Green Mountain boys basketball picks up a pair of victories in 24 hours

LAKEWOOD — The first week back from Winter Break was a bit of a strange one for Green Mountain’s boys basketball team.

The Rams suffered an overtime home loss to undefeated Chatfield on Jan. 2 before a road game at Erie on Jan. 7. The Tigers scored 31 points in the fourth quarter to mount an improbable come-from-behind 71-65 victory over Green Mountain.

To an insult to the 3-game losing streak, Green Mountain coach Jordan Deignan was hit with two technical fouls late in the game to force Deignan to serve a 2-game suspension.

Top assistant Tim Deignan — Jordan’s father — stepped into the role of acting head coach for the Rams in back-to-back games in less than 24 hours. Green Mountain took care of business Friday with a 73-45 victory over Denver North at Ball Arena, but had a quick turnaround with a noon tipoff at home Saturday against Peak to Peak.

“It was a late night at Ball Arena and we hardly ever play at noon on Saturday,” Tim Deignan said of being a little worried about the non-league game against the Pumas.

Adding to the anxiety, Peak to Peak senior Tysen Burton looked like a high school All-American candidate in the first half pouring in 25 points as the Pumas grabbed a double-digit lead early in the second quarter.

However, Green Mountain outscored Peak to Peak 37-15 in the second half. The Rams turned a strange 24 hours into a 2-game winning streak with the 67-52 victory against Peak to Peak.

“At halftime we knew who their scorer was and changed somethings around,” Green Mountain senior Tre Gutierrez said of the Pumas leading 37-30 at halftime with Burton throwing in his fifth 3-pointer of the first half just before the buzzer. “We gave more effort in the second half. When you go down the game isn’t over. We are a very mature team and any game is a winnable game for us.”

Gutierrez had a pair of huge 3-pointers in the third quarter. The first bucket from long range tied the game up at 43-43 with 2:55 remaining in the third quarter. Another 3-pointer from Gutierrez 25 seconds later gave the Rams the lead for the first time since early in the first quarter.

“I think it was important for me to get involved (offensively),” Gutierrez said of the back-to-back 3-pointers. “I think those 3s were crucial.”

Green Mountain never gave up the lead after the 3-pointers from Gutierrez, who finished with 14 points. The Rams’ twins — Ben and Jake Swanson — combined for 33 points. Ben has a team-high 20 points.

Senior Sean Haverkamp got the start for the Rams and finished with 10 points, but more importantly helped keep Burton contained in the second half.

“Against guys like (Burton) he is great defensively,” Gutierrez said of Haverkamp. “He has a strong body and moves his feet great. He saved me out there. He was great for the team today.”

Burton finished with a season-high 33 points. Peak to Peak (5-5 record) had its 2-game winning streak come to an end.

Tim Deignan has a perfect 4-0 record as an acting head varsity coach during his career. Deignan filled in for Rudy Martin at Green Mountain for when game with the longtime coach in Jeffco was sick. Deignan also got the win when he filled in for Scott Haebe at Evergreen High School several years ago.

“I’m just happy we got the W,” Deignan said filling in as acting head coach for the Friday and Saturday victories. “We promised Coach Jordan that we would return the team to him 8-4. We kept that promise.”

Green Mountain returns to action with a home game against Riverdale Ridge at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 12.

“We’ll have a coach back next week. Everything will settle down a little bit,” Gutierrez said. “That’s the goal.”