East Speeds Past Rangeview

DENVER—The Denver East Angels (17-8) shut down the Rangeview Raiders (16-9) 56-41 Friday night to advance to the state tournament's Sweet 16.

East, the third seed in the RW Truscott Region, used its superior quickness throughout the night to penetrate sixth seeded Rangeview’s defense and create open looks at the basket. That same speed and aggressiveness translated into dozens of Rangeview turnovers, and easy baskets for the Angels.

“We felt if we rebounded and if we protected the ball that we had a good shot at winning, and those are two things we didn’t do in the first half,” said Rangeview coach Shawn Palmer.

The Angels capitalized on the Rangeview miscues and produced an 18-4 run during the first and second quarters to take a 24-9 lead. From there, East maintained the lead and the game was never close.

East forwards Phillip Watts and Devon Gee did a nice job containing Raiders 6-foot-5, 230 pound big man Yoshio Allen, who came in averaging 12 points per game. Allen was held to just four points on the night.

“We knew he was a load inside, but we had committed to helping on him and we made him pass,” said East coach Rudy Carey. “That was our goal—to make him a passer.”

The Angels also collectively contained Rangeview standout Jeff Solarin, who scored 32 points in the Raiders first round victory over Green Mountain.  Solarin played well, scoring 18 points, but didn’t have one of those great nights he’s capable of.

“Coach told us that their first move was always to power the ball up so we just had to front them every time they got it,” said Watts, who had 12 points and seven boards. “We wanted to make them fight for the ball and we did that.”

On senior night, and his last home game, East guard Elliot Zettas did not disappoint. The senior drilled two three-pointers off the bench in the first half, including a buzzer beating triple in the first quarter to go up 21-9. He hit three more from long range in the second half and scored 15 points in the game.

“It feels great,” said Zettas, who also had three assists and a couple of steals in the Angels victory. “My shot’s been off for a while but I’ve been tweaking it and it’s been getting progressively better each week, and I was able to knock down some big shots tonight.”

Carey appreciated the senior’s effort. “That’s what Elliot’s job is. He’s our shooter off the bench, and he made it happen.”

But East was not overly giddy with Friday’s victory. Their minds were ready for their next opponent: Arapahoe. The Angels will play at Arapahoe on March 3rd because the Warriors are the second seed in the region.

“They’re very good—great perimeter shooters,” Carey said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us.

Senior Alex Merriex, who had nine points against Rangeview, agreed with Carey. “They can really shoot it,” he said. “We’re probably faster, but they can shoot the ball.”

Boxscore

Check out the updated brackets.

Contact the writer at prossi@milehighhoops.com