Larry Riley has had an interesting basketball history. He started at Gateway, transferred to ThunderRidge, moved to California then back to Aurora, where he again is attending Gateway.

Riley found his place Tuesday, helping the Olympians beat Montbello 59-46. That place was in the lane, although Riley is only 6-foot-1.

He was the difference in the first half, getting five offensive rebounds and five putbacks, plus a free throw. Those 11 points helped Gateway overcome a horrendous start, when the Olympians committed four turnovers in the first 84 seconds.

Riley's first offensive rebound and follow-up layup stopped a 5-0 Montbello run. He would repeat the combination over and over.

"I like to crash the rebounds and show another side of me," Riley said after scoring a game-high 22 points.

So how does a relatively undersize player who is stationed outside reap the rewards down on the block?

"Don't get me wrong, Montbello is a good team," Riley said. "But coach (Jeff Sweet) told me they just hang around and don't box out."

Riley's work, plus a three-pointer from Curt Brever, boosted Gateway (9-3) to a 13-10 lead after the first quarter. After that, teammate Josh Pleasant took over.

Pleasant blossomed late last season, Sweet said, and is a headache for opposing teams. He gets to the high post and uses an incredibly quick first step to get free once he grabs the ball.

Pleasant said he is 6-33/4, so it's not as if he towers others. Unless there's plenty of help defensively, though, he is too much to handle.

"Coach likes me down low because I'm longish," Pleasant said. "When I get to college, I'll probably be a guard. I don't mind banging, though. I don't mind banging."

Pleasant scored 11 points in the second quarter and finished with 20. Possessed with great leaping ability, he threw down a dunk in the third quarter off a Lamont Gibson pass.

Montbello (7-5) displayed good off-the-ball defense at the start, thanks to the quick hands of Isiah Cooper and Sean Edwards.

But once Gateway settled into a more controlled passing routine, Montbello didn't get the runovers and shot poorly.

Cooper led the Warriors with 16 points, but almost half came on free throws in the fourth quarter, when the outcome wasn't much in doubt. Gateway outscored Montbello 18-9 in the third quarter, as Riley and Pleasant continued to fill the basket.

George Berling and Vince Roybal, did a lot of rebounding alongside Pleasant, and only Gateway's poor free-throw shooting (20-of-34) kept the score reasonably close.

Gateway13 15 18 13 - 59

Montbello10 14 9 13 - 46

G - Vince Roybal 1 3-6 5, Curt Brever 1 0-0 3, Larry Riley 7 8-12 22, Josh Pleasant 6 8-13 20, John Collins 2 0-0 4, George Berling 2 1-3 5. Totals 19 20-34 59.

M - Robert Harrison 2 2-2 6, Aaron Smith 1 0-1 2, Isiah Cooper 4 7-8 16, Roderick Taylor 2 2-4 6, Chuck Elwood 1 0-0 2, Sean Edwards 2 6-10 10, Lamar Cherry 1 0-0 2, Jamal Wilson 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 17-25 46.

Three-point goals - G, Brever; M, Cooper. Fouled out - G, Collins. Technicals - M, coach Carey.

pearcea@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5352