Davis & Davis firm up Fountain-Fort Carson rally

Fountain-Fort Carson coach Greg Williams claims he didn’t give a Vince Lombardi-type speech to his team at halftime. Whatever he said resonated with his Trojans.

After playing a sloppy first half, F-FC (12-7, 6-1 5A Metro League) used a huge third quarter to take a stranglehold on the league with a 68-62 home win over Pine Creek.

“I really can’t share exactly what I said at halftime, but I did tell them to have pride, be motivated and to play Trojan basketball,” Williams said. “I’m glad they responded.”

It was an incredible transformation in the 15 minutes that made up the halftime break. After trailing 33-22 after two quarters, F-FC started the third quarter on an 18-0 run to seize a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

Anthony Davis filled up the stat sheet with 20 points, eight rebounds and five steals, while twin brother Al Davis led all scorers with 22 points. Although Davis & Davis may sound like the name of a law firm, Pine Creek (9-11, 4-3) felt the sting of what the seniors can do on the court.

“We started off rough and sluggish in the first half, but with the group of guys we have we knew we could come back,” said Al, the elder twin by 10 minutes. “We just let them pass the ball around and didn’t put any pressure on them in the first half, and when we turned up the intensity things changed.”

Things definitely changed. The Trojans expanded their lead to 14 points in the fourth quarter behind a smothering defensive effort and some big-time shooting. Anthony Davis said tense moments at halftime gave way to the explosion in the second half.

“After coach said what he needed to and walked out, there were about 10 seconds of silence before I stood up and said what I wanted to say,” the youngest Davis brother said. “We didn’t even want to think about losing this game.”

Pine Creek – which hit five 3-pointers in the first half and seemed to be cruising to a huge win – let a chance to move into a first-place tie with F-FC slip away.

“I don’t know what to say; basketball is a game of runs and we just couldn’t stop their run,” said Pine Creek’s Chris Robinson, who scored 10 of his team-high 17 points in the fourth quarter. “It was a mental thing and we thought we had them shut down.”

Not only did the loss end the Eagles’ four-game winning streak, it also all but ended Pine Creek’s hopes of winning the 5A Metro title.

“It’s a mentality thing, and it’s something we’ve been struggling with all year,” Pine Creek coach DuCaye’t Stewart said of his team’s inability to put teams away. “It’s something we’re just going to have to work to get past.”

F-FC’s Jordan Rhodes had 15 points in support of the Davis boys, while Pine Creek’s Jase Hamstad was the only Eagle to join Robinson in double figures with 10 points.

The Trojans also got to the free-throw line more often, making 18-of-23 free throws to Pine Creek’s 6-for-10.