No. 7 Chatfield boys hoops dominates Lakewood
LAKEWOOD — As Darth Vader said, “Impressive. Most impressive.”
Chatfield’s boys basketball team made an emphatic statement in the Class 5A Jeffco League with a 90-58 road victory Saturday against Lakewood.
“Everything we do always starts with defense,” Chatfield coach Stephen Schimpeler said. “We put up 90 and you think it’s all offense, but it’s not. We are a defensive program.”
The Chargers (9-1, 2-0 in league) are ranked No. 7 in the current CHSAANow.com 5A boys hoops poll and stretched its winning streak to eight games with the 32-point victory.
“We know what we can do when we are clicking on all cylinders,” Chatfield senior Lucas St. Germain said. “It’s just fun to watch when we get going like that.”
Chatfield never trailed and had a double-digit lead before the end of the first quarter. St. Germain (13 points) and fellow senior Joe Miks (21 points) both buried a pair of 3-pointers in the opening quarter.
While senior Titus Reed (eight points) had a quiet game offensively, he was the difference in the first half dominating the defensive boards and spearheading the Chargers’ defense that forced several turnovers.
“We told Titus he was the difference in that first half,” Schimpeler said.
The Tigers didn’t have a single offensive rebound in the first quarter. All dozen of Lakewood’s first-quarter points came on 3-pointers by seniors Kolton Peterson (15 points) and Brandt Christy.
Lakewood (6-3, 1-1) struggled with Chatfield’s pressure defense that put the Tigers in a 34-12 deficit early in the second quarter.
“Chatfield is Chatfield. They put the foot on the neck and they don’t care if you work or not,” Lakewood coach Daryl Johnson said. “It’s an honor to play against them because they always work.”
The Chargers kept their foot on the gas scoring 27 points in the third quarter to extend their lead to 74-38. Chatfield showed off its depth with 32 points off the bench, led by senior Landon Rodgers (16 points).
“We are confident in our bench,” Rodgers said. “We know the second group that comes in is just as good and can compete with the first group.”
Saturday’s win pushed Chatfield’s conference winning streak to 18 games, dating back to the 2014-15 season. The Chargers last league loss came against Arvada West on Feb. 15, 2015.
“We don’t really try to worry about it too much,” St. Germain said of Chatfield’s conference winning streak. “We just want to keep moving forward.”
Chatfield returns to the court against the last Jeffco team to hand it a loss. The Chargers travel to A-West (5-6, 2-0) for a 7 p.m. tipoff Wednesday, Jan. 11.
Despite just two games into league play, the winner of Wednesday’s game will stand alone atop the conference with a 3-0 mark.
“It’s always good to go beat another good team and Lakewood is a good team, but it’s just another game,” Schimpeler said. “We’ll enjoy it tonight. It’s gone tomorrow and will be just a memory. There is more work to do.”
Lakewood senior Jacob Storey ended up leading the Tigers in scoring with 18 points in the loss.
The Tigers’ three losses so far this season has all come against ranked 5A teams — No. 3 ThunderRidge, No. 7 Chatfield and No. 9 Cherokee Trail. Lakewood continues its challenging schedule with a non-conference game against No. 4 Denver East at 7 p.m. Monday at Lakewood High School.
“I can’t tell you how much that tape will be looked at. It’s going to be so educational for them. That tape might just be played while we practice,” Johnson said of how he will use the video from the 32-point loss to Chatfield as a tool moving forward. “We’ve got East on Monday is going to be similar pressure, just faster. We’ll have to be ready on Monday.”
Lakewood gets back into 5A Jeffco action at Columbine on Wednesday and at home against A-West on Friday.
