AURORA | A sleeping giant has been awoken in the Overland boys basketball team and it’s prime time to do some damage.
Plagued by inconsistency for much of the season, the defending Class 5A state champion Trailblazers had their moment of reckoning last week with a loss to Grandview that left the supremely talented team at something of crossroads.
But coach Danny Fisher’s team rallied behind its seniors leadership and made a definitive statement Wednesday night in a packed Nest at Eaglecrest High School with an impressive 63-41 victory over previously unbeaten and top-ranked Eaglecrest.
Senior De’Ron Davis — who missed the first matchup between the teams won by the Raptors — scored 10 points joined fellow seniors Jervae Robinson (15), Alijah Halliburton (14) and Padiet Wang (11) in double figures as fifth-ranked Overland gained a split of the Centennial League series.
“That loss to Grandview woke us up,” Davis said, referring to the 53-50 defeat suffered by the Trailblazers a week earlier. “I felt that as a team captain and a leader, my mind wasn’t all the way into that game and it hurt me.
“I told my teammates tonight I was going to come out and give my all and they were going to give their all.”
The Trailblazers (14-3 overall, 7-2) most definitely gave it their all from the opening tip to the end.
Eaglecrest junior star Colbey Ross led his team with 16 points, but faced a constant barrage of long, athletic defenders that gave him very little room and limited him to just four field goals.
Coach John Olander’s Raptors — who lost for the first time since a 5A Final Four defeat to ThunderRidge last season and now sit 17-1 overall and 8-1 atop the Centennial League — finished with just seven field goals on the evening.
Overland, meanwhile, played above the rim with Davis, Halliburton and even Robinson throwing down dunks and finishing in the paint for a variety of three-point plays.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
(5) OVERLAND 63, (1) EAGLECREST 41
Score by quarters:
Overland 14 20 14 15 — 63
Eaglecrest 10 10 6 15 — 41
OVERLAND (63)
Jervae Robinson 6 1-5 15, Reggie Gibson 1 5-6 7, De’Ron Davis 5 0-0 10, Alijah Halliburton 5 4-7 14, Tyler Stevenson 1 1-1 3, Padiet Wang 4 2-5 11, Daijon Smith 0 2-2 2, Goy Wang 0 1-2 1, Brent Halliburton 0 0-0 0, Steven Hayes 0 0-0 0, Nick Holmes 0 0-0 0, Asad Yousuf 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 16-28 63.
EAGLECREST (41)
Colbey Ross 4 7-8 16, Charles Roberts 0 1-4 1, Elijah Wilson 0 2-2 2, Austin Forsburg 1 0-0 2, Ikenna Ozor 1 2-2 4, Xaiv’ion Jackson 0 4-8 4, Victor Garnes 0 3-6 3, Joshua Walton 0 2-3 2, Morgan Brown 1 2-2 4. Totals 7 23-35 41.
3-point field goals — Overland (3): Jervae Robinson 2, Padiet Wang. Eaglecrest: Colbey Ross. Total fouls — Overland 26, Eaglecrest 18. Fouled out — Overland (3): Reggie Gibson, Brent Halliburton, Tyler Stevenson; Eaglecrest: Ikenna Ozor. Technical fouls — Overland: Stevenson.