Thursday's roundup: Wasson's boys basketball team beats Air Academy in OT

BOYS BASKETBALL
Wasson 64, Air Academy 57 OT

At Wasson: Third-year captain DJ Hanes scored a game-high 28 points and nabbed eight rebounds to lead Wasson to its seventh win of the season.

The senior is scorching to start the season, averaging more than 23 points per game.

Thursday, the Thunderbirds (7-1) darted to a 10-point lead after the first quarter, and then outscored Air Academy (4-4) 10-3 in overtime to earn the win.

Air Academy's David Louthan led the comeback attempt, scoring 19 points on nine shots, as the Kadets tied the game in the fourth, outscoring Wasson 16-8 in the frame.

Geno Bigelow added 15 in Air Academy's cause, but it wasn't enough.

Richie Perea added four points and 10 assists, while Angel Lingao dropped in eight points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Thunderbirds.

In the end, the line proved costly for the Kadets. Wasson went 17-for-22 from the stripe, compared to Air Academy, which drained just 4-of-7.

Harrison 56, Cañon City 54

At Cañon City: When the game is tight, Harrison (5-2) has been coming out on top.

The Panthers are now 4-0 in games decided by 10 points or fewer this season. Thursday, Thomas Jackson led the way for Harrison with 21 points and six rebounds in a nail-biter.

The Panthers drove to the basket all game, going to the line 36 times -- hitting 21 of them -- while only burying one 3-point shot.

Lindford Ocloo, Andre Peppers and Quincy Harding each added 10 points for the visitors.

Meanwhile, host Cañon City (3-7) has dropped six of its last seven games.

The Tigers are 0-5 in games decided by three points or fewer this season.

Falcon 58, Pueblo County 48

At Pueblo County: Junior Chances Matlock scored at least 20 points for his third consecutive game, as Falcon (6-1) won its sixth in a row, beating Pueblo County at the Pueblo East Tournament.

Matlock hit three of the Falcons' five 3s, handing Pueblo County (5-5) its third-straight loss.

Falcon senior Nick Lehnhard added nine points and six assists.

Heading into the weekend and winter break, the Falcons play at least two more games in the tournament, facing Pueblo South on Friday, and host Pueblo East on Saturday.

Discovery Canyon 69, Palmer Ridge 42

At Palmer Ridge: Discovery Canyon coach John Paul Geniesse likes his team's balance.

It's the reason the Thunder (7-0 overall, 1-0 Pikes Peak) boast an undefeated record going into the break.

"This team just comes together and plays well together," Geniesse said. "We are playing well right now."

Thursday, Brandon Nachbar, also a tennis star at Discovery Canyon, led the Thunder over Palmer Ridge (4-3) with his three 3s and 19 points.

Andy Stauffer added 17, hitting nine free throws.

Mountain Vista 76, Liberty 69

At Liberty: The state's second-best team had to rally in the fourth quarter to clip Liberty (3-5) Thursday.

AJ Bohuslavsky scored 18 points, and Sam Vieux added 13, as the Lancers led by two points after three quarters over undefeated Mountain Vista (9-0).

Liberty missed 10 free throws, going 16-of-26 from the line.

Mountain Vista had beat its previous eight opponents by nearly 30 points per game this season, including a drubbing over Denver West 123-56.

Cherry Creek 65, Fountain-Fort Carson 53

At Cherry Creek: Fountain-Fort Carson went 3-for-14 from behind the perimeter on its way to a second loss in three games.

Senior Anthony Davis scored a team-high 12 points Thursday, but shot only 30 percent from the field.

Anthony Watson added 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting for the Trojans.

St. Mary's 50, Ridgeview 29

At St. Mary's: St. Mary's led 38-10 at half, as Robert Delfeld scored 14 points and Alex Greenly added 10 for the Pirates.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

Mesa Ridge 53, Monarch 34

At Heritage: Mesa Ridge remains undefeated with a convincing win over last year's 4A runner-up.

