I shot this game the day after I shot the Missy Franklin/Regis Jesuit swim meet, and have had a lot going on that week.  So, forgive me if I get some of my facts wrong.  I was worn out from the night before.  I was up most of the night editing the swim meet photos, overslept the next day, and then headed to the gym to set up my strobes for the basketball game.  I shot Standley Lake hoops once prior, at the Swamp, their home court, which ended up being a double overtime game that the Gators lost to Legacy.  But the Gators looked good.  Arvada West is surprising me with their play.  When you look at them, they just do not seem to be that great a team.  But they are currently in a tie for 4th place with Dakota Ridge.

Earlier in the season, A-West was 2nd in the Jeffco 5A division, so this was a must win game for the Wildcats. As I said, the Wildcats do not look that good, they lack in size, but they get the job done.

Standley Lake has a decent team, but just no depth.  They have have a great player in junior Marcus Asmus, but they are only suiting up 7 players for varsity, and that hurts them when they get into foul trouble, or players get tired or injured.

But, Arvada West, has a deep bench, and a really good outside game.  While Lake was able to get boards when they had their big men in, Arvada West gave them little chance, cashing in on long shots, and when those long shots missed, A-West was able to grab the long rebounds while the Lake big men were under the hoop.

After one quarter Arvada West led the visiting by 6 with a 11 to 5 score.  Going into halftime A-West extended their lead to 10 points, going into the locker room with a 19 to 9 lead over the Gators.

Coming out of halftime, the Gator’s played a much better game, but A-West were still in control, scoring 8 to Standley Lakes 7 in the third quarter.  If Lake had any hope of winning this game they were going to have to stop the Wildcat offense and make up the 12 point lead A-West had on them.

In the 4th quarter, Lake was able to score the 12 points they needed to make up the point total they were trailing after the first three quarters.  But were they able to keep Arvada West scoreless in the 4th and win by one?  No.  The Wildcats matched the Gators 12 points with 12 of their own, winning the game 39-28.

What I though was the funnest part of the night was when I started taking my strobes down.  At the University of Colorado, during one time out, usually in the second half, the CU Band gets involved with the cheerleaders as the tuba’s come down to the basketball court for the Supa Dupa Tuba Cheer.  The Tuba’s dance around on the court while playing, spinning, jumping, things you would not expect a from tubas.  Well, while the gym was emptying out at the end of the game, the A-West tubas were down on the court performing the Supa Dupa Tuba Cheer.  And, they did it well.

To view and purchase photos from this game, please visit my MaxPreps gallery for the game.