At the start of this boys basketball season, the upcoming attraction of Saturday's game at the Thunderdome seemed only to be one thing. The focus appeared to be the matchup between Denver East head coach Rudy Carey and his son, newly installed Montbello coach David Carey, who was formerly an East assistant.

During the Denver Prep League season, however, Montbello turned out to be much tougher much earlier than anyone thought. Thus, the game also was for the DPL's top spot and father went one-up on son as the Angels won 81-65.

The showdown was fairly close after a half, with East holding a 40-34 edge, but the second-ranked Angels demolished Montbello in the third quarter, going up by 18 points.

Even so, Rudy Carey was hardly satisfied with how the Angels (18-3 overall, 7-0 DPL) got sloppy in the fourth quarter, allowing the Warriors to close the gap to 68-62.

"What happened was, we got sky-high," Rudy Carey said. "We didn't take care of the ball. We made some bonehead plays. We're working on that. We can't afford to make those mistakes down the road."

Press-breaking baskets and free throws from Jordan Martinez-Doublin and Blake Swain kept East in the lead until the final whistle. The Warriors (13-8, 6-1) killed their own chances at a successful comeback because of errors and rancid foul shooting.

"We had 20 turnovers, that's ridiculous, and missed (19) free throws," David Carey said. "You're not going to beat an eighth-grade team doing that."

The game also was notable for some subdued performances from the stars of each team. East's Earl Miller scored seven points, with zero baskets in the last three quarters before fouling out. Ben Boyd had just six points for the Angels, with zero baskets in the first half.

It was up to non-seniors to fill in and juniors Martinez-Doublin, a reserve guard, and Donell Wells, a starting shooting guard, did the job with 16 points apiece. Sophomore Mookie Gilbert also went strong to the hoop in the second half and scored 14.

Another reserve player, sophomore Demetrius Thornton, had a dramatic dunk early in the third quarter, rising above the Montbello defense to throw the ball through the rim. That dunk followed a nice putback from Boyd and Wells also had a putback when Thornton missed a dunk attempt soon after his authoritative one.

The Angels reeled off seven consecutive points in the third quarter and followed with another 10-point run later in the period.

Wells, however, was hardly in a celebratory mood afterward, troubled by how the Angels allowed Montbello's comeback and his own troubles at the foul line, where he went 2-of-5.

"We came out with a slow demeanor, like the game was already over, and they started trapping," Wells said. "They picked up the pace and we started throwing turnovers. (It was) miscommunication. One time they trapped us and we had the other four guys heading down the court. We didn't have anybody looking to help the press."

As for his free throw shooting, Wells is mystified.

"In practice, I'm the best free throw shooter on the team," he said. "I come into the game, and I have no idea what it is."

Three-pointers from Martinez-Doublin and Gilbert served the Angels well in the first quarter, because East was being dominated inside by Montbello center Zesmond Bryant. Bryant had three buckets and a free throw in the first quarter alone, and added another basket and free throw in the second, along with a number of rebounds.

Many of Bryant's points were set up on good feeds from point guard David Jordan, who seemed equally adept at an advantageous lob or shovel pass after driving to the basket.

But the Warriors also had their main weapons blunted by East. Forward Chris Smith and guard Josh Littlejohn didn't have much of an effect in the early going, and Anthony Porch was held scoreless in the second half.

"We were able to disrupt a lot of what they wanted to do," Rudy Carey said.

Porch was averaging 19.0 points per game and Smith 17.8 prior to meeting East. Together, they accounted for only 17 on Saturday. And all of Smith's points came in the fourth quarter.

"Our top three players didn't give us anything (Saturday)," David Carey said. "We got it down to six and had a mental relapse. You force a turnover and turn the ball right back."

Both teams have yet to play George Washington, another strong DPL team. The Angels have lost to only one Colorado team, ThunderRidge, this season and appear to be headed for a high seed for the state tournament.

Denver East 17 23 23 18 -- 81

Montbello 17 17 11 20 -- 65

DE — Eric Miller 1 5-6 7, Ben Boyd 2 2-4 6, Blake Swain 4 4-5 13, Jordan Martinez-Doublin 6 2-4 16, Eddie Battle 0 2-2 2, Donell Wells 6 2-5 16, Demetrius Thornton 3 1-2 7, Mookie Gilbert 4 5-6 14. Totals 26 23-34 81.

M — Josh Littlejohn 1 2-7 3, David Jordan 3 3-4 11, Quincy Harriston 5 4-6 14, Nate Nelson 2 2-5 6, Chris Smith 5 0-0 11, Anthony Porch 2 1-2 6, Zesmond Bryant 5 3-7 13, Phonso McDonald 0 1-2 1. Totals 23 14-33 65.

Three-point goals — DE,; M, Jordan 2, Harriston, Smith, Porch. Fouled out — DE, ; M, Harriston, McDonald. Technical fouls — DE, Gilbert; M, Harriston, coach Carey.

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