AURORA — Austin Conway and De’Ron Davis came on strong in the fourth quarter, combining for 14 of the team’s 27 points to lead top-seeded Overland to a 67-59 Sweet 16 victory over No. 4 Dakota Ridge on Wednesday in the Class 5A state boys basketball tournament.
Holding a four-point lead entering the final period, Overland coach Danny Fisher decided to change his strategy and play more aggressively in the paint.
“We decided we were going to enforce our will at the rim. We were going to attack the rim,” Fisher said. “The refs were calling the game pretty tight, and when people were attacking the rim, they were calling those fouls.”
It worked as Overland opened up as big as a 14-point lead in the quarter. Dakota Ridge battled back, cutting the lead late to five. Despite Overland making just 13-of-21 from the free-throw line in the fourth, the team sank 6-of-8 in the final 41 seconds to seal the victory.
“We’re going to shoot a lot of free throws tomorrow because I don’t see us winning an Great 8 game going 17-out-of-35 from the free-throw line,” Fisher said.
Conway led Overland with 17 points, and 6-foot-8 sophomore Davis added 14. Cody Pittman scored 19 points for Dakota Ridge.
Overland takes on Rangeview on Friday at the Denver Coliseum.
“Coach explained to us that no Overland team has made it to the Great 8 in 20 years. To be a part of that history is such a blessing,” Conway said.
Joe Nguyen: jnguyen@denverpost.com or twitter.com/byjoenguyen
Dakota Ridge 9 13 14 23 — 59
Overland 14 11 15 27 — 67
Dakota Ridge — Antrillo 4 0-0 11, Pittman 4 7-13 19, Flores 3 3-4 10, MacDonald 3 1-1 7, Grothuesmann 2 0-0 4, Erickson 1 0-0 2, Williams 0 0-0 0, J. Jones 0 0-0 0, D. Jones 3 0-0 6, Bravo 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 11-18 59.
Overland — Robinson 0 1-2 1, Williams 5 3-5 14, Conway 7 3-5 17, Davis 3 8-10 14, Swan 4 1-2 9, Jenkins 1 0-1 3, Gibson 2 3-8 7, Stevenson 1 0-2 2, Grant-Perry 0 0-0 0, Sasi 0 0-0 0, Hamideh 0 0-0 0, Lucas 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 19-35 67.
3-pt. goals — Pittman 4, Antrillo 3, Flores; Jenkins, Williams. Fouled out — Flores, Grothuesmann. Technicals — None.
