Quick start propels Fredrick past Wheat Ridge in boys hoops
WHEAT RIDGE — Fredrick senior Alex Therrien was elusive Monday night at Wheat Ridge High School.
The Warriors’ sharp-shooting senior scored a game-high 20 points, including four 3-pointers in the first half, to guide Fredrick to a 74-56 road victory against the Wheat Ridge Farmers.
“We lost (Therrien) too many times in the mix,” Wheat Ridge coach Tommy Dowd said after his Farmers dropped to 1-3 on the season.
Fredrick jumped out to a 17-0 lead to start the game. Wheat Ridge finally got on the scoreboard when senior Stefan Hackethal scored with 1:46 left in the first quarter.
Hackethal, Wheat Ridge’s leading scorer, was held to just two points. Fredrick coach Larry Frank admitted the defensive focus for the Warriors was to shut down Hackethal.
“We started out pretty good defensively,” said Frank, who used the combination of junior Mikail Lowney and senior Michael Broz to stay lockdown Hackethal.
The Warriors (2-1) were coming off a tough overtime loss last Friday at Longmont.
“We were really mad about that (loss) and wanted redemption,” Therrien said. “We came out hot and we knew what we had to do. We got the job done.”
Fredrick will host Silver Creek at 6:30 p.m. Friday before heading to the deep Prairie View Tournament next week.
“That is always a tough one for us,” Frank said of the Prairie View Tournament that features six 5A schools. “We are one of only two 4A schools in the tournament. We go there for a reason. We’ll learn and work on some things and hopefully be competitive.”
Along with Therrien, Ryan Yancey (15 points) and Broz (14 points) finished in double-digit points for the Warriors.
The young Wheat Ridge squad has just two seniors this season. The Farmers did cut the Warriors’ lead to 11 points on a few occasions Monday, but could never get the lead under double digits after falling behind early on.
Sophomore Nicco Young led the Farmers with 12 points. Junior Drew Mullberry came off the bench to pitch in 10 points in the loss.
Wheat Ridge won’t have to think about the loss for long. The Farmers get right back on the court Tuesday with a 7 p.m. tipoff at Holy Family.
“I think it’s good. We don’t have to dwell over this for long,” Young said. “If we can work together we can get the win.”
The Farmers play on back-to-back nights Thursday and Friday with home games against Class 5A Jeffco squads in Lakewood and Pomona.
“You’ve got to be patient and let kids learn on the fly a little bit,” Dowd said. “I’m just disappointed we didn’t compete earlier in the game tonight.”
