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Playing to Win

ARVADA VS CONIFER

ARVADA — Conifer’s boys basketball team found its scoring touch in the nick of time Tuesday night at Arvada High School.
Holding on to a 39-37 lead through three quarters against an improved Arvada squad, the Lobos scored 27 points in the final eight minutes to take a 66-48 road victory in the Class 4A/3A Colorado 7 League game.
“It all started on the defensive end really,” Conifer senior Mark Studer said of the Lobos’ 27-point fourth quarter. “As soon as we get stops on the defensive end it translates into the offensive side.”
Conifer's Mark Studer had a game-high 22 points against Arvada. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Studer (22 points) had carried Conifer offensively through three quarters, but seniors Seth Sankey, Antonio Lucero, Andrew Wood, David Jacobson and Joe Mead all had buckets to allow the Lobos to pull away in the final quarter.
Mead had a trio of baskets during a Conifer 10-0 run in the final quarter. Jacobson buried a key 3-pointer that started a 9-0 run in the final three minutes.
“We actually talked about that at halftime,” Conifer coach Eric Valerio said of getting more scoring from different players after Studer scored 16 of 31 points for the Lobos in the first half. “Mark Studer is an exceptional player and even a better kid, but you have to have somebody else step up.”
The win kept Conifer (8-9, 4-1 in league) in the mix for a conference championship and automatic bid for the 4A state tournament. The Lobos’ lone league loss was a heartbreaking 1-point home loss to Skyview (8-6, 2-1) last Friday night.
Skyview, Fort Morgan and Conifer are the likely candidates to come out on top of the league this season.
“That’s been a big goal for these guys,” Valerio said of winning a conference title. “I’m excited to play some more good teams and see how league finishes up.”
The Lobos have a key road game against Fort Morgan (5-10, 3-1) on Friday night.
Conifer's Antonio Lucero (10) takes a shot over Arvada's Quentin Terry. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“It was absolutely scary, but it’s just another game for us,” Studer said after Tuesday’s win. “Just one more to get us to our goal of a league championship. Every game is going to be just as important.”
Conifer left the 4A Jeffco League after the 2015-16 season and joined the 4A/3A Colorado 7 League. The first year in the new league the Lobos had a strong conference record and qualified for the 4A state tournament for the first time since the 2009-2010 season.
Arvada (4-10, 1-4) hosts another former 4A Jeffco foe — Alameda — who is also now in the Colorado 7 conference at 7 p.m. Friday. The Pirates defeated the Bulldogs 74-61 in their first league meeting back on Jan. 16.
Arvada senior Quentin Terry was a dominating force at times Tuesday against Conifer. The Bulldogs’ big man finished with a team-high 15 points. Senior Marcel Sobhi poured in a dozen points for Arvada and junior Isaiah Vigil contributed nine points from his point guard position.
The Bulldogs held a 12-point lead late in the first quarter before Conifer was able to chip away with some pressure defense that led to some easy buckets.
“He (Arvada coach Vernon Whittington) has done an incredible job with this program,” Valerio said of the Bulldogs’ first-year coach. “They do things the right way. I was very impressed how well they played. I think really highly of their coach.”