Green Mountain senior Dylan Jacob (44) goes up for a shot against Centaurus senior John Houlihan on Thursday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
LAKEWOOD — Green Mountain senior Justin Booher was serenaded by the Rams’ student section as he walked off the basketball court Thursday night.
Booher celebrated his 18th birthday with Green Mountain grinding out a 57-36 victory over Centaurus in the opening round of the Paul Davis Classic at Green Mountain High School.
“It’s amazing, especially with the guys I’m surrounded by. They make it super special for me,” Booher said of playing on his birthday. “To get a win was the icing on top.”
The 6-foot-6 senior was the only Ram to reach double-digit points. Booher hit a pair of free throws in the fourth quarter to finish with 10 points. Seniors Josh Phillips, Jake Haerti and junior Lucas Rosen all had nine points each for Green Mountain. Senior Dylan Jacob pitched in eight points for the Rams.
“We are here to play together and here just grind,” Booher said. “We don’t have that star player. We are all here to do our part. We all know our roles.”
Green Mountain senior Justin Booher (33) fights for a loose ball on his 18th birthday Thursday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
The graduation of Austin Fritts, who averaged 18.6 points per game, has forced Green Mountain to more of a scoring-by-committee mentality. Green Mountain coach Derek Van Tassel prefers the balanced scoring model.
“That’s what we like to be. That’s what we would rather be,” Van Tassel said of the balanced scoring. “It’s harder to guard. These kids buy into it and understand it. They are starting to play well together.”
Green Mountain faces Rifle in the semifinals of the tournament at 8 p.m. Friday night. Rifle edged Denver West 42-36 earlier in the night during another first-round game.
The other semifinal Friday night will feature Evergreen and Central of Grand Junction. If Class 4A Jeffco rivals Evergreen and Green Mountain both win or lose Friday they will face each other in the championship or third-place game Saturday.
“It would be fun. I think it would be good for our conference,” Van Tassel said of possibility facing Evergreen on Saturday. “We played them three times last year and it was three battles. I love playing against Scott Haebe’s (Evergreen coach) team. I’ve been doing it for a long time.”
After wrapping up its host tournament on Saturday, the Rams will have tough tests next week at home against Longmont on Dec. 13 before heading to Fort Collins to face Rocky Mountain on Dec. 15.
Green Mountain sealed the victory Thursday night thanks to a quick second half start. The Rams went on a quick 8-0 run in the first 70 seconds of the third quarter to open up a 20-point lead.
“We talked about energy coming out after half,” Van Tassel said. “We got some turnovers and pushed the ball hard. We just need that energy. Sometimes we lose that every once in awhile”
The Rams will have to avoid those lapses once Green Mountain gets into its conference schedule. Valor Christian, Golden, D’Evelyn and Evergreen were all ranked in the top 10 of CHSAANow.com’s 4A boys basketball preseason poll.
“League is always fun because we get to play everyone twice,” Booher said. “It is a tough schedule, but we are looking forward to it.”
Green Mountain junior Alex Telles, right, looks to make a move on Centaurus junior Pedro Medina during the opening round of the Paul Davis Classic. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)