Defense key for D’Evelyn boys hoops in win over Cheyenne Mountain
DENVER — The second quarter belonged to D’Evelyn’s full-court press defense late Saturday afternoon.
After a poor shooting first quarter in the second round of the Class 4A boys basketball tournament, the Jaguars looked to their defense to provide a kickstart against Cheyenne Mountain.
“We went to our full-court press and that is possibility the best we’ve played it all year, lots of turnovers and transition points,” D’Evelyn junior Charles Dinegar said of the second quarter where the Jaguars outscored the Indians 20-4. “We didn’t want them to be able to settle into their zone and slow down the game.”
D’Evelyn sped its way to an eventual 75-53 victory to advance into the Sweet 16. The No. 3-seeded Jaguars will host No. 14 Sand Creek (19-5) on Wednesday, March 1. Sand Creek will be a handful for D’Evelyn. The Scorpions are led by University of Colorado-commit D’Shawn Schwartz, who is averaging more than 25 points per game.
“It’s always nicer to be at home,” D’Evelyn coach Dan Zinn of hosting the round of 16 game. “No matter who we get it’s going to be tough. There are no easy teams in this tournament right now.”
It wasn’t easy, in fact, it was a little dicey for the Jaguars on their home court Saturday. No. 30 Cheyenne Mountain tied things up late in the first quarter, but D’Evelyn turned things on in a dominating fashion in the second quarter.
“The week off doesn’t help, but the shots just weren’t going down. We were getting great looks,” Zinn said of the first quarter. “Our defense created the offense in that second quarter and really helped us out and got us going.”
Dinegar and senior Alec Clifton both canned 3-pointers in the second quarter. Clifton’s 3-pointer midway through the quarter gave the Jaguars their first double-digit lead of the night.
As usual, the Jaguars showed off their balance with four players in double-digits — Dinegar (19 points), C.J. Olson (19 points), Josh Brinkerhoff (12 points) and Cole Clifton (10 points).
“That is what makes us special,” Dinegar said. “We have a well-rounded team. We have a little bit of everything. We have eight different players who could go off for 20 points.”
After grabbing a 36-15 lead at halftime, D’Evelyn didn’t let up. The Jaguars ended with 10 3-pointers and kept their lead around 20 points for much of the fourth quarter. Most of the damage was done by Olson, who had 10 points in the final eight minutes.
“You have to keep the foot on the pedal and keep playing well,” Olson said. “You try to gain some momentum for the next game.”
The young Indians were led by sophomores Will Louis (15 points), Nicholas Bassett (11 points) and junior Luke Martin (12 points) in the season-ending loss. Cheyenne Mountain finished its season 9-16. The Indians were able to win their first postseason game this season since advancing to the state semifinals in 2014.
D’Evelyn hit the 20-win mark under Zinn’s second year at the helm. The Jaguars also advanced to the Sweet 16 last season during Zinn’s first year. D’Evelyn eventually lost to Longmont in the round of 16, finishing 15-10 on the season.
