More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
BOULDER — Denver East needed all hands on deck Friday night at the Coors Events Center in Boulder to advance to its second straight Class 5A boys basketball title game.
Playing a young but talented Overland squad, the Angels took a 77-65 victory to advance to the 5A title game scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. tipoff Saturday in Boulder.
“Biggest game of our lives so far,” Denver East senior Ronnie Harrell said of the Angels getting back to the title game. “Everyone knows what happened last year. We don’t want that feeling again.”
Denver East will attempt to atone for last year’s disappointment of losing in the 5A championship game to Eaglecrest by 19 points.
“When we lost last year we heard it from everybody that we are a talented team, but we can’t win a championship,” Denver East senior Dominique Collier said. “That was our motivation. We want to tell everybody we can win.”
Collier, who officially signed in November to play basketball at the University of Colorado next school year, should have plenty left in the tank for his final prep basketball game. The four-year starter had to rely on his teammates to keep the Angels dreams live for the schools first hoops title since 2004.
Collier picked up this fourth foul with 6:14 left in the third quarter and spent the next nine minutes as a spectator on the bench.
“It was real frustrating, but I knew our team had it,” said Collier, who reentered the game with 5:11 left in the fourth quarter. “We just played well as a team.”
With Collier on the bench, Denver East was able to extend its lead to double-digit points. Junior Brian Carey tied a season-high 23 points for the Angels. Senior Ronnie Harrell, who is headed to Creighton University next season, pitched in 20 points.
Denver East did have to battle foul trouble with not just Collier. Senior Tyre Robinson picked up his third foul early in the second quarter and eventually fouled out with 5:37 left in the fourth quarter.
More photos. (Pam Wagner)
“We haven’t had a game like that when almost everyone is in foul trouble in the first half,” Harrell said. “I just knew we had to pull through.”
Carey came up big scoring six points during the final minutes before halftime with the 6-foot-6 Robinson and Collier on the bench, but Carey picked up his fourth foul on an offensive charge 10 seconds before halftime.
Carey, who is the nephew of Angels’ coach Rudy Carey, played the entire second half with four fouls. He sealed the victory with 10 points in the fourth quarter, including going 6-for-7 from the free-throw line in the final eight minutes.
“He played smart down the stretch,” Coach Carey said of his nephew. “He took care of the ball and he has got a motor. He is a tough little guy.”
Carey never fouled out and Collier scored five points after his return to the court in the fourth quarter to finish with 16 points on the night.
Denver East got quality minutes from junior Jordan Willis and senior Randal Jones off the bench.
“The guys who came in did a good job,” said Coach Carey, who will coach in his 12th championship game Saturday. “We rotated some kids in that didn’t hurt us. Jordan Willis came in and did a decent job and RJ (Randal Jones).”
The Angels (23-4) have four losses on the season, but all to out-of-state teams.
“We’ve played the best teams across the country. We’ve lost to some very good teams,” Coach Carey said. “Our scheduled prepared us for down the stretch and that is what it was meant to do.”
Overland (20-7) will have plenty left to build from after advancing to the state semifinals.
The Trailblazers started a pair of juniors and sophomores Saturday night. Junior Austin Conway led Overland with 21 points. Despite foul trouble, sophomore De’Ron Davis finished with 11 points.