Dakota Ridge senior Ian MacDonald, left, drives on Highlands Ranch Jack Fiddler during boys hoops action Monday at Dakota Ridge High School. The Eagles won their home opener 62-55. (Dennis Pleuss)
LITTLETON — Two timely 3-pointers in the fourth quarter Monday night propelled Dakota Ridge to a 62-55 victory against Highlands Ranch in boys basketball.
“I loved the way we responded to adversity,” said Dakota Ridge coach Curi Yutzy, referring to his Eagles squandering a 10-point lead in the first half. “With the league games coming up, teams will make runs. We are going to have to respond like we did tonight.”
Dakota Ridge senior Cambrian Antrillo glides toward the basket for an uncontested layup Monday in the Eagles’ 62-55 victory over Highlands Ranch. (Dennis Pleuss)
The non-league game was tied at 39-39 with 5:39 left in the fourth quarter at Dakota Ridge, Yutzy called a timeout to design a 3-pointer for senior Cambrian Antrillo. The initial 3-pointer was off the mark, but the Eagles grabbed the rebound and kicked it out to junior Mason Grothuemann for a 3-pointer in the corner, which he buried.
After a failed possession by the Falcons, Antrillo sank a 3-pointer in transition to push Dakota Ridge’s lead to 45-39 with 4:50 left in the game.
“Those definitely changed the game,” Grothuemann said. “We got on a roll after that.”
Dakota Ridge (4-1) sealed the victory by making 15-of-22 free throws in the fourth quarter. Grothuemann made 9-of-10 free throws in the final quarter to accumulate a team-high 16 points. Antrillo finished with 13 points and senior Jake Flores had a big second half, scoring all 10 points after halftime.
Senior Zach Braxton led Highlands Ranch (2-3) with a game-high 31 points. The 6-foot-9 post player for the Falcons had to carry much of the load with senior Evan Motlong and junior Keith Coleman missing the game due to injuries.
“We’ve got some guys out with varsity experience, but we expect guys to step up. I think they did for the most part tonight,” Braxton said. “We showed a lot of effort and we can only go up from here.”
Dakota Ridge seemed to throw everything but the kitchen sink at Braxton in attempt to slow him down. Junior Alden Erickson and senior Ian MacDonald shared the duty to cover Braxton for the majority of the game.
Highlands Ranch senior Zach Braxton goes up for a shot over Dakota Ridge senior Cambrian Antrillo on Monday night. Braxton scored a game-high 31 points, but the Falcons came up on the short end with a 62-55 loss. (Dennis Pleuss)
Erickson and MacDonald both fouled out in the fourth quarter while making Braxton earn every point. Sophomore Devante Jones got his turn on Braxton after Erickson and MacDonald fouled out.
“The team did a good job defending (Braxton),” Yutzy said. “The ball pressure on the perimeter was good and forced some turnovers. It was a good team effort.”
It was the third straight victory for Dakota Ridge. The Eagles’ loss this season came to Class 5A’s No. 2 ranked and undefeated Fossil Ridge.
Dakota Ridge tips off its 5A Jeffco League schedule when it hosts Pomona at 7 p.m. Wednesday before heading into winter break.
The Eagles’ home crowd was happy to finally see its team playing at Dakota Ridge as the student section chanted “We want Chatfield” as the final seconds ticked off Monday in the home opener for the Eagles.
Highlands Ranch hopes to break its three-game losing streak as soon as possible. The Falcons are scheduled to play in the Cherry Creek Tournament later this week. The Falcons will face Hinkley in the opening round of the holiday tournament at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19, at Cherry Creek High School.
“We’ve got to take care of things at Creek to get some momentum going,” Braxton said.
Highlands Ranch senior Zach Braxton, left, looks for an open teammate while being covered by Dakota Ridge senior Ian MacDonald. Braxton had 31 points for the Falcons in their third straight loss. (Dennis Pleuss)