Friday's roundup: Liberty ends 15-game winless streak

Highlights from Friday's high school sports scene.

HOCKEY

Liberty 3, Pine Creek 2

At Sertich Ice Center: Alex White’s 52 saves and Matt Myer’s first hat trick of the season propelled Liberty to its first victory of the season.

Myers lit the lamp twice 2:21 apart in the game’s opening 10 minutes before notching his third of the night with an unassisted, power-play goal 5 seconds into the second period.

Anthony Kalm assisted on both of Myers’ first-period goals.

Liberty (1-14-1, 1-9-1 Peak Conference) ended a 15-game winless streak.

It was the second consecutive game White put aside 50 or more shots. He had a season-high 65 saves in a 9-0 loss to Monarch on Dec. 14.

Logan Bowles cut the Liberty lead to 2-1 over a minute after Myer’s second goal of the first period with a power-play goal for Pine Creek (7-11, 4-8).

Logan Stein then got the Eagles within 3-2 in the second period, but Pine Creek could not slip another goal past White the rest of the way.

Fountain Valley 7, Valor Christian 1

At Honnen Ice Rink: Trevor Shott scored five goals to lead Fountain Valley to a Peak Conference victory.

It was Shott’s third five-goal game of the season for the Danes (10-3, 8-1).

Lucas Huerga Marin made 30 saves to earn the victory.

Matt Joseph had an unassisted goal for Valor Christian (10-4-1, 6-3-1).

BOYS' BASKETBALL

Liberty 40, Rampart 34

At Rampart: Matt Love scored a team-high 12 points, including three free throws in the final seconds as Pikes Peak 5A No. 2 Liberty held off Rampart. Although Liberty (8-7 overall, 2-2 5A Metro) made just one outside shot in the fourth quarter, it also connected on 10 of 14 free throws to keep Rampart (10-7, 1-3) at bay.

“We just had to find a way to buckle down,” Love said. “We had to believe in each other that we could finish.”

Rampart couldn’t quite overcome a 15-point second-quarter deficit. Tre Young and Donte Monroe each scored 10 points to lead the Rams. Monroe’s 3-pointer cut the Liberty lead to 37-34 with 42 seconds left but turned the ball over on the ensuing possession with a chance to get closer after two missed free throws by the Lancers.

“We’ve got a young group that’s growing,” Rams coach Patrick Simpson said. “Now we’ve got to be sure to take that next step.”

Love, the first player off the bench for Liberty, scored seven points during a 14-2 run to start the second quarter that put the Lancers ahead 21-6 with 3:06 before halftime.

Rampart gradually cut into the deficit, trailing 24-12 at halftime and 32-28 after three quarters.

Sand Creek 42, Vista Ridge 27

At Vista Ridge: 4A No. 1 Sand Creek overcame a sluggish start to remain undefeated and keep on rolling along.

The Scorpions (15-0, 8-0 4A Pikes Peak) used an 18-2 second quarter to pull away from

Vista Ridge (5-12, 2-6) after the Wolves led 5-4 through one quarter.

Josh Smith (12 points) and Bryan Jenkins (10 points) led the way for Sand Creek. Jenkins has scored in double digits in six consecutive games.

Peyton 79, Colorado Springs School 24

At Peyton: Chris Epps returned from a broken finger after missing Peyton’s previous 12 games to lead the 2A No. 1 Panthers with a game-high 25 points.

Peyton (11-2, 3-0 2A Black Forest) has won six in a row and assistant coach Allen Thomas credited the team’s presence in the paint as the difference maker Friday night.

“We dominated the paint. We did a very good job on the offensive boards,” Thomas said.

“It was nice to have (Chris’) rebounding and the energy he brought.”

Ten of Epps' 25 points came off offensive rebounds.

Colorado Springs School (4-8, 1-2) received 11 points from Hunter Golden.

Falcon 50, Discovery Canyon 38

At Discovery Canyon: Falcon has won two in a row to get above .500 after losing seven straight.

Falcon (9-8, 2-6 4A Pikes Peak) received 12 points from Nick Lenhard and 11 points from Shaun Livecchi to hand Discovery Canyon (12-5, 3-5) its fourth consecutive loss.

The Falcons outscored the Thunder 20-11 in the fourth quarter after entering the fourth holding a slim 30-27 lead.

Discovery Canyon was led by Brandon Nachbar’s game-high 13 points.

St. Mary’s 60, Dolores Huerta 42

At Dolores Huerta Prep: St. Mary’s was able to use good ball security on the road in the second quarter to break the Scorpions press and earn its fourth consecutive win.

Dolores Huerta (8-7, 6-4 3A Tri-Peaks East) led after the first quarter 10-9 before the Pirates (7-7, 5-4) found a way to solve the stingy Scorpion’s defense. St. Mary’s used a 27-14 second quarter to pull away.

“They tried to press us and we converted fairly well,” said St.Mary’s coach Mark Beranek. “We handled the ball real well in the second quarter and played good team defense.”

Alex Greenly scored 15 points and Josh McCarty added 11 for the Pirates.

Pikes Peak Christian 62, Miami-Yoder 52

At Miami-Yoder: Mark Waters and Jacob Bruner each scored 20 points to lead Pikes Peak Christian to a 2A Black Forest conference victory.

Pikes Peak Christian (6-6, 1-3) has won three of its last four.

