More photos (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
HIGHLANDS RANCH — In a loss to Golden on Jan. 8, the Valor Christian Eagles did not resemble the state championship contender they appeared to be Saturday night.
The Demons started strong, hoping to repeat their performance that gave the Eagles their only loss of the season, but it was Valor which came away with the 62-46 win in a battle of two teams sitting inside the Class 4A CHSAANow.com top 10.
By correcting what they felt was a mistake earlier in the month, the Eagles (18-1 overall, 8-1 Jeffco League) are now back on a path they feel they belong on as the basketball postseason draws closer.
“We wanted it real bad,” Valor forward Jalen Sanders said. “This one was special to us because they were our only loss on the season and we felt like we were on a roll coming in.”
Sanders was the workhorse on offense for the Eagles as he scored a game-high 23 points. But it was the immense pressure that Valor put on the Demons (12-5, 8-1) defensive that proved to be the key factor.
Golden came out in the first quarter and tried to seize the momentum early. Kayden Sound scored 10 of his team-high 19 points in the quarter to help his team jump out to a 20-15 lead.
Controlling the pace was a big part of the game plan for Golden coach John Anderson. But when the pressure started getting turned up and the Eagles were scoring in transition, Anderson knew that his team was going to have a tough battle ahead of them.
“I told them it would benefit us to keep it in the 50’s,” he said. “We turned the basketball over too many times and they convert. They probably had 10 or 12 points off turnovers.”
But it wasn’t just the defensive pressure that was getting to the Demons. Valor’s desire to avenge the loss had them hustling everywhere they needed to on the floor. Whether it was getting in position to take a charge and grabbing an offensive rebound, the effort the Eagles displayed was second to none.
And once the Eagles found a little bit of spark in the third quarter, they really began to grasp the momentum of the game. Off a steal, forward Dylan McCaffrey threw down a dunk that brought the home crowd to its feet. Sanders followed it up with a steal and a quick layup to give Valor a 35-31 lead.
It was then that the Eagles pulled away, giving them a key league win that once again puts the Jeffco title in play.
“We can’t stay humble with just this big win,” Valor forward Josh Randle said. “We have to finish out the season strong because we’ve worked hard to get where we are and we can’t let up by letting league games slip by us.”
The biggest obstacle for the Eagles is now Evergreen who sits at third place in the league standings. Valor will travel to the Cougars’ gym on Feb. 11 to conclude league play.