Niwot boys stumble in home tournament

The 2021-22 season of Niwot boys basketball debuted on Dec. 2 to mostly positive reviews from third-year coach Clayton Wittrock, after the Cougars posted a 42-32 win over Denver West in the first of three back-to-back-to-back games at home. Behind notable performances from senior Rowan Granat and newcomer Jack Jarvis, Niwot showed signs of improvement on both sides of the court, giving Wittrock a reason to believe that the woes of the past might be receding.

"Going into the half, we were just playing basketball against that zone, and we weren't settling for threes," he said after the win, the team's first in four games. "I'm really proud of how we attacked the middle....We had all these makes around the basket, that were either makes on the dump down, or makes on the put back, and when you do that to a zone, you're going to be successful."

By day three of the tournament, however, Wittrock's upbeat mood was replaced by concern. Much to his dismay, the Cougars dropped the next two games, first to Denver North (65-52), and then to Middle Park (42-32), a game that he felt was winnable.

"I thought in the first half we had some really good plays defensively, but we couldn't make good baskets, or even really good choices on our baskets," a clearly frustrated Wittrock said afterwards. "We're still getting breakdowns on the boards that are hurting us, and then there are the turnovers."

While Wittrock was pleased with individual performances from the freshman Jarvis, and junior forward Jerek Funkhouser against the Panthers, the third-year coach is hoping to see a more inspired effort from the team as a unit when Niwot travels to Steamboat Springs for another three-game tournament, starting Dec. 9.

"I'm an optimist, but I also have high expectations," he said. "Last night, and tonight, hopefully, showed our guys that if they guard the way we want to guard, and if they execute the offense that we know will work, good things will happen for us. ...We were making good plays on defense, but weren't following through and executing on offense. That may be mental fatigue, but not physical fatigue. We've got to get sharper mentally, and I think we will. I think we can build on those things."

Funkhouser led the team in scoring during the tournament, with 30 points, including a career high 13 against North. He also led the team in steals with five, and had 14 rebounds. Granat, playing for the first time since the 2019-20 season, posted 21 points, and went 10-13 at the free throw line. Jarvis, making his high school debut, came off the bench to score 18 points. Senior Walt Van Riper was the Cougars' leading rebounder, with 15, and he also led the team in assists, with 9.