LAKEWOOD — Good defense never has a bad shooting night on the basketball court.
Golden — No. 10 in the CHSAANow.com Class 4A boys basketball rankings — has taken that to heart over the past two weeks. The Demons (11-2 record) haven’t allowed an opponent to score more than 50 points in five straight games over the last 15 days.
“That has been our focus. That is what we’ve been focusing in practice,” Golden coach Lou Vullo said of the Demons’ defensive performance during their 8-game winning streak. “We are challenging each other. We have 10 guys on our roster that are committed every day. They are getting after each other and everyone is getting better.”
Golden junior Richie Pruett elevates for a shot in the lane during the first half Monday night in the Demons’ 58-46 victory. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
The Demons continued their lockdown defense Monday night against No. 11 Green Mountain. Golden spoiled senior night for the Rams with a 58-46 victory.
It was also a revenge victory. Green Mountain defeated Golden on the Demons’ home court 63-50 back on Feb. 3.
“Defensively I think our whole team played well,” said Golden junior James Lacey, who led the Demons with a season-high 17 points . “We talked a lot. Played help-side defense. It was all a team effort.”
Green Mountain (10-3) actually led 17-12 midway through the first quarter. However, the Rams went ice cold from the field for nearly 12 minutes. Golden went on a 20-0 run that was finally ended with 2:27 left in the second quarter when Green Mountain senior Darius Padilla made a 3-pointer for the Rams’ lone basket in the second quarter.
“We talked about not letting (Green Mountain) dictate play,” Vullo said. “We wanted to speed them up. We knew they would turn the ball over if we put some full-court pressure on them.”
Sophomore Aliou Diallo scored 13 of his 15 points for the Demons in the first half to push Golden’s lead to 33-20 at halftime. Lacey took over in the second half pouring in a dozen points after halftime.
“We have really been working with him,” Vullo said of Lacey. “Tonight the light came on.”
Golden sophomore Alan Acevedo (30) attracts a double-team under the basket Monday night against Green Mountain. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Green Mountain did make a surge in the fourth quarter led by senior Austin Peterson. The Rams’ leading scorer was in foul trouble the majority of the game, but made a trio of 3-pointers in the final five minutes. However, it was too late to overcome the double-digit deficit.
“I’m just so happy with my team,” Lacey said. “The defense has really been improving. It’s all about practice and teammate. It’s not an individual game. It might be in club basketball, but in high school it’s all about the team effort.”
Golden and Green Mountain were two of the hottest teams in 4A coming into Monday’s showdown. The Demons and Rams had a combined 13-game winning streak to start the final week of the regular season.
Golden finished third in the 4A Jeffco League standings behind No. 8 and league champion Evergreen and Green Mountain. The Demons suffered back-to-back conference losses to the Cougars and Rams, but have now avenged both of those losses in the second go-around in non-league games.
“We work on the things we are bad at in practice,” Lacey said. “That is why we are improving so much and have gotten on this streak.”
The Demons close out their regular-season schedule at Littleton on Wednesday night.
“We are really going to focus on Littleton. They are very well-coached,” Vullo said. “Hopefully we have some momentum going into the playoffs.”
The Rams have a big test against Evergreen on Wednesday night to wrap up their regular season.
CHSAA is scheduled to release the 32-team 4A state tournament bracket Monday, March 8. First-round games will be played Tuesday, March 9.
Green Mountain senior Darius Padilla (24) drives on Golden sophomore Aliou Diallo (2) during the second half Monday night at Green Mountain High School. The Demons won their eight straight game and held their opponent under 50 points for the fifth straight game in the 58-46 win over the Rams. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)