WESTBROOK — Shots weren’t falling as often as the Greely boys’ basketball team would’ve liked, but that didn’t matter as the undefeated Rangers paired a staunch defensive effort and timely free throw shooting to beat Westbrook 52-40 in a Class A South battle Friday.

The Rangers (16-0) allowed just 10 second-half points. Despite registering only one field goal in the fourth quarter, Greely pulled away down the stretch by making nine of the first 10 free throws they attempted in the quarter, in front a raucous baseline crowd.

“In practice, we can’t get these situations,” said Greely senior Matt McDevitt. “The only way to get ready for playoff games is games like this, where you kind of have to grind it out. You never have this atmosphere with that kind of noise. Between every drill in practice, we shoot some free throws because we know at the end of the game you need to be able to step to the line with confidence and knock them down.”

McDevitt finished with 19 points to go with eight rebounds, while fellow senior forward Ryan Twitchell posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. The duo combined to go 10 for 12 from the free-throw line. Senior guard Jordan Bagshaw (nine points) added seven free throws.

“If you can’t hit free throws at the end of a game, it’s going to make it a lot tougher to close it out,” said Twitchell. “When we’re not hot, we know we have to attack the rim and finish hard, and if you get fouled, make the free throws.”

The Rangers used a team-based attack to jump out to a 19-14 lead after one quarter, as all five starters had at least three points. Twitchell had an impressive two-handed slam after a steal at the other end.

Westbrook, meanwhile, leaned on its backcourt for the bulk of the scoring. Sophomore guard Kyle Champagne connected on a pair of 3-pointers and junior guard Zac Manoogian also scored six points to pace the Blazes.

Manoogian (18 points) got Westbrook rolling in the second quarter, knocking down a trio of 3s. The Blazes ended the first half on a 5-0 run, kick-started by the hustle of junior Deng Jany. After a Greely steal with just over a minute to go, Jany made a beeline for the hoop at the other end and pinned a layup attempt against the backboard.

Jany then made both ends of a 1-and-1 to pull the Blazes within one. After another defensive stop, Jeremiah Alado sank a mid-range jumper to put Westbrook on top 30-29 going into the break.

McDevitt paced the Rangers in the second quarter, scoring six points.

Greely used a suffocating zone defense to limit Westbrook’s chances in the third, allowing just three points in the entire quarter – a free throw and a lay-in from Jany. Westbrook’s defense kept the game close, however, surrendering only 10 points.

“Defensively, we just tried to put a little more pressure on the perimeter,” said Greely Coach Travis Seaver. “We threw a couple different looks at them in the second half, but we did a better job of closing out gaps and pressuring outside.”

Greely held the Blue Blazes to just seven points in the final quarter.

“Our goal was to keep them lower than we did in the first half, and to have only given up nine points with three seconds to go before that last free throw, it was just a great defensive effort,” said Seaver.

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