AURORA | In another wild Centennial League boys basketball season, Smoky Hill might be the X factor, especially when playing on its home floor.
Coach Keenon Clement’s Buffaloes won their second consecutive league home game against a ranked foe on Wednesday night, hanging Cherry Creek — ranked No. 5 in the most recent Class 5A Associated Press prep poll — with its first Centennial League loss with 52-45 decision.
Smoky Hill downed rival and then No. 10-ranked Grandview in its previous game and came out with a strong first-half defensive performance against the towering Bruins, then held onto the lead in the final quarter and finish off the game at the free throw line. The Buffs’ snapped a six-game losing streak against the Bruins that stretched back to the 2009-10 season.
“We’ve told the kids, this league is a coinflip every night,” said Clement, whose team improved to 8-5 overall and 2-3 in league play.
“We’re not doing anything tricky, we just play good defense and do what we do. I look at my kids and the other coaches look at theirs and its lets go to war and see what happens. It’s a really fun league to compete in when you are in this situation. I’m grateful to have this group that I have.
“There’s a lot to be said for having some warriors and I have a bunch of them.”
Clement got a balanced scoring effort, as no Smoky Hill player scored in double figures. Senior Connor Mooney led the way with eight points and Trent Clay, Unwana Ekiko and Jeremy Campbell chipped in seven points apiece.
Cherry Creek — which closed to within two points in the fourth quarter — fell into a tie with Eaglecrest, Smoky Hill’s next opponent, for first place in the Centennial League. The Bruins and Raptors are each 11-3 overall and 4-1 in league.
Clement admitted Cherry Creek took some ill-advised shots in the first half — especially in the second quarter when the Bruins managed just five points — which helped Smoky Hill take an 11-point lead at halftime. The Buffaloes did an excellent job on the defensive glass and allowed very few second-chance points.
The Bruins went to their strength, the inside game, in the second half and through high-percentage shots whittled it all the way down to two points in the fourth quarter, but Smoky Hill took enough care of the ball and hit free throws to close it out.
“The second half they just flexed their muscles and went down and beat us up,” Clement said. “We know what they are going to do the next time we play (Feb. 14 at Cherry Creek), so we have a plan of growing up and doing a lot of push ups before then.”
Next up for Smoky Hill is defending 5A state champion and No. 6-ranked Eaglecrest on Jan. 24.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel
SMOKY HILL 52, (5) CHERRY CREEK 45
Score by quarters:
Cherry Creek 10 5 19 11 — 45
Smoky Hill 12 14 16 10 — 52
CHERRY CREEK (45)
Taylor Shepard 6 1-1 13, Will Bower 6 0-2 12, Dylan Schnieder 3 0-0 6, Griffin Parr 3 3-6 9, Caeser Jones 0 2-2 2, Blake Goldsberry 0 1-2 1, Rajon Herbert 1 0-0 2, Hayden Parr 0 0-0 0, Brandon Crocker 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 7-13 45.
SMOKY HILL (52)
Colby Johnson 3 0-2 6, Trent Clay 2 3-4 7, Unwana Ekiko 2 2-2 7, Chris Williams 1 4-6 6, Connor Mooney 3 0-0 8, Jeremy Campbell 3 1-2 7, Khalil Combs 2 0-2 5, Octavian Walker 1 2-2 4, Trei Major 1 0-0 2, Dalontae Kelly 0 0-2 0. Totals 18 12-22 52.
3-point field goals — Smoky Hill (4): Connor Mooney 2, Khalil Combs, Unwana Ekiko
