For eight minutes time seemed to stand still Friday night for Ralston Valley’s boys basketball team.
The Mustangs held a 15-8 lead when junior Davis Peterson poured in his third bucket with 1 minute, 19 second left in the first quarter. Ralston Valley seemed to be in control on its home court against Columbine, but then the second quarter rolled around.
Columbine (13-8, 10-4 in Class 5A Jeffco League) went on a 14-0 run as Ralston Valley (17-4, 10-4) failed to score until junior Ben Metropulos make a free throw with 1:19 left in the second quarter. The Rebels never trailed the rest of the way, scoring a key 50-45 conference victory against Ralston Valley.
“The second quarter was rough,” Ralston Valley coach Mitch Conrad said. “That was the game changer. I thought we played pretty well except for that second quarter.”
A pair of free throws by Ralston Valley junior Chase Duben with 3:31 left in the fourth quarter actually tied the game at 41-41, but the Mustangs went on a three-minute scoring drought when Columbine made seven free throws in the final minutes to seal the victory. There were a few controversial calls that didn’t sit well with Conrad.
“Every time we seemed to get some momentum a call would go against us or get reversed against us,” Conrad said. “Some of those calls were tough to stomach.”
The win moved Columbine in a tie with Arvada West (15-6, 11-3) atop the conference standings, but the Rebels lost to rival Dakota Ridge on Monday. Entering games Wednesday, Feb. 16, after press deadline, A-West had a one-game lead over Ralston Valley, Columbine and Pomona (14-7, 10-4).
“The last couple of games we’ve really put things together,” said Duben, who fouled out of the game with 2:12 left in the fourth quarter. “We thought we had it, but we still haven’t really put a full game together yet. We just can’t do it.”
Senior Grant Hornung single-handedly got the Mustangs out of their scoring slump. After a scoreless first half, Hornung scored 10 points in the third quarter and five more in the fourth. He finished with a team-high 15 points.
Duben had a solid 14 points, but no other Ralston Valley players scored in double-digit points.
“When we got looks they just didn’t fall the whole night,” Conrad said. “We didn’t shoot very well.”
The Mustangs were 9-for-34 from the field in the second half, including 4-for-17 from 3-point range.
Columbine didn’t make a 3-pointer the entire game. The Rebels did their damage on the inside, mainly with 6-foot-6 sophomore Jon Snow. Snow finished with a game-high 16 points.
“He (Snow) made some big shots,” Conrad said. “He is going to be a really good player. He sure doesn’t look like a sophomore.”
Ralston Valley will have to play big when it hosts league-leading A-West at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 18. The Mustangs face Dakota Ridge on Wednesday, after press deadline, but Friday’s game could have major significance on who will win the league championship.
“We just have to put this loss behind us,” Duben said. “We’ve got two big games coming up with Dakota and A-West.”