The Glenwood Springs High School boys basketball team let a nine-point third quarter lead slip away Thursday night at the Chavez-Spencer Gymnasium, and the visiting Palisade Bulldogs reeled off 11 straight points during a critical second half juncture to keep a stranglehold on first place in the 4A Western Slope League with a come-from-behind 57-49 win over the Demons.

Glenwood junior guard Reece McMillan notched a couple of consecutive corner 3-pointers to stake the Demons to a 33-24 lead with 4:14 to play in the third quarter, forcing Palisade head coach (and former Glenwood coach) Cory Hitchcock to use a timeout to rally his charges.

Hitchcock’s talk to his team must have been sprinkled with words of wisdom, as the visiting Bulldogs, led by senior guard Donovan Maestas, turned the big deficit into a 35-33 lead heading into the fourth period.

With 5:08 to play in the game, Glenwood junior guard Erick Cordero hit a 3-pointer to bring the Demons within 40-39 of Palisade, but with scrappy play and scoring on two back door layups along the baseline, the Bulldogs responded with six straight points to grab back the momentum.

Demons guard Reid Swanson got a rebound and scored on a short jumper in the lane as Glenwood trailed just 47-44 with 2:23 to play. A late game rash of turnovers and fouls spelled doom for the Demons, who fell to 5-6 in WSL play and 8-14 overall.

Glenwood was led in scoring by McMillan with 12 points, Swanson and senior post player Bryson McClain were next in line with nine points each.

With an RPI ranking of No. 36, the Demons should make the 48-team 4A state tournament field to be announced Sunday. Glenwood will close out the regular season on Saturday afternoon at home against the Rifle Bears. Game time is 2 p.m.

Lady Demons secure WSL title

With a deep and talented roster, the Glenwood girls put on an offensive display Thursday night, steamrolling the visiting Palisade girls by an 82-14 count.

With leads of 34-1 at the end of the first quarter and 52-5 at halftime, Glenwood coach Rhonda Moser was able to substitute liberally early on, getting her entire team plenty of game experience as the end of the regular season and state playoffs approach.

“I’m proud of our team play and unselfish attitude,” Moser said. “We just told the kids to keep playing good defense and the offense will always come.”

Junior guard Joslyn Spires went six-for-six from the 3-point line to garner game scoring honors for the Demons with 20 points. Seniors Sophia Prieto and Miah Suarez helped out the big offensive night with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Junior Mattea Enewold had eight points, and seniors Ella Johnson and Kenzie Winder chipped in with six points each.

The Glenwood girls (16-6 overall, 11-0 WSL) hold the No. 19 RPI ranking heading into the final weekend of the regular season, attempting to close out the conference schedule undefeated at home against the Rifle Bears at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

With a win on Saturday, the Lady Demons will host a first round 4A playoff game on Tuesday night at Chavez-Spencer.

Other Thursday boys scores: Aspen 74, Coal Ridge 56; Rifle vs. Battle Mountain (no score reported at this writing)

Other Thursday girls scores: Rifle 45, Battle Mountain 26