Ralston Valley freshman Caden Gigstad (2) helped lead the Mustangs to a 70-66 2OT win Tuesday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
ARVADA — There was a little bit of overtime to deal with before Ralston Valley’s boys basketball team could focus on winter break.
The Mustangs (5-3 overall) battled to win 70-66 in double overtime Tuesday night against Cheyenne Central from Wyoming at Ralston Valley High School. Freshman Caden Gigstad, junior Jake Nishida and senior Travis Torline combined to go 6-for-8 from the free-throw line in the second overtime period and senior Mike VanderWerff had a breakaway layup in the final minute to push the Mustangs to victory.
“It definitely boosts our confidence heading into league,” said Nishida, who iced the victory with a free throw with 1.9 seconds left that gave Ralston Valley a 4-point lead. “We have Lakewood our first game back. We’ve just got to get that confidence up and keep working in practice.”
Ralston Valley junior Jake Nishida (5) goes for a steal. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Ralston Valley opens Class 5A Jeffco League play when it hosts Lakewood (5-2) at 7 p.m. on Jan. 5 in the first game after winter break.
The Mustangs looked like they would slide into the holiday season with a relative easy victory. Ralston Valley had a 25-15 lead at halftime against the Indians from Wyoming, but Cheyenne Central poured in 25 points in the third quarter to tie things up at 40-40 going into the fourth quarter.
“We pride ourselves on our defense. We think we are one of the toughest defensive teams,” Ralston Valley coach Mitch Conrad said. “That third quarter, you have to give them credit. (Cheyenne Central) knocked down shots.”
Besides the Indians getting their offense on track, the Mustangs had to deal with major foul trouble. Starters Trey Conrad, Jerrod Parker (15 points) and Trey Sayers (14 points) all fouled out.
Sayers had a huge layup with 14 seconds left in regulation time and a steal on the next Indians’ possession that sent the game into overtime period. He fouled out with 47 seconds left in the first overtime period.
Ralston Valley senior Travis Torline (24) battle through a pair of defenders. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Cheyenne Central also had foul trouble with three of its players fouling out. A total of 54 fouls were called during the 40 minutes of play.
“We’ve got to learn and make adjustments,” Conrad said of the 27 fouls called against the Mustangs. “What I loved was the next guy up came in and we really didn’t drop-off that much. That’s a credit to our bench guys that they were ready to go.”
Gigstad showed he was ready with a trio of 3-pointers during regulation time. He came up even bigger in the overtime periods with seven points to finish with a team-high 16 points.
Gigstad admitted there were a lot of nerves on the free-throw line in the overtime periods. The freshman went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe over the final eight minutes to help the Mustangs lasso the victory.
“I thought coming out as a freshman I’d get some spot minutes here and there,” said Gigstad, who is one of the Mustangs’ leading scorers. “It feels great to be welcomed by this team and for (Conrad) to play me and have trust in me.”
Nishida, the Mustangs’ starting point guard, didn’t have any hesitations despite having three bench players on the court during the overtime periods.
“I have trust in my bench players, especially him (Gigstad) right here,” Nishida said standing next to the Mustang freshman after the game. “He comes up big with the 3-pointers. You have to have faith in him.”
It was the fourth one-possession game of the season for Ralston Valley. Conrad believes being in those tight situations late in games already this year helped his squad Tuesday stay poised during the double-overtime victory.
Ralston Valley senior Jarrod Parker (12) had 15 points before fouling out with 2:39 left in the fourth quarter. (Dennis PLeuss/Jeffco Athletics)