Barrett helps carry Peetz past Storm

PEETZ, Colo. – As Jordan Buss of the Peetz High Bulldogs pulled up his dribble on a fast break late in the third quarter at Carlile Gymnasium Tuesday night, he suddenly heard a loud shout.

"Behind you," yelled teammate Casey Barrett.

Buss wheeled quickly and fed Barrett who nailed his second three-pointer in less time than it takes to order at the concession stand. The Barrett basket gave the Bulldogs a 51-42 lead when only seconds earlier the difference had been just three points.

After a sluggish start, the Peetz went on to defeat Creek Valley, 77-65. The high-flying Bulldogs' record now stands at 5-2 while they continue to lead the 1A North Central with a mark of 2-0. Creek Valley slipped to 3-4 and remain at 0-1 in D1 District 12.

"Our intensity wasn't where we wanted it early on," Barrett said. "But Coach (Jim Gardiner) called a timeout after about five minutes and he got us to start focusing better. We needed that wakeup call."

Barrett, who leads the state of Colorado in scoring with an average at nearly 30 points a contest, was tops on the scoring sheet with 29 points – including six three pointers. Bradey Holtz had a solid shooting night as well with 15. Both Barrett and Holtz played the entire game.

The inside was led by Garrin Cox, who hit for eight points, while Brian Roelle was one back at seven.

Freshman Logan Sircy showed his shooting touch with six points in limited action. Cody Wilson gathered in 12 rebounds.

For Creek Valley, sophomore guard Brett Godfrey went 8-for-14 from the floor on his way to a team-high 21 points, while Roy Koch added 13. Junior Keith Everitt was impressive off the bench as he dropped in 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting.

By the midway point of the second quarter, the Storm held a 29-20 advantage after leading by as many as 10 on two previous occasions. Though the Dogs never led in the first half, late contributions from Holtz, Barrett and Jordan Nelson began the momentum shift. Peetz finished the second quarter on an 8-0 run that left the Storm holding just a 29-28 halftime lead.

"I didn't know what to expect after the long holiday break," Gardiner said. "We were a bit slow to get started, but give (Creek Valley) credit. They executed that screen and roll very well."

Early in the second half, the teams traded jabs before Holtz scored four quick points in a 23-second span. His second basket gave the Bulldogs a lead they would never surrender. Though the Storm continued to battle back, a pair of three-pointers by Barrett and another by Buss kept the Storm at arms length as the third period expired, 56-45. In the third, the Bulldogs equalled their first half offensive output with 28 points.

"This year the coaches wanted me to get more involved in the offense and pushed me to score more this year," said Holtz, who is averaging better than 10 points a game. "When we started passing and moving the ball better, that's when we started to play our game."

In the final stanza, the teams battled to a near draw, with Peetz getting slightly the better of a 21-20 battle.

Godfrey put the Bulldogs back on their heels in the early going as he opened the game with five points in the first 1:01. After Godfrey drained his second three of the opening eight minutes, Creek Valley had a 12-3 advantage. A late trey by Barrett, however, narrowed the gap to 18-12 after one.

The Bulldogs are next in action on Friday when they travel to meet division foe Briggsdale, while Creek Valley will host Minatare.