Denver East held off Chatfield in a top-10 battle on Monday. More photos. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
DENVER — As the basketball season reaches its climax with Denver East and Chatfield making their way into the Class 5A state tournament, both teams will be grateful for games like their showdown Monday night.
The Angels came away with the 74-70 win, but both teams emerged battle tested for March.
Denver East (8-4 overall) knows they have the ability to emerge from a tight game with a win and Chatfield now has the feeling of a heartbreaking loss that should make them hungry for postseason success.
“We knew it was going to be a battle down to the end,” Angels coach Rudy Carey said. “That is the best overall shooting team in the state.”
The Chargers (9-2) stayed in the game because of their overall ability to shoot the ball. The Angels were able to build double-digit leads five times throughout the contest, but each time saw it evaporate as Chatfield began to rain down 3-pointers.
The lack of size for Chatfield played a huge role as Angels forward Daytone Jennings became the focal point of the Denver East offense. Things only got worse for the Chargers when their big man Josh Frenette got into foul trouble and was forced to the bench.
“Josh is our biggest guy,” Chatfield coach Stephen Schimpeler said. “He’s our only biggest guy so it was certainly an issue when he went out.”
The Angels knew it too. So with Frenette on the bench, they continued to feed Jennings, who finished with a game-high 24 points.
“It made things amazing for us,” Jennings said. “He’s their only big guy so while he was out we just had to dominate the post.”
Frenette picked up his third foul in the third quarter and Schimpeler rolled the dice and kept him in the game. Carey had his offense attack him right away and the plan worked as he picked up his fourth foul the very next possession.
For the Chargers to stay in the game, they were going to have to rely on their ability to knock down 3-poiners. They were able to do that as Joe Miks, Lucas St. Germaine and Riley Welch all helped cut the East lead to a few as four. Chatfield made 12 triples as a team.
Welch led the Chargers with 23 points, but in the end it just wasn’t enough as the Angels came away with the win.
“I knew they wouldn’t quit, it doesn’t surprise me,” Schimpeler said. “I know we have a good team and whether we won, lost or drew here, I knew we a good team. We made too many mistakes tonight, but we are going to grow from it.”
And the Angels will also be better down the stretch for having to battle the way they did. Carey knows all too well that in order to come away with a state championship the ability to win tight games is crucial. It’s knowledge that he has passed down to his players.
“We appreciate this win,” Jennings said. “They’re a top-10 team and we need to beat top-10 teams.”