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Metro, Burgess get defensive in victory
Carrington scores 23 in conference win and look to RMAC tourney
By Eric Lansing
lansing@mscd.edu

Photo by Amie Cribley • acribley@mscd.edu Metro guard Terrell Burgess, center, drives to the lane on Mines forward Clayton Moores in the Roadrunners’ 81-71 win over the Orediggers. Burgess was named RMAC Defensive Player of the Year before the game.

Metro’s ninth-ranked men’s basketball team proved once again that they are the powerhouse of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, and serious Division II contenders, with an 81-71 victory over the Colorado School of Mines Feb. 24 at Volk Gymnasium in Golden.

Ten Metro players had at least two points and three players scored in double figures, including guard Marquise Carrington, who had 23 points with 12 coming from the free-throw line.

Metro, which had already clinched a first-round home game in the RMAC tournament, had nothing to play for, but the Orediggers needed the win to clinch the last seed in the tournament. With the gymnasium filled to capacity, Mines was ready to put their best foot forward as they jumped out to a great start against the nationally ranked ’Runners.

Metro’s defense, which is second in the conference in scoring defense allowing only 66.7 points per game, came out flat in the first half, allowing the Orediggers to score 37 first-half points and shot 52.2 percent from the field. The Orediggers also connected on five of 10 attempts from the 3-point arc.

Mines senior forward Ian Elseth, playing his last game as an ’Digger, scored 10 of his game-high 27 points in the first half to help his team keep pace with the ’Runners.

“The biggest thing was our ball pressure,” Metro head coach Brannon Hays said. “We tried to play the ball stronger and to play above our man … once that clicked over, we started turning (Mines) over.”

Metro was clinging to a 39-37 lead at the half and according to Carrington, Hays really let them have it in the locker room.

“Coach ripped into us at halftime,” Carrington said. “He said our defense was lackluster and we had to pick it up, so that’s what we needed to do.”

Right out of halftime, Elseth tied the game with a layup off an assist from forward Davey Iverson. Elseth had three layups in the first half and put the game on his shoulders.

But then Metro caught fire, going on an 18-6 run that gave them a 12-point lead. The run began and ended with 3-pointers from 6-foot-6-inch forward and senior captain Michael Bahl. Bahl, who leads the team with 15.9 ppg, only scored three points in the first half but came up big to put Metro ahead by double digits.

Mines trimmed the lead to seven points on four separate occasions, but the Roadrunners had answers every time, including eight points down the stretch by Carrington. He was also clutch from the free-throw line, shooting 6-of-8.

To go along with his 23 points, Carrington added four assists, two rebounds and four steals. He was the man Hays went to when the offense struggled and turned to the “spread” offensive play. Carrington would have the ball at the top of the key while the rest of his team positioned themselves at the 3-point line to “spread out” the defense.

Carrington then either buried the 3-pointer, drove the lane for the easy layup, or, when the defense collapsed onto him, dished the ball to an open teammate. Mines’ guards couldn’t get a grip on Carrington’s quickness and the “spread” eventually panned out for Metro.

“We knew we had a quickness advantage with me and Terrell,” Carrington said. “We just tried to use that to our advantage, go spread, pitch and kick, and work with our shooters.”

Earlier in the day, Carrington’s fellow guard Terrell Burgess was named Defensive Player of the Year in the RMAC. In the game against Mines, Burgess had three steals and did a great job of holding the Orediggers’ starting guards to only eight points in the crucial second half.

Hays said he challenged Burgess in the Mines game and he really stepped it up. He added that when Burgess is on the court, he adds that burst of energy that makes their defense go.

With the win, Metro finishes the regular season with a 24-3 overall record and a 17-2 record in the conference.

Metro has been at the top of the RMAC standings since the beginning of the season and their win versus Mines made them the regular-season conference champions and gave them the No. 1 seed in the RMAC tournament.

The Roadrunners will host their first-round game against No. 8-seeded Colorado Christian, who jumped over Mines to gain the final slot in the tournament. Metro has beaten the Cougars 26 straight times dating back to the 1994-95 season, including two wins this season.

“We’ll hopefully step it up another level,” Burgess said about the upcoming game, “but still stay poised and do what we usually do.”