AURORA | Aaron Montgomery took Grandview’s next-man-up mantra to heart Friday night. He turned out to be the right man in crunch time.
Coming off the bench after two teammates fouled out, the senior reserve had two rebounds, a steal and putback in the closing seconds of the Wolves’ wild 70-65 Centennial League victory over visiting Eaglecrest.
Eric Garcia made six of Grandview’s 11 3-pointers — including the go-ahead triple in the final minute — and had 24 points, Akram Imam added 15 and Devon Brown 11 for coach Gary Childress’ Wolves, who gained a split of the season series with the Raptors, who dropped their second straight.
At 6-2 in Centennial League play, Eaglecrest (13-3) fell into a three-way tie atop the league wit Grandview (12-5) and Cherokee Trail, which routed Smoky Hill.
Rayjon Craig had 19 points for coach John Olander’s Raptors, who came all the way back from a 17-point deficit in the third quarter to lead in the final minute. TreShawn Wilford added 17 and Sean Watkins 10.
With Grandview’s hot shooting early, it didn’t look like a fantastic finish was in store.
Garcia made three 3-pointers in the first quarter and then netted another in the second quarter, while Montgomery and Brown also connected from downtown as the Wolves took a 12-point lead into halftime. Craig — who set his season-high for the second straight game — scored 13 in the first half to keep Eaglecrest hanging around.
The gap widened to 51-34 in favor of Grandview on a pair of Branden Cosby-Lee free throws with 3:20 remaining in the third quarter before the Raptors started to get some traction.
They cut five points off the deficit before the start of the fourth quarter, then began to force the Wolves into a number of turnovers that resulted in points on the other end. Wilford’s steal and basket opened a 14-2 run that tied the game at 62-62 on Craig’s layup with 1:25 remaining.
The Raptors went up 64-63 on Jaisean Jackson’s leaner with 45 seconds left, but Garcia answered with a 3-pointer to put Grandview ahead by a basket.
Jackson was fouled and made the first free throw to make it a one-point game, but missed the second with Montgomery — who came on when Cosby-Lee fouled out — securing the rebound. Garcia then got fouled and upped the lead to two points with a free throw.
Olander called time out to set up a play for the tying basket. Blend Avdili curled and put up a layup, but it was rejected by a flying Tanner Gentry.
Grandview’s JR Smith nearly stole the subsequent inbounds pass, but couldn’t hold on. Montgomery finally did, snatching away Eaglecrest’s chance for the tying score. Imam was fouled and made the first free throw. He missed the second, however, leaving it a three-point game, but Montgomery bulled into the lane for the rebound and hit a wild layup to seal the victory.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
GRANDVIEW 70, EAGLECREST 65
Score by quarters:
Eaglecrest 12 17 13 23 — 65
Grandview 24 17 12 17 — 70
EAGLECREST (65)
Rayjon Craig 6 4-4 19, TreShawn Wilford 7 3-3 17, Sean Watkins 3 2-4 9, Jaisean Jackson 2 2-4 6, Blend Avdili 2 1-2 5, LaDerien King 1 0-0 2, Elijah Ross 0 1-2 1, Maurice Perez 1 4-4 6, Brandon Brown 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 17-23 65.
GRANDVIEW (70)
Eric Garcia 6 6-8 24, Tanner Gentry 2 2-2 7, Devon Brown 4 0-0 11, Branden Cosby-Lee 1 2-2 4, Akram Imam 5 5-10 15, Aaron Montgomery 3 0-0 7, Jarred Burr 1 0-1 2, Blake Weeks 0 0-0 0, Jameson Cusworth 0 0-0 0, JR Smith 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 15-23 70.
3-point field goals — Eaglecrest (4): Rayjon Craig 3, Sean Watkins; Grandview (11): Eric Garcia 6, Devon Brown 3, Tanner Gentry, Aaron Montgomery. Total fouls — Eaglecrest 17, Grandview 16. Fouled out — Grandview: Brown, Branden Cosby-Lee. Technical fouls — None.