No stats were reported for Miami-Yoder (1-9, 0-4).

TCA 54, Fountain Valley 27

At Fountain Valley: Jason Anderson scored a game-high 22 to lead TCA (9-4, 6-2) to a 3A Tri-Peaks West conference victory.

Fountain Valley (3-10, 1-6) received 10 points from Artiom Vironin.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

Vanguard 66, Calhan 28

At Calhan: 2A No. 1 Vanguard remained undefeated by handing 2A Black Forest foe Calhan its first league loss of the season.

Bailey Haist (23 points, nine steals) helped Vanguard (13-0, 3-0) hold off a feisty Calhan (7-4, 3-2) team in the first quarter by hitting three, 3-pointers.

“That kind of helped us work against that pressure they were throwing against us,” said coach Frank Haist. “We played a real scrappy Calhan team and we were able to match their intensity.”

Cassandra Sulski chipped in with 17 points for Vanguard as the Coursers never looked back after opening up a 24-6 first-quarter lead.

Rampart 61, Liberty 41

At Liberty: 5A No. 3 Rampart earned its second consecutive victory to improve to 10-7 overall and 2-2 in the 5A Metro.

Kathryn Koch had a strong game for Liberty (9-6, 2-2) with a season-high 17 points, six rebounds and four blocks.

No stats were reported for Rampart.

St. Mary’s 76, Dolores Huerta 14

At St. Mary’s: The 3A No. 1 Pirates put together their best offensive performance of the season by scoring a season-high 76 points to earn the rout in 3A Tri-Peaks East action.

St. Mary’s (12-1, 8-1) has outscored Dolores Huerta Prep (0-15, 0-10) 148-17 in two games this year.

KK Barta had a season-high 21 points while teammates Tess Thomas and Gabi Florek added another 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Barta, a sophomore, had scored a total of 22 points all season before Friday’s performance.

Air Academy 43, Cheyenne Mountain 20

At Air Academy: The Kadets continue to receive strong play from Madison Rasmussen.

The freshman scored a season-high 19 points to lead Air Academy (9-7, 6-2 4A Pikes Peak) to its fourth straight victory.

Cheyenne Mountain (2-14, 1-7) has lost eight straight.

Palmer Ridge 64, Lewis-Palmer 33

At Palmer Ridge: The 4A No. 3 Bears used a 28-0 run that started late in the second quarter and extended into the third to break open a 24-22 ballgame.

“We switched to a press and that created some easy baskets for us and we kind of got rolling,” coach Dennis Coates said.

Palmer Ridge (14-3, 6-2 4A Pikes Peak) was led by juniors Ali Meyer (24 points), Michelle DeCoud (18 points) and Rhyley Lane (12 points).

No stats were reported for Lewis-Palmer (8-9, 3-5).

James Irwin 46, Pueblo Centennial 34

At Pueblo Centennial: Despite playing without three of its starters, James Irwin was able to grind out a victory on the road in 3A Tri-Peaks East action.

“The girls just really banded together," said coach Robb Kelley. “I am just thrilled to see the team pull it together.”

Junior Gina Bueno was one of the Jaguars that stepped up by scoring a season-high 10 points, as James Irwin (5-10, 4-6) ended a three-game losing skid.

Pueblo Centennial (4-10, 2-7) has lost six straight.

Peyton 71, Colorado Springs School 14

At Peyton: Shelby Patterson scored 20 points to lead the 2A No. 2 Panthers to a home victory.

Peyton (11-2, 2-1 2A Black Forest) improves to 6-1 at home.

No stats were reported for Colorado Springs School (7-5, 1-2).

TCA 39, Fountain Valley 14

At TCA: 3A No. 2 The Classical Academy improves to 8-0 at home with a 3A Tri-Peaks West conference victory.

Delia Brekken and Clare Hamilton combined for 11 of Fountain Valley’s 14 points. The Danes (1-10, 0-7) have dropped nine straight.

No stats were reported for TCA (13-1, 7-1).

Evangelical Christian 44, Kiowa 24

At Evangelical Christian: Abby Dorman led the way for the Eagles with 20 points.

Evangelical Christian (10-3, 3-0) has won four consecutive games.

No stats were reported for Kiowa (3-8, 1-3).

GIRLS' SWIMMING

Pikes Peak Athletic Conference Championships

At Cheyenne Mountain Aquatics Center: Swimming in front of its home crowd, Cheyenne Mountain kicked off the preliminary round of the Pikes Peak Athletic Conference Championships in fine fashion.

Morgan Wice led the way for the Indians by placing first in the 50 (25.65 seconds) and 500-yard freestyle (5:24.53).

Katie Roach (200 free), Katie Liebscher (100 free) and Sydney Buckley (100 breaststroke) all finished first in their respective races.

Lewis-Palmer’s Andie Turner (1:00.46) finished first in the 100 backstroke while also posting the fastest-time in the 100 fly (1:01.28).

The finals take place Saturday afternoon.

WRESTLING

Broomfield 61, Palmer Ridge 15

At Olympic Training Center: Michael Brierton, Tyler Thalhammer and Adam Bryan earned individual victories for Palmer Ridge, but Broomfield was too much for the Bears.

Brierton earned a 3-2 decision at 132 pounds, while Thalhammer (138 pounds) and Bryan (160) won via pins.