Trojans contend early, then fade quickly in 75-47 home loss to Regis

FOUNTAIN • One minute Friday, Fountain-Fort Carson looked every part of a contender against mighty Regis Jesuit, tied early in the second quarter. Then nearly in the blink of an eye, the Trojans trailed by 21.

Fountain-Fort Carson continued its roller coaster of a season, bottoming out in the form of a 75-47 loss, its first home-court setback since coach Greg Williams took the reins before the 2011-12 season.

At 6-6, there’s plenty to correct. And there’s a reset button with league play starting Jan. 21.

“We’re just not consistent,” said Trojans senior Anthony Davis, who led his team with 17 points. “They caught fire, and we couldn’t respond. Regis is a great team because everybody contributed. That’s what we have to get to. When you play great as a team, you can win like that.”

Click here to see a photo gallery from the game.

Junior Josh Perkins scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the first half and added six rebounds and five assists, as the Raiders (8-3) outscored the Trojans 25-6 in the second quarter to turn a tie game into a rout.

Perkins scored 11 points in the first quarter on 4-for-4 shooting. Then, his second-quarter effort included scoring from five of his teammates as Regis put the game away by halftime.

It happened that quickly.

“My teammates helped me make plays,” Perkins said. “In the second quarter, we changed the pace of the game. We took what they do well away. We knew we were dealing with a real athletic team and had to be aggressive and rebound well.”

The Trojans inexplicably lost their momentum in the second quarter, and it continued through the third quarter. While Fountain-Fort Carson made seven field goals in the first quarter, it made just one in the second and one more in the third as consecutive six-point frames pretty much summed up its first 12 games.

The Trojans kind of did the same thing last season, when the Trojans went 6-6 in nonleague play, including a 34-point loss at Regis. After that, the team reeled off 10 straight Metro League wins and finished with a 16-6 record.

“I’m still optimistic about the whole thing,” Williams said. “We’re just a team right now that can’t put four consecutive quarters together. We have little spots of greatness, but we have to look forward to conference.”

The Trojans open league play against Liberty, a team they defeated earlier this year.

“Everything just fell apart tonight, but I feel like we’re ready for our league season,” Trojans junior Cameron Hacker said. “The same thing happened to us against Regis last year, and we ended up going undefeated in league. It’s just hard right now. We have to get through this, move on and go out and win the league.”