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GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado — The Glenwood Springs boys kept a persistent Arvada team with a hot outside hand at bay Friday night, earning a 72-63 win to advance to today's Sweet 16 round in the Class 4A state high school basketball playoffs.
The Demons, who improved to 19-5, host Thomas Jefferson at 2 p.m. today at Chavez-Spencer Gym with a trip to next weekend's Great 8 on the line. The Spartans (17-7) were 78-54 winners over Greeley West in the early game Friday.
Glenwood, seeded No. 2 in the Bill Weimar Region, came out strong against the seventh-seeded Arvada Bulldogs, building a 21-13 advantage after 8 minutes of play.
Behind tough defensive pressure and strong outside shooting, Arvada made its first of several runs in the second quarter, outscoring Glenwood 21-16, but couldn't quite overtake the host team.
The Bulldogs drained 12 three-pointers on the night to Glenwood's four. But the Demons were consistent from inside the arc, hitting 65 percent of their shots, including 20 points from junior Kevin Flohr and 19 from junior post Nick Ciani.
“They made some great runs at us, and basketball is a game of runs,” Glenwood coach Greg Hire said. “I was a little disappointed with the way we handled their defensive pressure. I knew it would be fast-paced and high scoring, and it proved to be just that.”
Arvada's Ren Linville knocked down a three-pointer with inside of a minute to play in the half, but the Demons held the edge at halftime, 37-34.
The Bulldogs continued to chip away at the Demon advantage in the third, finally tying it at 39 apiece on a layup by Linville and taking their one and only lead of the game 41-39 on a pair of free throws by Julio Quezada.
But Demon senior Kelbey Artaz answered with two straight buckets to reclaim the lead for Glenwood. Artaz scored six of his 13 points in the third quarter to spark a 12-3 Glenwood run.
Flohr scored eight fourth-quarter points, including two three-pointers, to help seal the deal for the Demons.
“It was hard keeping them down,” Flohr said. “But we started playing together more, and played better defense. They made a bunch of 3's, so we finally got out on their 3-point shooters with a hand in the face, and that seemed to help.”
The Demons were also 16 of 23 from the free throw line.
Linville led the Bulldogs with 17 points, while Fuad Sawaged had 14. Arvada concluded its season at 14-11.
“We'll need to come out and play our game, and execute on offense,” Hire said of this afternoon's matchup with Thomas Jefferson. “They're a very athletic team, and we don't want to let them take us out of our game.”
jstroud@postindependent.com
The Demons, who improved to 19-5, host Thomas Jefferson at 2 p.m. today at Chavez-Spencer Gym with a trip to next weekend's Great 8 on the line. The Spartans (17-7) were 78-54 winners over Greeley West in the early game Friday.
Glenwood, seeded No. 2 in the Bill Weimar Region, came out strong against the seventh-seeded Arvada Bulldogs, building a 21-13 advantage after 8 minutes of play.
Behind tough defensive pressure and strong outside shooting, Arvada made its first of several runs in the second quarter, outscoring Glenwood 21-16, but couldn't quite overtake the host team.
The Bulldogs drained 12 three-pointers on the night to Glenwood's four. But the Demons were consistent from inside the arc, hitting 65 percent of their shots, including 20 points from junior Kevin Flohr and 19 from junior post Nick Ciani.
“They made some great runs at us, and basketball is a game of runs,” Glenwood coach Greg Hire said. “I was a little disappointed with the way we handled their defensive pressure. I knew it would be fast-paced and high scoring, and it proved to be just that.”
Arvada's Ren Linville knocked down a three-pointer with inside of a minute to play in the half, but the Demons held the edge at halftime, 37-34.
The Bulldogs continued to chip away at the Demon advantage in the third, finally tying it at 39 apiece on a layup by Linville and taking their one and only lead of the game 41-39 on a pair of free throws by Julio Quezada.
But Demon senior Kelbey Artaz answered with two straight buckets to reclaim the lead for Glenwood. Artaz scored six of his 13 points in the third quarter to spark a 12-3 Glenwood run.
Flohr scored eight fourth-quarter points, including two three-pointers, to help seal the deal for the Demons.
“It was hard keeping them down,” Flohr said. “But we started playing together more, and played better defense. They made a bunch of 3's, so we finally got out on their 3-point shooters with a hand in the face, and that seemed to help.”
The Demons were also 16 of 23 from the free throw line.
Linville led the Bulldogs with 17 points, while Fuad Sawaged had 14. Arvada concluded its season at 14-11.
“We'll need to come out and play our game, and execute on offense,” Hire said of this afternoon's matchup with Thomas Jefferson. “They're a very athletic team, and we don't want to let them take us out of our game.”
jstroud@postindependent.com
