ERIE — The Tigers landed a massive upset victory over the 5th ranked Longmont Trojans 58-56 in the season opener on Tuesday night. After losing to Longmont 67-26 a year ago, the defense came up big, Kevin Loy hit clutch free throws, and Rylan Haines hit big threes late to help the Tigers hold on to a two point victory.

“We just gotta keep fighting, keep being dogs and playing hard defense.” said a beaming Loy after the game.

Erie (1-0) started off in control, forcing at least eight Longmont (0-1) turnovers in the first half. Kayan Hargrave was all over the floor and had a hand — literally — in forcing many of the turnovers. He had four points in the first half, but it was LaDorian Havard putting the ball in the basket for Erie, as he had 10 points to push Erie to a 28-23 halftime lead.

Erie didn’t let off the gas in the third, pushing their lead to 43-34. The Tigers weathered a Longmont run to begin the third quarter, as Haines hit a three to put Erie up four after the Trojans drew within one.

It was back and forth for the rest of the way, as the score didn’t go farther apart than four points after the three.

The student section was as loud as it’s ever been, especially for basketball in recent memory as the game drew to a close.

They went completely nuts when Loy flipped up a shot that banked in as he was falling to the ground for what could’ve been an and 1. But it was whistled off with the foul called on the floor, much to the displeasure of the Erie fans.

Loy, ever the calming presence, hit both free throws.

“I thought I got it off but the refs make the calls, and we capitalized on it,” said Loy. 

He also took the ball out of the hands of Dallas Dye in the game’s waning moments, and would capitalize there too, hitting both of his free throws after being fouled on his way down the court.

Always the humble leader, Loy immediately pointed to his four teammates on the court for setting him up with the steal. “My teammates were playing great defense and he was holding the ball out and I had a shot to steal it from him. It’s on my teammates for covering all their men, and the opportunity opened up.”

With 2.2 seconds left, Longmont had the chance to tie or win. However, the inbound pass was just high for Ryan Schneider, and Jordan Ngyuen tapped it away to secure the win.

For this Erie team, this isn’t just a season-opening win. It’s the beginning of something new. “This means everything. It’s a whole new attitude this season.” said Loy. “It’s our dog mentality, and it’s kicking in this season.”

Longmont will travel to Broomfield on Saturday night and Erie will host Silver Creek on Thursday.

You can watch the archived live stream HERE. The stream did have audio delay issues.

As for the girls game, there wasn’t nearly as much drama. The backcourt of transfer “G” Gudino, Deb Altshuler, and Grace Moyers led Erie to a comfortable season opening win. Longmont’s free throw shooting kept it closer than it felt, as several Tigers were in foul trouble for the majority of the night, and Ava Welty and Edie Morrow fouled out. Despite the fouls, though, Erie showed significant promise for the rest of the season.

The girls will also play Silver Creek on Thursday.

You can watch the archived live stream HERE. The girls game, unlike the boys game, doesn’t have audio delay issues.  

Box Score (Boys)

Kevin Loy – 16 pts, 4 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl

LaDorian Havard – 14 pts, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl

Rylan Haines – 12 pts, 4 reb, 1 stl

Cole Rademacher – 10 pts, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl

Kayan Hargrave – 6 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast, 5 stl

The Girls Box Score can be found on MaxPreps when added.