Poudre travels to Thornton... goes home with a Front Range win  (01/26/10)

by MARTY CESARIO

Front Range League squads have to do a lot of travelling. So if ya make the trip, make it worth it, right? Get the payoff. Win! It'll make that bus ride so much better. 

The Poudre Impalas came down to Thornton High and scored themselves a nice victory to take back up to Fort Fun. Senior shooter, Trevor Fischer, helped his offense start fast and develop a 15 point lead by halftime before surviving a strong rush by the Trojans in the third quarter. Fischer led all scorers with 19 points as Poudre beat Thornton, 58-50. 

Although Trevor's gentle stroke accounted for the first five points of the game on a baseline jumper and three-pointer, he had some help building that big lead in the first half. Sophomore reserve, Patrick Gronewaller, stepped on the floor feeling it. Just after checking in, Gronewaller nailed a three then moved inside to land a lay-up, get hacked, and hit the free throw to get Poudre up by ten just before the opening quarter ended.   

Countering with some promising offensive balance, Thornton efficiently creeped back within four points and into contention. 6'6" senior Petr Rossiytev showed strong work in the post and when big guard, Donald Boyer, dropped in his second three-pointer, the Trojans' deficit was cut to 19-15 at 5:14 in the second. But Fischer followed with another three-pointer/mid-range two combo on consecutive possessions then Gronewaller did the same. Along with Poudre reestablishing control, Thornton suffered another "hit" when Rossiytev was forced to the bench with foul trouble. Trojan shooters went cold, too. The Impalas finished on a 14-3 run to establish that big halftime advantage.

During the Trojans' first possession of the second half, Rossiytev was called for his fourth foul on a moving screen. Thornton was down 15 points and had to again sit the only true big kid on the floor-- for either team. Doom for the home crew? Not yet. Coach Galen Harkness dumped any plans for an inside presence-- his center never returned-- and employed small ball with his junior point guard, Caleb Dorrence, leading the show. Dorrence drove for scores and collected assists while igniting an 11-0 Trojan rush to begin the second half. Suddenly, the scoreboard read 33-29.

After getting only four points in the third quarter, Poudre mustered up just enough offense in the final quarter to stay on top while junior guard, Garrett Cole, came hard with defensive pride and tenacity by reining in Thornton's primary producers. (I love the comment from Coach Jeff Schelly during post-game: "Did you purposely sick Cole on those guys?" "... actually, it more like Garrett telling me he wanted 'em.") Cole, along with Fischer, was also solid at the free throw line as the Impalas polished off their opponents, won their first league contest, and earned the right to smile and crank the tunes all way back up into Larimer County.        

  
Poudre (4-12, 1-4)      19 14  4  21   58
Thornton (5-10, 1-3)     9   9 13 19    50
 
PI: Fischer 19, Gornewaller 12, Biggi 8
TT: Boyer 14, Dorrence 11, Bukhalo 11 


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