Dakota Ridge senior Cambrian Antrillo tries to keep his dribble after stumbling during the first half Friday night at Chatfield High School. Antrillo had 12 points in the Eagles’ 74-66 victory against the rival Chargers. (Dennis Pleuss)
LITTELTON — Dakota Ridge has rival Chatfield’s number on the boys basketball court so far this season.
On Friday night Dakota Ridge (15-6, 10-4 in Class 5A Jeffco League) repeated the feat it pulled back on Jan. 17. The Eagles knocked off the No. 8-ranked Chargers by a score of 74-66 on Chatfield’s home court.
“I’m proud of the way the guys have responded all year,” said Dakota Ridge coach Curi Yutzy, a 2000 graduate of Chatfield. “We struggled against A-West (Wednesday). Tonight they responded. They did a heck of a job. They made some plays.”
The loss to Arvada West two days early made it tough for the Eagles to catch Chatfield (17-4, 12-2) in the conference standings. However, Dakota Ridge was up to the task to hand the Chargers their second league loss, along with ending Chatfield’s seven-game winning streak.
Chatfield senior Darius Reiter (25) gets off a shot with the hand of Dakota Ridge junior Mason Grothuesmann in his face during the final minutes of the fourth quarter Friday. (Dennis Pleuss)
“You have to give (Dakota Ridge) credit. They wanted it more then we did,” Chatfield coach Stephen Schimpeler said. “We didn’t play with any desperation. When we did play with desperation we were pretty good, but you have to play desperate from the very beginning.”
Senior Andrew St. Germain helped keep the Chargers within striking distance with 23 points. Senior Darius Reiter scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter and sophomore Riley Welch hit a couple of 3-pointers on his way to a 10-point night.
In the end, Chatfield had to swallow the bitter pill of losing again to one of its closest rivals.
“It’s definitely extremely frustrating,” St. Germain said. “You never want to lose at home and you never want to lose to a rival like Dakota Ridge twice.”
Big second and third quarters by the Eagles put Dakota Ridge up 55-41 going into the final quarter. The Eagles’ 74 points was the second most Chatfield has given up this season.
“Our guards really picked it up,” Yutzy said. “We did a good job, especially in the second quarter of attacking their pressure and getting easy buckets rather Chatfield getting easy buckets off steals and turnovers.”
Dakota Ridge senior Devante Williams, who missed the beginning of the season with a shoulder injury suffered during football, had a monster second quarter with eight points off the bench. Williams finished with 10 points.
Junior Cody Pittman had another big game off the bench with 10 points, including a 3-pointer to start the scoring in the fourth quarter for the Eagles. Senior Cambrian Antrillo and junior Mason Grothuesmann both poured in a dozen points for Dakota Ridge.
“We felt a lot more confident,” Antrillo said of having already beat Chatfield. “We practiced hard yesterday and wanted to get the ‘W’.”
Chatfield senior Andrew St. Germain (5) looks for an open teammates while getting pressure from Dakota Ridge senior Jake Flores in the second half Friday. St. Germain had a game-high 23 points in the loss to Dakota Ridge. (Dennis Pleuss)
Seniors Jake Flores (eight points), Jake Jones (seven points), Ian MacDonald (seven points) and junior Alden Erickson (eight points) also had their moments in the Eagles’ victory.
Dakota Ridge has relied on a balanced scoring attack this season and that was no different against Chatfield. Eight Eagles had at least seven points.
“It definitely gives us confidence,” Flores said. “We do it as a team. When we do it like that it makes it a lot more fun to play the game.”
Chatfield got within 69-64 with two minutes to play after a 3-pointer by senior Austin Rice, but Pittman and Grothuesmann sealed the Dakota Ridge victory with free throws in the final minute.
“Chatfield is a heck of a team,” Yutzy said. “Their threes didn’t fall in the end. That is kind of the way the ball bounced for them. Coach Schimpeler does an unbelievable job with his kids. They are a scary team to play.”
Chatfield closes the regular season with a pair of conference road games next week. The Chargers face Arvada West at 7 p.m. Feb. 19 and rival Columbine at 7 p.m. Feb. 21.
“We are still playing for a league championship, a high seed and a home game for the playoffs,” St. Germain said.
Dakota Ridge hosts Ralston Valley at 7 p.m. Feb. 19 before wrapping up its regular season on the road against Lakewood at 7 p.m. Feb. 21.
CHSAA’s Selection Show will be held Sunday, Feb. 23, to announce the 48 squads selected for the 5A boys basketball state tournament.
Dakota Ridge junior Cody Pittman (10) drives on Chatfield senior Thomas Welch (12) on Friday night in the Class 5A Jeffco League game. (Dennis Pleuss)