John Stroud/Post Independent
The host Glenwood Springs High School boys basketball team ran off to a 12-0 lead over Denver Christian in opening-night play in the Demon Invitational Thursday, en route to a convincing 62-45 win.
Just when the 2A powerhouse DC Thunder looked to make it interesting, pulling to within 10 points in the third, Demons senior John Iuele launched home a couple of long-range silencers.
“That was big,” second-year Demons head coach Fred Heisel said of his leading scorer’s key 3-pointers in the closing minutes of the third period. “it felt pretty good to see that go in at that point.”
From there, it was all Demons again — just as it had been at the start of the game — as Glenwood managed to outscore the hard-charging Thunder 32-30 in the second half after taking a commanding 30-15 lead at halftime.
“We knew they had some shooters, and they had some opportunities in the first half that they missed,” Heisel said of DC. “We were better at getting the hand up.”
Heisel was encouraged by his team’s intensity coming out of the gate.
“That’s what we have to be like,” he said. “We have to play hard. If we don’t have a win when it comes to the effort battle, then we’ve given up an opportunity.”
Iuele led the Demons in scoring with 15 points, including three 3-pointers on the night. Senior Patrick Young added 12 points, and senior Mitchell Burt had 10.
Denver Christian’s Ethan Liebert had 17 points for the Thunder.
Glenwood Springs plays Alamosa, 56-53 winners over Faith Christian Thursday, at 8 p.m. Friday in the main gym at GSHS. Denver Christian moves to the consolation side of the bracket, facing Faith Christian.
In other boy’s action Thursday, Coal Ridge defeated Peak to Peak 76-52, and will face Montrose in the 5 p.m. game in the main gym.
