Heights boys 52, Northwest 40
The basics: Northwest gave Heights all it could handle for most of Friday night’s game, hitting five three-pointers on the way to a 17-15 lead after the first quarter. But Heights clamped down on defense and used another big game from 6-foot-7 senior forward Davon Gill (19 points, 10 rebounds) to pull away in the end.
Northwest, coached by former Heights assistant Bryan Chadwick and playing with mostly underclassmen, rallied in the second half thanks to an 8-0 run to end the third quarter that cut Heights’ lead to 34-32, but couldn’t close the gap any more in the fourth quarter.
Key stretch: Heights turned up the defensive pressure in the second quarter, outscoring the Grizzlies 13-2 and not giving up a field goal. Northwest’s only points in the second quarter came on a pair of Lorenzo Ruffin free throws to open the quarter.
Standouts: Heights guards Devin Davis and Marquis McCray combined for 26 points. Northwest forward Michael Duncan led his his team with 11 points, including three three-pointers. Northwest’s Luke Carter and Jalen Smith scored nine points each.
Gill, one of the key figures in Heights’ run to the Class 5A state title last season, keeps getting better as the season goes along. He’s scored in double digits in five of Heights’ last seven games —all wins —and scored nine points twice.
“(Heights coach Joe Auer) works on us with staying consistent, being determined,” said Gill, who leads Heights with 11.6 points per game. “That helps in every way when it comes to the game.”
What they said: “I owe a lot of my success to Bryan Chadwick, he’s like family to me, but once the game starts that’s not an issue,” said Auer, who won four state titles with Chadwick as an assistant. “He came out, had them in all the right positions and they shot the lights out. We stayed confident in our defense, gave up no field goals in the second quarter and gave up one late field goal in the fourth quarter, so we sustained their tremendous shooting early … I’m very pleased with the way things turned out tonight.”
What it means: Heights (14-1, 10-1 City League) kept its one-game lead on Southeast atop the City League standings and has won nine straight games. Northwest (5-10, 4-7) has Tuesday off, then returns to action next Friday hosting Kapaun.
Northwest | 17 | 2 | 13 | 8 | — | 40 |
Heights | 10 | 9 | 15 | 8 | — | 52 |
Northwest: Duncan 11, L. Carter 9, Smith 9, Ruffin 4, Kohlman 2, Trotter 2.
Heights: D. Davis 11, McCray 15, Gill 19, Williams 7.
Tony Adame
This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 10:38 PM with the headline "Heights boys 52, Northwest 40."