Evergreen boys basketball gets signature road victory at Golden

GOLDEN — Evergreen boys basketball fans that made the drive down the hill to Golden High School on Friday night got their money’s worth. 

The Cougars ended the Demons’ 10-game winning streak with a dominating 58-43 road victory. Evergreen (11-3, 2-0 in Class 5A/4A Jeffco League) has now won nine straight games dating back to early December.

“We came into this match-up as the underdog. They were ranked higher than us. They are a top-10 team,” said Evergreen junior Xavier Spungin, who scored a game-high 20 points. “It’s always a rivalry game, but it meant extra for us this week. We’ve got a new coach. We have a legacy to continue.”

Evergreen has a 4-game winning streak against Golden. The Demons haven’t defeated the Cougars since the 2021-22 season.

The conference showdown featured the two hottest teams in the 5A/4A Jeffco League. The Demons and Cougars had combined for 18 straight victories before tipping off Friday night.

“Golden has been playing great. For us to come in, take control early and do what we did against a really well-coached team with some great players,” Evergreen first-year coach Clinton Evans said. “This was our most complete three and a half quarters that we have played.”

Evergreen never trailed with Spungin and senior Roby Mitchem leading the offense in the first half. Spungin had 10 points in the first half, while Mitchem brought the Cougars’ solid student section to a frenzy with four 3-pointers before halftime. The Cougars led 31-16 at the break. 

Golden (12-3, 1-1) was ice cold from the field and struggled at the free-throw line going 2-for-8 in the first half. The Demons made just one 3-pointer on the night.

Back-to-back dunks by junior Logan McCanna and Spungin on back-to-back possessions pushed the Cougars’ lead to 37-16 early in the third quarter. Evergreen built its lead up to as much as 28 points early in the fourth quarter.

Junior Dylan Paulson was the lone Demon player to score double-digits with 10 points in Golden’s lowest scoring output of the season.

Golden will now go on a 4-game road trip, starting with a non-league test against Columbine on Monday, Jan. 26.

“We keep saying that we’ve got some really good players. If you key on one, the next two or three are going to take over,” Evans said. “There are a bunch of kids who can really play ball. They are starting to realize that they can trust each other and it doesn’t have to be about themselves. We can be really good.”

McCanna dominated inside the paint with a double-double for the Cougars. Evergreen junior Ezra Beeson had 9 points, all in the second half.

“We just want to come in and give ourselves a chance,” Evans said of the Cougars in the mix for a conference title for the first time since the 2020-21 season. “We have kind of played at whatever level the other team is. This was the first game I believe we showed who we can be. If we play like this we can play with anybody.”

Evergreen plays at Wheat Ridge (2-12, 0-2) next on Wednesday, Jan. 28. The Cougars return home for a monster league game against Green Mountain (11-4, 1-0) on Saturday, Jan. 31. The majority of the Rams basketball players were actually in attendance at Golden High School on Friday night to check out Evergreen and Golden in person.

“It is most definitely our most complete game, but we are better,” Spungin said. “This is just a start. We are looking to make a run this year. We are in control of our destiny here.”