MEAD >> Deficits don’t scare Broomfield boys basketball.

When Mead senior Matthew Angelo shot lights-out in the first half, boosting his hosting Mavericks to a 14-point lead at the start of the second quarter on Tuesday night, the Eagles didn’t panic. Instead, they responded with 10 unanswered points to pull within six at the break.

From there on out, Broomfield did what it’s done best all season long — utilized its athleticism and depth from the bench to carry it to a 76-68 victory. Ethan Zufall was able to take Angelo out of the equation in the second half, and that allowed the Eagles to claim their first lead at 44-43 with 5 minutes, 40 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Seniors Will Lapham and Andrew Effland combined for some clutch baskets to push the Eagles out front after that.

“It’s always a team effort, but I’ve got to give a shout out to my boy Andrew,” senior Joey Cook said. “He’s known as a shooter, but he started getting to the rack and that just opened it up so much for us. And then he comes to sink a three, man, and that was just huge. Everyone fed off of that, and that’s what led to our run to the fourth. … Not many teams have the depth like us in the state. Having eight seniors, I mean, it’s special.”

Broomfield enjoyed strong offensive performances from Lapham (17 points), Effland (15), Cook (11) and Jack Wadlington (10) to carry them to victory, while Mead relied mostly on the talents of Angelo (23), and seniors George Hubert (16), Max Windhorst (13) and Kyler Crump (12).

Mead’s fast-paced play and acuity on the glass proved vital to their early advantage, but that evaporated quickly once the Eagles got their legs under them.

The Mavericks trailed further and further behind the Eagles as the second half wore on but sunk back-to-back threes from Hubert and Crump in the final 36 seconds to make things interesting again at 74-68.

Broomfield wouldn’t let them touch the nylon the rest of the way.

“I felt like I just found my groove,” Angelo said of his initial spark. “The ball was coming off the hands right and it was falling in the first half. It helped a lot. Unfortunately, we couldn’t pull it out, but just seeing all those makes go through for our team just built our confidence up in the first half going into the second.”

By night’s end, the Eagles sat at No. 12 in CHSAA’s Class 6A Selection & Seeding Index — which will be used to determine state tournament brackets over the weekend — and Mead enjoyed the No. 10 ranking in 5A. Angelo believes that the loss will only help sharpen his Mavericks for what’s to come.

“Broomfield’s a great 6A team, and we probably won’t see any team like them in the tournament, so we’re just preparing ourselves for battle,” he said.

The Mavericks, now 13-9 and 8-4 in the Granite Peaks League, will host Holy Family on Friday while the Eagles (15-7, 10-2) head to Fairview on the same night.