AURORA | De’Ron Davis looked at home in his playoff debut Wednesday night.
Overland’s monster freshman scored a team-high 19 points in a performance that included a variety of dunks, jump shots and a pair of 3-pointers and sophomore Austin Conway added 17 as the sixth-seeded Trailblazers posted a 63-55 home victory over 11th-seeded Rampart to open the Class 5A boys state basketball tournament.
Coach Danny Fisher’s young team also got eight points each from juniors T’Aren Williams and Andrew Tillman on its way to the program’s first postseason victory since 2010.
Overland (15-9) advanced to a 2nd round matchup at 2 p.m. Saturday at No. 3 ThunderRidge (17-6).
With the 6-foot-8 Davis throwing down some early dunks and altering shots with his presence, the Trailblazers surged out to a big lead in the first half and led by as many as 17 points in the second quarter. Rampart managed just six points in the second period and trailed by 15 at halftime.
The Rams were behind by 16 going into the fourth quarter before they showed some signs of life behind Tre Young, who hit three 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the final period to get his team within eight points at 50-42.
Davis punched a hole in Rampart’s momentum with a straightaway 3-pointer of his own to get the lead back to double figures.
Overland’s advantage dipped below double figures once more at 54-45, but a Davis dunk again gave his team some breathing room.
Conway sealed the victory by going 8-of-10 from the free throw line down the stretch.
Young finished with a game-high 22 points, while Donovan Oldham added 19 for Rampart.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
(6) OVERLAND 63, (11) RAMPART 55
Score by quarters:
Rampart 8 6 17 24 — 55
Overland 17 12 18 16 — 63
RAMPART (55)
Tre Young 8 1-1 22, Donovan Oldham 8 3-4 19, Thomas Fife 1 0-0 2, Noah Taylor 1 0-0 2, Donte Monroe 2 1-3 5, Alex Harms 0 0-0 0, Andy Churchill 1 2-2 5, Darren Parke 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 7-10 55.
OVERLAND (63)
T’Aren Williams 3 1-2 8, Austin Conway 3 10-12 17, De’Ron Davis 8 1-3 19, Tre Thomas 3 0-4 6, Tyler Stephenson 0 0-0 0, Khalil Jenkins 0 1-2 1, Andrew Tillman 4 0-0 8, Reggie Gibson 0 0-0 0, Jaylon McDonald 1 0-0 2, King Grant-Perry 1 0-0 2, Jameil McDonald 0 0-0 0, Antonio Hill 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 13-23 63.
3-point field goals — Rampart (6): Tre Young 5, Andy Churchill; Overland (4): De’Ron Davis 2, Austin Conway, T’Aren Williams. Total fouls — Rampart 16, Overland 15. Fouled out — Rampart: Donte Monroe. Technical fouls — None.
BOYS STATE BASKETBALL PLAYOFF SCOREBOARD (FIRST ROUND)
underline;”>CLASS 4A
No. 5 Discovery Canyon 65, NO. 12 VISTA PEAK 46