Arvada West junior Thomas Neff, far right, drive on a trio of Columbine defenders (from left to right) Michael Tait, Dan DeGraaf and Brandon Wilson during the first half Thursday at Arvada West High School. Neff scored 20 points in the first half to help lead the Wildcats to a 68-39 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
ARVADA — Senior Jacob Gillan did his best impersonation of Arvada West teammate Thomas Neff.
Gillan hadn’t scored in double-figure points in a boys basketball game yet this season. He turned into a scoring machine Thursday night in the Wildcats’ resounding 68-39 home victory over Class 5A Jeffco League rival Columbine. Gillan poured in a season-high 21 points, all of which came in the first three quarters.
Arvada West junior Dhillon Greene (0) tries to drive on Columbine junior Keaton Matthies (24) during the Wildcats’ Class 5A Jeffco League victory Thursday night. (Dennis Pleuss)
“I was feeling pretty good in warmups and Thomas (Neff) was helping me to get me the ball,” said Gillan, who buried three 3-pointers in the first half to help A-West build a 36-17 lead. “We talked about it all day that we wanted to come out strong and not give Columbine a chance to stay with us.”
Neff, A-West’s leading scorer at just over 20 points per game, wasn’t shabby. The junior had 20 points at halftime, and finished with a game-high 22 points.
“(Gillan) did really well. I was glad to see someone else step up and contribute a lot,” Neff said. “It was a group effort. We played really well tonight.”
The victory was big for the Wildcats. A-West (8-4, 4-1 in league) dropped its first conference game of the season Tuesday with a 44-42 loss to Dakota Ridge. The Wildcats were outscored 17-2 in the fourth quarter on their home court.
“You are always concerned with what happened and how they respond,” A-West coach Jeff Parriott said. “The team showed up.”
Parriott praised Gillan’s performance. The A-West crowd gave Gillan a nice round of applause when he took a seat on the bench early in the fourth quarter.
“(Gillan) has the ability to do that every night,” Parriott said. “I think he is playing with a little more confidence. He played terrific and gave us a really good boost at the start of the game.”
A-West had a strong shooting night, making 11 3-pointers from six different players. Junior’s Dhillon Greene and Jesse Porter made two each from beyond the arc. Seniors Austin Best and Dylan Vela drained one each in the final quarter.
Arvada West sophomore Luke Neff (5) looks for an open teammate would being covered by Columbine junior Tucker Holden. Columbine coach Clay Thielking, pictured far left, hopes the Rebels will learn from their 68-39 loss Thursday against the Wildcats (Dennis Pleuss)
“(A-West) shot it well. Give them a lot of credit,” Columbine coach Clay Thielking said after the Rebels’ two-game winning streak came to an end. “They outplayed us. They out-hustled us. They out-coached us. It was just one of those nights and it snowballed in a hurry.”
Columbine senior Brandon Wilson (14 points) was the only Rebel in double figures.
“You’ve got to learn from it. We can’t ignore it,” Thielking said. “We have to learn from it and get back at it tomorrow. Try to turn it into a positive.”
Columbine’s overall sub-.500 record of 5-8, 3-3 in league is a little deceiving. The Rebels had a brutal non-league schedule that included four losses to teams currently ranked in CHSAANow.com hoops poll — Regis (No. 3), Mountain Vista (No. 8), Grandview (No. 10) and Valor Christian (No. 1 in 4A).
The Rebels will continue on the road next week with games at Bear Creek (Jan. 20) and Chatfield (Jan. 22). Both game are scheduled for 7 p.m. tips.
A-West has a 7 p.m. tilt Saturday at rival Pomona before getting its first shot at defending 5A Jeffco League champion Chatfield. The Chargers will host the Wildcats at 7 p.m. Jan. 21.
“We like the position we are at,” Gillan said. “We think we are in a good one to win league.”
Arvada West junior Thomas Neff (15) elevates for a jumper over Columbine senior Tristan Storm (10) on Thursday night. (Dennis Pleuss)