BROOMFIELD >> A Tim DeBerry timeout with 2 minutes and 32 seconds left in the contest while down by 10 points may have seemed ambitious with the way Legacy boys basketball was running the floor against Monarch, but that stoppage gave the Coyotes just the fuel they needed to stage a comeback.

Over the course of the next 91 seconds, they knocked down three free throws from Logan Laverty and a putback from Riley Montemayor to draw within five points of taking over. The Lightning, however, stopped them just short in a 58-51 Legacy victory.

“(DeBerry) just told us to keep battling,” Laverty said. “I mean, the game wasn’t out of reach as we could see. We just needed to do what we needed to do to come back. We kind of did it, but it fell apart at the end.”

The Coyotes enjoyed strong offensive performances from seniors Laverty and Justin Myers, who paced the team with 14 and 13 points. It was Legacy junior Jaedon Ward, who earlier this year broke the school’s 3-point shooting record, who impressed the most with 19 points, 15 of which came from beyond the arc. Senior center Ari Harpring backed him up with 11 of his own.

During the offseason, Ward worked on his long shot six times a week. Going into the contest, he was averaging 40% from downtown. It felt like a guarantee every time he lobbed up a shot.

“I’d usually try to get 500 to 600 shots up for practice, and then get on the gun every once in a while on a Saturday if I have a busy week,” Ward explained. “I’d just rack up a lot of shots on Dr. Dish, the shooting machine, that kind of thing. I feel like my shots are more automatic. With all that time spent in the gym, I felt like my form has become more disciplined. It feels more natural.”

The teams began the game playing fairly even-keeled, but the Lightning always held a bit of an offensive edge, as was reflected in a 28-21 halftime lead. The Coyotes, however, were never fully out of contention.

They pushed through a seven-point run to start off the third, but with every challenge that they presented, the Lightning responded in kind. Laverty was a force at the foul line, while Harpring provided a valuable post presence to keep the ball out of the Coyotes’ hands. Harpring missed much of last season with injury.

Legacy improved to 12-7 and 7-3 in the Granite Peaks League, while Monarch dropped to 10-9 and 4-5. The Lightning will begin their regular-season stretch run with a home matchup against Silver Creek on Tuesday, while the Coyotes look for a rebound against Niwot on the same night.

Both are looking at a pretty secure spot in the Class 6A state tournament brackets, with Legacy ringing in at No. 23 in CHSAA’s Selection & Seeding Index and Monarch trailing right behind at 25. The brackets were expanded to 40 teams from 32 last year.

“I mean, this is 6A basketball, fastest league in the state,” Laverty said.

“The physicality is probably the biggest part. Legacy is a good team. They got bigs, shooting, everything that every good team has. It was a good test for us to see how we match up against this.”