Stopping Terror is tall order

Elgin Fitzgerald's Palmer teammates call him "E," "Easy" and "Bigs."

Tuesday night, Coronado coach Dan Hugill called the 6-foot-8 center "a one man demolition team."

Fitzgerald scored a career-high 32 points and pulled down 14 rebounds as Pikes Peak No. 7 Palmer defeated No. 3 Coronado 74-69 in a Class 5A Metro League game at Palmer.

"We'll try to figure out an answer for him next time," Hugill said. "We spent 45 minutes in practice on him (Monday). But he's just too overpowering in person. In the end he was too big and too physical."

Fitzgerald's 12 field goals all came from within 5 feet of the basket. He was 8-of-10 from the free-throw line.

"We were suppose to have one guy fronting him and one guy on the back side," Coronado center Lucas Harris said. "But we weren't able to get position on him, especially late in the game when we had to go to a (man-to-man defense)."

Fitzgerald became even more of a factor when Palmer's guards began to hit jump shots from outside.

Jo Jo Simons made a pair of 3-point baskets en route to 13 points. Dan Blackledge hit a 3-pointer and finished with 10 points. Point guard Mike Haynes scored four of his six points in the second half.

"We tried to get a little high-low going," Haynes said. "Swing it around and get it into 'Bigs.' "

For Coronado, the loss marks just the second time the team has been defeated in league play in two seasons. The Cougars (12-4, 6-1) lost to Doherty last year en route to the league title and a berth in the state quarterfinals.

Palmer (8-7, 6-1) won for the seventh time in eight games and is tied with Coronado for first place.

"My guys left complacency on the court tonight," Hugill said. "They know that this is a wakeup call."

Coronado led by seven points late in the first quarter as 6-4 shooting forward Cody Blessing (13 points) drained a pair of 3- pointers and appeared to be on his game.

But Blessing became less of a factor in the second quarter. Palmer adjusted its defense and used its quickness to close passing lanes and deny Blessing open looks at the basket.

Coronado guards Jon Carter (17 points) and Curt Roundtree (15 points), as well as Rivera (16 points, three 3-pointers) helped pick up the slack for Blessing from the outside.

The lead switched hands several times in the third quarter. Simons' 3-pointer gave the Terrors a 49-48 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the quarter and they never trailed again.

Palmer, which plays at Mitchell on Friday, has turned its season around. The Terrors lost six of their first seven games this season.

"We feel very fortunate to be where we are," Palmer coach Jim Grantz said. "We're not looking ahead. We're looking right at who's in front of us."

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