game. “We did a good job tonight locking down on shooters and helping out each other. I think it was a really good effort defensively by the team.”
Columbine junior Braxton Baum (4) led the Rebels with 10 points Monday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)