Two of the top scorers in the state went head-to-head on Thursday with Jackson Keil and the No. 2 seed Sterling Tigers facing off with Jordan Reed and the No. 7 Manual Thunderbolts in the Great 8 round.
The matchup – both team and individual – lived up to the hype once again.
Needing overtime, the Sterling Tigers secured a 63-56 win over Manual in what has become a close, competitive matchup between the two schools over the years.
“It was a close game earlier this year, and we knew it was going to be tough. It feels good to be going back to the Final Four,” Keil said. “It’s a lot of fun every game. It’s getting loud in here and everyone is going crazy. It’s been a lot of fun.”
Both teams came out red hot to start as Keil and Reed set the tone offensively. Help from Ryder McConnell for Sterling and Davari Outling from Manual resulted in a 16-14 Manual lead after the first quarter.
Sterling went on its best run of the game in the second, showing excellent ball movement to get wide-open looks from the perimeter and good spot-shooting to knock the open looks down. They would score 19 points in the second, 12 coming from behind the 3-point line, to give them a 33-21 lead, the largest of the game.
“Against the zone, you have to move the ball,” McConnell said. “Lately we’ve been playing very well as a team. When we do move the ball, we’re very good offensively and it’s hard to guard.”
The Tigers managed to maintain the lead for the third quarter, but they never put the game out of reach, allowing Manual to stay in it. With some timely shots and late free throws from Reed, a huge fourth quarter from Curshawn Dickey where he scored seven points, and a key 3-point shot from Andrew Coleman, Manual was able to complete the comeback and tie the game to force the extra period.
Keil and Reed went toe-to-toe in the extra period with a couple of drives, and Dickey provided another layup that proved critical. But the biggest shot came from Keil as he drained a deep 3-pointer with less than a minute remaining to give Sterling a three-point lead they would not give up.
“Right when I let it go, I knew it was going in,” Keil said. “It felt really good.”
Keil would finish with 43 points to lead Sterling in the win. Reed had 24 and Dickey scored all 12 of his points in the second half for Manual/
With the win, Sterling advances to another Final Four in program history. This time, the team hopes to get over the hump and finish the job with two more wins and a state championship trophy to bring home with them.
“A big part of it is that we play together,” McConnell said. “We have got good ball handlers and we don’t really turn the ball over that much. I think that is the recipe for success.”
(1) St. Mary’s 91, (8) Eagle Ridge Academy 68
A new team became a Great 8 member in Colorado high school state basketball history Thursday evening when Eagle Ridge Academy took the floor for the first time in the round. Playing with plenty of emotion having finally arrived on the big stage, the team was willing to play the up-tempo style they were going up against and looking to prove they belong in this moment.
Peyton Torres made the first shot for the team, draining a 3-pointer to give them their first lead. He shouted up high on the momentous occasion, and shared a few more moments like that with his teammates along the way.
The moment was special, but St. Mary’s stole the show, rolling with its high-scoring efficiency and fast tempo to win 91-68 in its quest to get back to the state championship final.
Point guard Sam Howery steered the engine of the St. Mary’s offense, pushing the ball up the court every time he could. He showed excellent finesse around the rim to sink some layups in traffic and piled up the points throughout the game. When Howery was not looking to score, he was finding a number of teammates spotting up to shoot from the perimeter, an area the team thrived Thursday night. Cyrus Hernandez and Ely Ferrera were the hottest hands and made five 3-pointers in the win.
Eagle Ridge Academy was able to hang around in the first half behind the play of Torres, Hunter Hill, James Allen and CJ Seifert. All showed their versatility to score from the paint or outside on their end of the court. The energy was able to match the up-tempo style and saw them lead by two early in the second quarter. When St. Mary’s looked to go on a run, they would respond, helping them keep the deficit to single digits until Howery made a 3-point shot at the buzzer.
From that point, it was all St. Mary’s as Howery and company were red hot from the field and ran at will to add to the lead. The Pirates scored 28 points in the third quarter and 18 in the fourth to put the game out of reach.
Howery was the top scorer with 29 points but had plenty of assistance. Andon Mindrup was also aggressive in attacking the rim to score 19, and the 3-point shooting from Hernandez and Ferrera saw them each finish with 15 points. Eagle Ridge Academy was led by Torres with his 18 points and also got 14 from Hill and Allen. CJ Seifert also hit double figures with 10.
St. Mary’s has been on a mission this season to avenge a state title loss from last year, and the win on Thursday puts them one win away from getting back to the final they have been longing to reach.
(3) Aspen 52, (6) Resurrection Christian 35
Perhaps the team with the most veteran experience playing in Denver this week is the Aspen Skiers. Led by 10 seniors, the team comes into the week with an undefeated record and winners by double figures in 23 of 24 games.
Another double-digit win was added to this year’s resume as Aspen rolled from the second quarter to win 52-35.
“We came out strong on defense. That was our emphasis from the start,” Shae Korpela said. “We held a great (Resurrection Christian) team to under 40 points and did what we had to do offensively.”
A relentless effort on defense saw Aspen generate turnovers for some transition points and put the Cougars in a tough position on offense. Aspen’s best quarter came in the third when it held the Cougars to two points, allowing them to extend a nine-point lead to 16 points going into the fourth. Shae and Braden Korpela carried the load offensively for the team, with Braden scoring early to finish with 15 points and Shae adding 16 with a big second half. Leading the way for Resurrection Christian was freshman Ty Yoder with 15 points.
Now the last undefeated team remaining in Class 3A, the team looks to finish the job this weekend for the state title, starting with a matchup against the No. 2 seed Sterling on Friday in the Final Four.
“This is everything that we have wanted,” Shae Korpela said. “We have worked for this for four years. Now that we are here, we just have to go execute.”
(5) Centauri 63, (4) Colorado Academy 51
The only team that was the lower seed in their game and won at the University of Denver on Thursday were the Centauri Falcons, the No. 5 seed who defeated the No. 4 seed Colorado Academy 63-51.
The game was a slight revenge moment for Centauri, who lost to Colorado Academy in the playoffs last season.
The Falcons stayed in front the entire night, taking a slim lead in the first quarter and then steadily growing to it as the game progressed. Mason Claunch hit a couple of 3-pointers in the first half that saw the lead grow to eight by the halftime break. They also took advantage of containing a Colorado Academy offense that saw its leading scoring sit with three personal fouls early in the contest.
Robert McKee and Simeon Woldeyohannes carried the offensive burden for Colorado Academy to stay in the game. They were able to attack the rim for some close shots and capitalized at the free throw line when fouled. In the end, though, it was not enough to take down Centauri. The Falcons rolled in the third quarter to build a lead they could not give away.
A balanced attack from Centauri was led by Sowards with 14 points, Claunch with 12 and Baron Holman with 10. Eight different players scored for the Falcons. Cravitz led Colorado Academy with 15 points and Cooper Quatrochi added 10.
Centauri will return to face St. Mary’s in the Final Four on Friday.