GREELEY – The 1A boys basketball semifinals took place Friday evening inside the University of Northern Colorado’s Bank of Colorado Arena. Merino and McClave advanced to the championship game by defeating Granada and Sierra Grande, respectively. The two will play in the 1A boys basketball championship game at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland.
(7) Merino 54, (3) Granada 45
For the first time since 1999, the Merino Rams are state championship bound following a thrilling 54-45 victory over Granada.
“These boys are playing themselves to men,” Merino head coach Chase Debus stated. “They’re grinding, they’ve been down a lot in games but they’re finding ways to win. They’re a great group of kids.”
It was a chance at redemption for Merino, as the Rams fell in the 1A semifinals just last season. This time, they used the experience of last year to get back to the title game, where they will seek their first ring since winning five-straight from 1976-1980.
“A lot of the guys on this team were a part of that team last year, but they didn’t get the most minutes” Debus said. “So they saw the hard work that it took to get here, and it says a lot about them to bounce back and build off a year like that and get themselves into the title game.”
Merino was led offensively by Kaden Piel, who poured in 19 points, including 12 crucial points from the free throw line, while sharpshooter Tyler Miller added 15 on five three pointers. For Granada, who were also making their second-straight appearance in the semifinals, Maddox Coleman led all scorers in the game with 21.
Granada got out to an early 6-1 lead, but Merino answered back to take a 10-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. They upped the lead to seven after a pair of big three pointers and maintained the steady advantage the rest of the way, taking a 25-19 advantage into the half.
The high intensity battle continued into the second half, but the offense did not follow as Merino held onto a 29-26 lead midway through the third. They closed the third on a 7-2 run to take a 36-28 advantage into the final quarter.
Granada hit a three coming out of the break to cut the deficit to five, but Merino had the answers to keep their lead in place midway through the final stanza. The five-point lead went to eight, 44-36, on a huge three from Miller, but Granada got a quick bucket to make it a six-point game with 3:25 ticks left.
A minute later, Maddox Coleman nailed a clutch three with a hand in his face to get the deficit to 45-41, but back-to-back fouls by the Bobcats, and two freebies, made it 47-41. The two teams then traded buckets keeping it 49-43 at the under two-minute mark. From there, Granada kept the pressure on, but Merino hit the necessary free throws to hang on for the nine-point victory.
“We’ve talked about it from the beginning of the year, we wanted to be here, we wanted to be in this position, and we got one more to finish,” Debus added.
(5) McClave 53, (1) Sierra Grande 35
McClave is also breaking a championship appearance drought, one that is not quite as long as its future opponent, Merino, but it isn’t any less sweet. The Cardinals are back in the championship for the first time since 2013. The Cardinals are seeking their second basketball title in program history.
“This is great,” McClave head coach Jeremy Mallard exclaimed. “Two years ago, we didn’t even win a game, and four of these kids that I have took a beating. To be where we’re at now, these guys have worked incredibly hard and hats off to them. I love my kids.”
The Cardinals were led on offense by Aiden Martinez, who had 16, followed closely by Eduardo Verdu, who added 14. Sierra Grande was once again led by Isiah Chairez, who finished with a game-high 19, while Thomas Archuleta contributed nine. The loss was the first of the season for the Panthers, who had entered tonight’s contest a perfect 24-0.
McClave started the game on a thunderous 9-0 run, forcing the Sierra Grande TO at the 5:13 mark. There was then no scoring until Chairez hit a three just before two minute mark, followed by another Panther three to cut to the deficit to 9-6. McClave bounced back to get a layup and make it 11-6 after one.
The Cardinals matched their first quarter start in the second, scoring the first six points to up their lead to 17-6. They got the lead to 19-6 before Chairez hit another clutch three to make it 19-9. The standout Chairez continued to put the team on his back, scoring the next five Sierra Grande points, to keep the deficit manageable at 25-14 with just under two minutes in the first. After that, the scoring slowed down somewhat, resulting in a 29-18 McClave halftime lead.
Sierra Grande came out of the half firing, scoring the first five to cut it to 29-23. McClave shook off the punch though and drained the next five to get the lead back to 11, 34-23, at the 5:30 mark. The Cardinal lead extended to 17, 42-25, at the under two-minute mark, forcing another Panther TO. McClave held on to the stead lead, 47-28, into the fourth.
The fourth was a physical battle, with just eight points total in first four minutes. McClave wasn’t eager to push the pace, though, as they held on for the comfortable 18 point victory.