Too small? Fairview’s ‘exuberant’ guard proves not in rout over Boul…

Myles Moskowitz, Fairview’s slight-framed, 5-foot-10 guard, went up and over Boulder big man Kyle Blauch for a bucket in the lane in the opening quarter Tuesday night.

He put his hand down by side, flat-palmed, as he trotted back down the court — signaling the 6-foot-7, 240-pound center was too small to guard him.

“I just play with confidence,” he said. “I believe no one can guard me. I’m always going at everyone. My biggest thing is to just believe in myself.”

The Knights trust in him, too.

Their undersized, curly-haired senior leader proved the game to back up any “exuberance” he has on the court, as his coach Andre Goldberg puts it. And in his own gym, against his crosstown rivals, the senior shined in a 67-36 runaway victory.

“Myles has a huge heart, is a great teammate and is a dog on offense and defense,” Goldberg said. “He lifts guys up and that’s the reason he’s one of our captains.”

Moskowitz scored 12 of his 18 points in the opening half for Fairview, which led by 10 at halftime.

On a number of occasions in the first two quarters, he attacked Blauch going to the rim, pinning the smallest player on the court against the biggest.

“If I’m to get blocked I can always go back at him,” Moskowitz said. “Always fearless going to the rim.”

Owen Foster added four 3s and 14 points in the win. Izaiyah Romero had a monster dunk as part of his 11 and the lead pushed to 20 in the third and 30 in the fourth.

“I’ll always remember that,” Romero said. “After the dunk I was screaming my head off. That was awesome. I lost my voice, too.”

The Knights (9-7, 6-2 Class 6A Front Range League) have now won five of their last six games and are 2.5 games back of the league lead with seven remaining.

They beat Boulder (8-9, 3-6) for a fourth straight year in front of their packed-out gymnasium — a scene that featured large, rowdy student sections from both schools.

As part of it, Fairview held standout Blauch to just eight points. The junior came in at 16.6 points a game and a double-double average.

“We put him in pick-and-roll situations, we put him in positions to get him the ball where we needed him deep, and just couldn’t get the ball to him,” Panthers coach Matthew Smith said. “When he did get there, some rushed finishes and just couldn’t capitalize.”

The game was moved back to the high school gym after a long run at the CU Events Center due to cost and scheduling reasons, per Boulder athletic director Ryan Bishop. Bishop said the game will be at Boulder High School next year.

Next up, Fairview is on the road at Monarch. Boulder is at Broomfield.