LONGMONT — Every time Mead junior small forward Dominic McLawrence stepped up to the line during the first half of the Mavericks’ home Sweet 16 matchup of the Class 5A state tournament on Saturday afternoon, Ponderosa’s small group of fans heckled him relentlessly. They had singled him out.
He made them pay for it.
Throughout the entire contest, McLawrence crashed the glass with ease — giving his team meaningful extra chances when it mattered most — while absolutely dominating inside the paint when he lobbed up his own shots. His 28 points and double-digit boards, mostly on the offensive end, pushed his fourth-seeded Mavericks past No. 13 Ponderosa in a 69-57 finish.
“When I’m in that mindset where no one could stop me, no one can stop me,” McLawrence said. “I want our team to win. I want us to get to that elite eight so we can show the world who we are — 5A, 6A — that we’re ready.”
He quieted the visiting crowd when, in the opening minutes of a tight fourth quarter, he completed an old-fashioned three-point play with an off-kilter layup and free throw, then kissed the nylon with two more backdoor shots in Mead’s next two possessions.
His teammates took care of the rest. The Mavericks outscored the Mustangs 25-15 through the final eight minutes to secure their spot in the Great 8, during which they’ll face off with nearby rival, No. 5 Frederick, under the bright lights of the Denver Coliseum on Thursday.
Just a few miles down the road, the fifth-seeded Golden Eagles rode a dominant fourth quarter to steal an 84-67 victory from No. 21 Harrison.
Behind McLawrence, three more Mavericks stepped up to the challenge, especially after senior point guard Tucker Mills picked up his fourth foul at the start of the second quarter for seemingly breathing on Ponderosa players. Mills, himself, finished the game with 11 points as senior guard Nick Basson and sophomore shooting guard Matthew Angelo contributed another 15 and 10, respectively.
“We’ve been in some fun environments this year,” head coach Darin Reese said. “Our guys have been there and I’m just proud of how they responded. They stuck together. Ponderosa is really good, really scrappy. Fouls played a pretty big factor in that first half — just more reason to be proud of our guys and how we stuck together. A bunch of guys made plays tonight. That’s kind of who we are.”
The two squads began the physical contest as tightly as they could, as one small run from one team consistently canceled out an earlier one from the other team. No lead was safe — at least not until the fourth quarter. When the Mustangs began desperation-fouling with under a minute to go, Basson stepped up to the line to drain dagger after dagger, making 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch.
Call it February Ferocity. Mead will need every ounce of it when it meets up with the Golden Eagles at the Coliseum next week for the beginning of a mad March. Those two teams always bring the fire when they meet up, much to the pleasure of the most die-hard hoops fans.
“I think this is going to boost our performance. I think we’re ready,” McLawrence said. “We just got to prepare mentally and physically.”
