Dakota Ridge junior Cole Binder (21) backs down Pomona junior Noah Clark (11) during the first quarter Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
LITTLETON — Improvement from game-to-game is what Dakota Ridge and Pomona boys basketball programs are focused on attaining this season.
Dakota Ridge and Pomona entered Friday night’s Class 5A Jeffco League game at Dakota Ridge High School with a combined 5-17 record. The Eagles (3-10 record) were able to improve to 2-2 in conference play with a 65-61 home victory over Pomona (3-8, 0-4).
“We played a lot of good basketball tonight,” Dakota Ridge coach Curi Yutzy said after the Eagles broke a 2-game league losing streak. “We’ve got to continue to be more consistent. We’re young, so we are continuing to work on that.”
Dakota Ridge had an 11-point lead with a minute to play, but Pomona had a furious rally in the final 60 seconds. Pomona junior Noah Clark hit a 3-pointer and a pair of layups off Dakota Ridge turnovers to cut the Eagles’ lead to 65-61.
Pomona junior Ryan Marquez, right, puts on some defensive pressure against Dakota Ridge. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Another turnover gave the ball to the Panthers in the final seconds, but a 3-pointer didn’t fall as Dakota Ridge escaped with the 4-point victory.
“It rings kind of hollow because we are always close and competitive, but we can’t seem to find the silver bullet to put us over the top,” Pomona coach Jon Baskin said after the 19th straight 5A Jeffco League loss.
Clark did everything in his power to attempt to break the losing streak dating back to the 2014-15 season. The junior finished with a game-high 24 points, including 13 points in the final quarter. The Panthers posted 27 points in the final eight minutes after scoring just 34 points through the first three quarters.
“He (Clark) is one of our just basketball guys and he is pretty heady,” Baskin said. “He does a lot of good things and have been pretty consistent for us all year. He has come a long way from being a JV guy to a starter this year.”
Baskin has several multi-sport athletes and it has been a struggle to get things going during the hoops season at Pomona. The Panthers’ success on the football field the last two seasons making it to the 5A state championship game sets the basketball team back on having its complete team together to even practice together until after the conclusion of the football season.
“For us, being a football school, anytime we’re competitive it’s great,” said Baskin, who has also coached at Westminster and Standley Lake.
The Eagles have had great success on the court that past three seasons with an impressive 26-8 conference record, but after graduating 11 seniors last season Dakota Ridge found itself with a lot of new faces on varsity this year.
Dakota Ridge junior Drew Dominic goes up for a jumper in the lane. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“It’s definitely a reload,” Dakota Ridge’s lone senior Greg McNulty said. “There are a lot of guys who swung varsity and all of us played together on JV. We knew what we could do individually. The speed is the only problem we had adjusting to.”
McNulty (17 points) and junior Antonio Norton (14 points) were up to speed in the fourth quarter. The duo combined for 16 points in the final quarter to help the Eagles hold on for the victory.
“I thought Greg (McNulty) was awesome in terms of attacking their pressure and making the next pass,” Yutzy said. “It’s about growth and this was a step in the right direction.”
Juniors Cole Binder and Drew Dominic both had their moments for the Eagles with 13 points each. Binder buried a pair of 3-pointers in the opening quarter and Dominic got hot in the second quarter with a trio of 3-pointers.
Dakota Ridge heads to Ralston Valley to face the Mustangs on Wednesday, Jan. 18, next week before getting a crack at rival Chatfield, ranked No. 4 in the CHSAANow.com boys hoops poll, on the Eagles home court Friday, Jan. 20.
“This really helps to boast our confidence,” McNulty said. “This will really boast us toward going up to Ralston Valley on Wednesday to have the mindset to beat them.”
Pomona hasn’t had a winning record since the 2010-11 season when hoops standout Alex Welsh helped lead the Panthers to a 16-5 record during his senior campaign. Welsh went on to star at the Division II level at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs for four years and is currently playing professionally in Europe.
“Ultimately, I would really like to see us get not than just a couple wins,” Baskin said of hopefully breaking its conference winning drought. “We are capable of beating most of the teams in the league.”
The Panthers host Lakewood on Wednesday, Jan. 18, before traveling to face rival Arvada West on Friday, Jan. 20.
Pomona junior Riley Govan, right, tries to maintain control of the ball when driving the lane. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)