Cougar boys come up short against Thompson Valley

A slow start kept the Niwot boys fighting to close the gap against a strong Thompson Valley team Jan. 28 in a game the Cougars eventually lost 74-52.

The final score was not indicative of how close the game was for three-plus quarters as the now 2-11 Cougars battled a TV team that came into the game with a 9-6 record.

Earlier in the week Niwot suffered an embarrassing 81-29 loss to Frederick High School, and the young Cougar squad looked like it was in for more of the same for half of the first quarter against the Eagles. Niwot found itself down 5-0 when senior Walt Van Riper hit two free throws with 3:20 left in the first period to give the Cougars their first points of the night. A field goal by senior Stephen Sahaj closed the gap to one point before Thompson Valley opened up a 15-6 lead.

But the Cougars didn't stay down. Freshman Jack Jarvis hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer as the first quarter ended, and a layup by Jarvis on a fast break brought Niwot to within three points midway through the second quarter. An inside bucket by junior Jerek Funkhouser and a basket by Sahaj on an out-of-bounds play closed the gap to one point, with TV holding on to a 19-18 lead.

Turnovers and unforced errors by the Cougars allowed the Eagles to extend their lead to 13 points before two late baskets by senior Rowan Granat and junior Alexander Long closed the gap to 33-24 at the half.

Sahaj scored twice midway through the third quarter to cut the lead to four points, 37-33, as the Cougar defense held TV to four points halfway through the period. Jarvis stole the ball and fed Granat for a bucket that moved Niwot to within two points, 39-37, and Funkhouser made two free-throws to keep the TV lead at two, 41-39.

Coach Clay Wittrock subbed in four players off the bench to give his starters a rest, and two free throws by sophomore Jackson Carano kept it a one-score game at 44-41 before TV scored the final basket of the third quarter for a 46-41 lead.

Free throws by Granat, senior Dev Mudukutore and Sahaj were Niwot's only points midway through the fourth quarter, but the Cougar defense kept the game within reach at 51-46. But turnovers and fouls, including a questionable offensive foul call that led to a technical foul on Coach Wittrock, doomed the Cougar effort. A 23-6 run by the Eagles to end the game made the final score of 74-52 look like a blowout, but the outcome was still in doubt with four minutes left in the contest. Thompson Valley did not win any sportsmanship awards for continuing its full-court press with a 17-point lead and 2:12 on the clock.

Whittrock was happy to see improvement from the Frederick game. "I'm really proud of these kids, they battled," he said. "We showed a lot of fight, but shot ourselves in the foot too many times."

He was especially happy with the defensive effort. "We guarded well, and we boarded better," Wittrock said as the Cougars collected 25 rebounds to TV's 24.. "We've got some young guys, and they're going to be special for us." The Cougar rotation featured two freshmen, Jarvis and Drew Stapp, two sophomores, Carano and Brock Rothstein, and juniors Funkhouser and Long.