AURORA — In his 40th season as a head coach, Ken Shaw undoubtedly has seen it all. So when his Regis Jesuit Raiders fended off host and everybody’s Class 5A No. 1, Overland, on Tuesday night, the coach wasn’t overly shocked about the outcome or how his team did it.
“It was a great win, but not a great game,” Shaw said after Regis Jesuit came across town to beat the Trailblazers 61-45 in nonleague play. “They’re difficult to play, and they’re hard to look good against.”
In an opener on the second day of the winter season, the turnovers, miscues, bad shots and questionable play were relevant, but Regis Jesuit started to kick into gear late in the second quarter and took command after halftime.
Ultimately, the Raiders stuck to their longtime thing — team ball.
“We knew we had to play as a team,” said Raiders senior Kip Boryla, who had 15 points. “(The Trailblazers) have a lot of talent, and we had a good game plan.”
Basically, Regis Jesuit decided to double down on junior star De’Ron Davis, and it worked — Davis did manage a game-high 22 points and five blocked shots, but he fouled out with 3:50 to play.
The rest of the Trailblazers had shooting issues, both from the floor and free-throw line (14-of-25), and scored only nine points 16 minutes into the second half. In all, Regis Jesuit outcored Overland 33-16 in the second half.
No, it wasn’t pretty, as Shaw said, but it was quite effective.
“First game, but we competed hard,” Shaw said. “We tried to space at the end and use our quickness. And we got into the flow.”
The Raiders also beat the Trailblazers down the floor and down low when the game was in the balance.
Taylor Kallsen matched Boryla with 15 points. Geoff Kelly and Elijah Sanford also were pivotal for Regis Jesuit.
Of course, Trailblazers coach Danny Fisher didn’t see this one coming, nor did a healthy Trailblazers faithful.
“Game 1,” he said afterward. “(Regis Jesuit) executed so well … and when you get behind against them, you’re in a little bit of trouble.”
In addition, he said, “I think we said all the right things coming in as No. 1, but it’s a lot for these guys to deal with.”
But not for the Raiders, who were excited about their start.
Said Boryla, “It’s a great feeling. We worked hard for this in the offseason.”
Neil H. Devlin: ndevlin@denverpost.com or twitter.com/neildevlin
Regis Jesuit (1-0): 13 15 15 18 — 61
Overland (0-1): 10 19 7 9 — 45
Regis Jesuit — Ebel 1 0-0 3, Kelly 3 1-2 7, Sanford 3 3-5 9, Staerkel 2 0-0 4, Boryla 3 8-10 15, Kallsen 6 0-2 15, Reininger 0 2-2 2, Samson 0 0-0 0, Ksiazek 0 0-0 0, Caseria 2 0-0 6. Totals 20 14-21 61.
Overland — Conway 2 0-2 4, Davis 8 5-9 22, Swan 1 0-0 3, Grant-Perry 0 0-2 0, Gibson 1 3-4 6, Wang 1 2-2 4, A. Halliburton 0 1-2 1, B. Halliburton 1 2-2 4, Yousef 0 1-2 1, Jackson 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 14-25 45.
3-pt. goals — Kallsen 3, Caseria 2, Boryla, Ebel; Davis, Gibson, Swan. Fouled put — Davis, A. Halliburton, Grant-Perry Technicals — None.