Gabby Purnell hit two 3s on her way to 14 points, as four Grizzlies scored in double digits.

Mesa Ridge gave up 15 points in the second quarter, but squashed Monarch's point total to only 19 over the other three frames.

The start to the season has been a good one for the Purple and Black. The Grizzlies (6-0) have won by an average of 28 points, holding opponents to 35 points per game. In the Heritage Tournament on Thursday, they held Monarch to 24 percent shooting.

Palmer Ridge 47, Discovery Canyon 15

At Palmer Ridge: Palmer Ridge coach Dennis Coates was pleased how his team's defense jelled Thursday. He said it hasn't been there the prior few games.

"Too bad we go on break for three weeks when it finally comes together," he laughed.

The Bears (6-1 overall, 1-0 Pikes Peak) smothered the Thunder (2-7, 0-1), whose leading scorer in the game, Mariah McGettigan, had only three points.

"We've been tinkering with our defense the past couple of game and we got it going early," Coates said. "I think we're finally feeling comfortable with it."

Offensively, Madison Thomas scored a game-high 17 points, including nine in the first quarter.

Discovery Canyon has scored a combined 30 points in its past two meetings with Palmer Ridge. The Thunder lost to the Bears 25-15 last season.

Widefield 51, CSCS 40

At Widefield: Class 4A Widefield jumpsed out to an early 11-2 lead and held off a second-half rally attempt by the visiting Lions (1-5). CSCS closed it to 39-32 late in the third before the Gladiators (2-7) pulled away with a 6-0 run to start the final quarter.

Senior Angelina Smith paced Widefield with 17 points, while senior Annika Anderson scored 17, including four 3-pointers for the 3A Lions.

Rampart 68, Pueblo Central 42

At Rampart: Lucia Archuleta hit three 3s as Rampart (6-2) won its third straight game.

Macy Myers shot 5-for-14 from the field and added five assists in the rout.

The Rams led 13-2 after the first quarter.

GIRLS' SWIMMING

Palmer 120, Wasson 62

At Palmer: Palmer won everything but the 200 freestyle relay on Thursday.

The Terrors were led by the Fink sisters, who had their hands in four of Palmer's 11 wins in the dual. Sarah Fink won the 100 freestyle in just over 1 minute and 5 seconds, and then swam a leg in the 200 medley relay, which won in a time of 2:12.50.

Amy, her sister, won the 200 freetyle in 2:26.64, and then followed Sarah in the 200 free relay that won in 2:55.71.

In diving, Isabella Farrell won in a runaway for the Terrors with a score of 202.05. Teammate Carlyn Plowman finished second with 118.20.

In the 200 free relay, Wasson's lone win, the Thunderbirds edged out Palmer by less than 0.5 seconds to win in 2:08.72.

Mesa Ridge/Widefield 97, Pueblo East 86

At Pueblo East: Carol Ellsworth, Jamie Quirk and Carmen Mena each won two individual events to led the way for the collaged team of Mesa Ridge/Widefield.

Ellsworth won the 50 freestyle by .04 seconds in 29.85, and then went on to win the 100 breaststroke in 1:28.50 by less than 4 seconds.

Mena's events mirrored a different sort of story, but ones that ended with the same results. In the 100 fly, Mena won by 31 seconds, touching home in 1:10.54. Then in the 100 backstroke, Mean won by 18 seconds in 1:11.35.

Quirk won the 100 and 200 freestyle in 1:09.01 and 2:35.11, respectively.

The Grizzlies/Gladiators won eight of the 12 events in the dual.

WRESTLING

TCA 52, Ellicott 13

At TCA: Before you could even find your seat, TCA's Zach Johns had won.

In the 152-pound weight class, the junior pinned Ellicott's Donaldo Gill in 21 seconds.

Also for the Titans, returning state qualifier Jordan Birch added a win by forfeit, while Andrew Register, who took fifth last year at state, did not wrestle.