By Michael Hicks
Berthoud Recorder

JOHNSTOWN — Joel Maly led three Berthoud players in double figures with a game-high 18 points and the Spartans won their second straight boys’ basketball game, 53-44 over Roosevelt on Friday night.

“Two games in a row, that’s pretty big for us. Anything helps,” said Berthoud guard Danny McGinn, who added 11 points. “Wins are wins. It definitely brings out the confidence in our team.”

The Spartans (3-3) scored just two points in the game’s first five minutes and trailed by as many as five points twice in the first half before rallying for a 21-18 halftime lead.

Berthoud built its lead to nine after a 7-0 run early in the third quarter and to as high as 11 points on three occasions in the fourth quarter.
Jeff Shields added 13 points, 12 coming in the second half.

After a season-opening win at Greeley Central, Berthoud dropped three straight games in the Fort Collins/Poudre Invitational. But the Spartans have won two straight, including an overtime victory at Frederick on Tuesday night.

“It was the fact that we were unhappy with the way we won that game (at Frederick) that kind of helped,” Berthoud head coach Pete Scheck said. “We feel like we re making strides and that we’re a solid team.”

Vince Pinezich led the RoughRiders with 11 points, nine in the fourth quarter and with his team trailing by double figures.

BERTHOUD 53, ROOSEVELT 44
BERTHOUD 6 15 10 22-53
ROOSEVELT 9 9 10 16-44
BERTHOUD: Danny McGinn 4 3-4 11; Graham Shaw 0 0-2 0; Ryan Barron 1 7-12 9; Jeff Shields 5 2-4 13; Mark Mathiesen 0 0-0 0; Shane Hart 1 0-0 2; Joel Maly 6 6-11 18. TOTALS: 17 18-33 53.
ROOSEVELT: Zach Wilson 2 5-7 10; Tony Predmore 1 2-2 5; Brandyn Hernandez 1 2-2 4; Angelo Villareal 0 4-5 4; Jesus Sanchez 2 2-4 6; Vince Pinezich 5 0-0 11; Dalon Eining 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 12 15-22 44.
3-POINTERS: Berthoud 1 (Shields); Roosevelt 3 (Wilson, Predmore, Pinezich)
FOULED OUT: Berthoud — Shaw
TECHNICAL FOULS: None