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Vail Christian runs past VMS

Randy Wyrick
Vail, CO Colorado

EDWARDS – Vail Christian’s suffocating full-court press broke open a close game, as the Saints coasted to a 67-37 win over cross-county rival Vail Mountain School.

Vail Christian trailed most of the first half – down by two, down by three – before the Saints’ full-court press broke the game open – sort of like Newt Gingrich in South Carolina, only without the congressional sanctions and fines and … well, you get the idea.

“It was a good effort under some tough circumstances,” VMS coach Wilton Anderson said.



VMS wore wristbands reading “Taft,” for Vail Mountain School student Taft Conlin, who died Sunday in an avalanche while skiing on Vail Mountain.

“Those were tough circumstances to play under at all,” Anderson said. “The team decided they wanted to wear the wristbands to honor Taft and his family. I thought it was a great idea.”

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Vail Mountain School led most of the first quarter before Vail Christian tied it, 12-12.

That second quarter, Vail Christian threw its full-court press at the Gore Rangers and took control of the game. The Saints took their first lead at 16-14 and outscored VMS, 19-6, in the second quarter for a 31-18 halftime lead.

“We know that even when we’re not playing our best offense, we can give ourselves a chance to win with our defense,” said Sheldon Kuhns, Vail Christian coach.

The only thing the Saints didn’t have an answer for was Vail Mountain’s Sean McKeever. The 6-foot-6 senior center’s turnaround deep on the block was a foundation for the Gore Rangers. And just when you thought he was an old-school center, he stroked a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

Vail Christian’s Kevin Boselli dropped a reverse layup in traffic halfway through the third quarter for a 38-20 lead. Fernando Hernandez followed with a bucket that doubled the Saints’ lead to 40-20.

Gunnar Wilson drained a 3 from the top of the key to make it a 27-point Vail Christian lead to cap a 22-point third quarter.

“Vail Mountain is improving all the time. Their program is making great strides,” Kuhns said.

In Boselli’s first start, he led Vail Christian’s balanced scoring with 13 points. Hernandez and Nigel Johnsen had 10 each, and Zach Linder and Robby Bowles both scored eight. It was also Johnsen’s first start.

Vail Christian improves to 6-4 on the season.

Staff Writer Randy Wyrick can be reached at 970-748-2935 or rwyrick@vaildaily.com.


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