Overland boys basketball gets a road win over Cherry Creek
GREENWOOD VILLAGE — Overland boys basketball earned a tough Centennial League victory, 72-60, over Cherry Creek on Saturday afternoon on the road.
After a brutal non-league schedule, Overland has found some success in the league, with a win over Eaglecrest Thursday and now a win over Cherry Creek. Tucson Redding headed the Overland offense putting up 24 points, 11 of which were in the third quarter.
“Free throws early weren’t good, I had to calm myself down during halftime,” Redding said of that strong third quarter. “My teammates moved the ball well and it ended up in my hands.”
“Every league win is important because any team is capable of beating you on any night,” Overland coach Danny Fisher said about the strong league win. “Everybody is so tough, so well coached, every win matters.”
Cherry Creek held tough with Overland throughout the game, but at the start of the fourth quarter, Overland found their groove.
“We wanted to establish more of an inside presence,” Fisher emphasized about his gameplan. “Our protection at the rim by Laolu Oke completely changed things. He rebounded, he was aggressive, scored, and made free throws when we needed him to.”
It is no secret the troubled faced by Overland in the early season, going 1-7, but back-to-back wins has Overland right back in the mix of contenders.
“Closing games out matters a lot, we were lucky tonight because we missed a lot of free throws again,” Fisher said about what his team must do to improve. “We need to take it one game at a time and improve every day.”
Added Redding: “We learned a lot through all (the non-league games). Now we need bring our chemistry together, get ready for each game, and work to get a good seed in the playoffs.”
Nothing has changed for Fisher’s mindset.
“We want to compete and win state championships and league championships,” he said. “That doesn’t change for us, that our goal all the time.”
