THORNTON >> When an opponent opens the game with a deluge of 3-pointers, sometimes all a team can do is watch while it drowns.

Fairview boys basketball felt the burn from white-hot Horizon in a 67-48 loss on Friday night, its biggest of the season by far. Previously, the Knights had only fallen in two overtime contests to the Hawks and Longmont while winning 13 more.

It was just the wake-up call they needed with the postseason fast approaching.

“It was pretty rough,” sophomore Trevor Ochs said. “I mean, everything they were putting up was going in, and I thought our defense, we were contesting their 3s; they were just clicking tonight. I think we definitely have played teams that are pretty good. This team, of course, just shot really well. If they’re shooting that well, I think it’s hard for anyone to stop them.”

Ochs led the Knights with 14 points, but senior Spencer Brown was right behind him with 12 of his own.

The Hawks began the night shooting lights-out from the 3-point arc, with each shot from Aiden Greene and Boaz Wisne burying the Knights further and further. Where the Hawks had fire, the Knights only had ice.

That devolved into a 47-12 deficit at the half. Fairview spent the rest of the game chipping away at Horizon’s lead, little by little, to ease the pain before reaching the 67-48 conclusion.

The contest provided a stark contrast to the rest of the season, which has been glittering for a team that has asserted itself as a contender in a stacked Granite Peaks League. Ochs said that maturity, experience and a little bit of a taut defense has helped them excel under normal circumstances.

“We kind of ran into a buzzsaw and they made a bunch of plays in the first half,” head coach Andre Goldberg said. “They’re really skilled across the board. They’ve got a lot of guys who can shoot, so we tried to take away the paint a little bit, and they hurt us from three.”

The Knights fell to 13-3 and will look to rebound when they head to Mead on Tuesday night. Goldberg believes his team has the mettle to end the regular season on a strong note and garner a favorable seed for the Class 6A playoffs.

It sat at No. 12 in CHSAA’s Selection & Seeding Index immediately following the loss.

“I think our team has really taken it upon themselves to make this the best year we’ve had in a while,” Goldberg said. “Our seniors are doing a really good job of leading us, and Spencer and Toray (Davis) are doing a really good job across the board. They’ve just taken ownership of it. They’re doing a really good job of buying in, and the culture has been really good because of what they do every single day.

“We knew this one was going to be tough, and it’s a good measuring stick for where we want to be. I think it shows some things that we need to do better next week in some certain areas, but I think the main thing is that we just stay the course and stay together and continue to fight.”