Fort Collins Rises To Challenge In Playoff Opener

Fort Collins senior Nate McAuliffe rises above three Coronado defenders on his way to the hoop during the Lambkins opening round playoff win Tuesday night.

Photo by Mike Laughlin, Mile High Hoops

FORT COLLINS—The Fort Collins boys basketball team overcame a slow start, a good effort from a scrappy opponent and probably some early playoff nerves to win their opening round playoff game against the Coronado Cougars Tuesday night, 67-57.

Despite being out-hustled for much of the first half, the Lambkins, now 21-3 on the year, got themselves together in the second half, in plenty of time to dispatch Coronado and advance to the second round of the state playoffs.

“We got off to a poor start. It could have been some playoff jitters,” Fort Collins coach Monty Alcaraz said. “But we got off to a better start in the second half… the guys really found their rhythm in the third period.”

With Lambkins leading scorer, Austin Maag, on the bench to start the game due to an illness earlier in the week, Fort Collins struggled offensively out of the gate, going scoreless for the first five minutes of the game.

When Maag came in, however, he had an immediate impact, scoring the Lambkins’ first five points of the game in a span of 20 seconds, on his way to a game high 18.

“They came out with a box-and-one defense and we had to adjust to that. We hadn’t seen that all year,” Maag said about the slow start. “We just told each other that we were playing (poorly), and that we needed to start playing like we were capable of.”

Trailing by one after the first quarter, Fort Collins began to steady themselves, and their three-point shots began to fall—a critical factor for a team that has relied on outside shooting all season.

Senior Cody Spicer knocked down two long balls, and senior Hayden Wood hit one to help Fort Collins regain the lead by halftime, 20-16.

When the team reemerged for the second half, however, it looked like an entirely different group.

“I think the poor start may have gotten to our guys a little bit, so we just talked about getting back in rhythm,” Alcaraz said.

Whatever the Lambkins did during the halftime break- it worked. The team exploded in the third quarter with 28 points, punctuated by two above-the-rim put-backs. The first was a one-handed tip in by Maag off an inbounds pass, and the second was a high-flying dunk off a rebound by junior Ben Marum as the third quarter horn sounded, bringing the Fort Collins fans to their feet.

“I saw the play developing. I knew that he was going to lay it up since it was the end of the quarter, so I just anticipated where the rebound was going to be.”

“It’s fun,” Maag said about the big third-quarter plays. “Even though it’s just two points. It’s nice to have that kind of athleticism. We have three or four guys that can play above the rim. That athleticism will help us later in the playoffs.”

From that point on, Fort Collins cruised to the ten-point win.

Senior Nate McAuliffe scored ten points and Spicer added nine.

In the loss, senior Ben Foley led Coronado with 16 points in his final game.

The fifth seeded Lambkins will be on the road for their second round match-up, a tilt with fourth-seeded Chaparral (19-4).

“I think we match up with those guys well,” Maag said. “If we come out ready to play, we feel like we can beat just about anybody.”

Check out the updated brackets.

Contact the writer mlaughlin@milehighhoops.com