Arapahoe’s Brendan Till launches a shot against Mountain Vista. More photos. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
CENTENNIAL — They kept pouring in. Midway through the first quarter, into the second. Even after halftime. Everyone, it seemed, wanted to be at Arapahoe High School on Saturday afternoon.
It was the first athletic event at the school since the tragic on-campus shooting on Dec. 13. The community came out in force — students, alumni, faculty, administrators past and present, parents, neighbors — to see their Warriors take on Mountain Vista in boys basketball.
“It was good. It’s the right step back to normalcy,” said Arapahoe senior Brandon Till. “It’s good to be back in our house.”
These Warriors hadn’t played or practiced in their gym since Dec. 12. Instead, workouts were held at nearby Lifetime Fitness.
“Think of that. That’s really hard,” Arapahoe coach Dan Synder said. “Lifetime could not have been more wonderful and gracious, and we really appreciate it, but it’s not the same. We were on a court with two hoops instead of six hoops, so as far as running a practice and stations and stuff like that, you can’t do it.”
“It’s a zoo in there,” Till said of practicing at Lifetime. “You’ve got kids walking around, yoga classes going on in the background.
“Playing back in front of all our fans — we had a great showing — and with our own hoops, our own rims, our own locker room — it’s just good to be back.”
By the time everyone filed out of the gym and into the delicate snowfall waiting outside Saturday afternoon, Arapahoe had emerged with a 63-55 win. It was emotional, and simply returning to the gym was important. It was also a big win from a basketball standpoint.
For starters, both teams entered unbeaten and ranked in the top-10 of the latest CHSAANow.com 5A poll. But more importantly, No. 5 Mountain Vista (8-1) was “definitely the best team we’ve played so far,” Snyder said.
The Golden Eagles came into the game averaging a state-best 85.1 points and 22.1 assists. They feature a fast-paced offense and a high-pressure defense, which averages a 5A-best 15.4 steals.
In the first quarter, that defensive pressure overwhelmed No. 7 Arapahoe (7-0) as the Warriors turned the ball over seven times.
“They’re a great team, aggressive defensively, and that caused us to panic a little,” Till said.
Yet, Arapahoe trailed just 14-13 after that quarter, then stormed out to a 26-16 lead with 3:14 to go in the half. But Mountain Vista closed the second quarter on a 10-0 run, including a layup with 3 seconds left, to go into the break tied at 26. The tie remained following a frantic third quarter, with the teams locked at 44.
Then, as the fourth quarter opened, Till took over. He scored nine of Arapahoe’s first 11 points in the frame as the Warriors went up 55-51. Till finished with 26 points, including 10 in the final quarter.
“He’s quite a good scorer, as you can see,” Snyder said. “He can score in a lot of different ways. He’s a really good shooter, but he … sees the court really well. And that allows him to go to the right spot at the right time, so it’s more than just a good shooter. Tremendous game out of him.”
Senior Corbin Atwell followed Till’s spurt with perhaps the game’s most important points. Atop the key, Atwell drove to his left to beat his man and continued past two others before laying it in. He was fouled, and the ensuing free-throw made it 58-51.
Two-and-a-half minutes remained, but Mountain Vista wasn’t able to recover.
“Maybe this sends a message that we’ve got to get better,” Golden Eagles coach Bob Wood said. “They beat us, and kind of took the air out.”
Atwell finished with 16 points. The Warriors’ James Dalrymple and Ethan Brunhofer each added eight. Brunhofer scored all of his in the second half.
Graham Smith led Mountain Vista with 17 points. Ray Beresford had 11.
When the buzzer sounded, Arapahoe faithful stormed the court to celebrate. The joy was contagious.
“I’m proud of our kids because of their resiliency,” Snyder said. “I made the comment (while practicing at Lifetime), I said, ‘Look, we’re fortunate to be able to practice anywhere. So we’re not going to complain about the circumstances.’ Yeah, it was less-than-ideal.
“We’re really happy to be back in our building, and we just talked about that,” he continued. “Sports is such a positive thing, and so that was neat. We have wonderful student support, kids who really are terrific.”
More photos. Arapahoe’s players rush to celebrate their win over Mountain Vista on Saturday. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Denver South senior Ibrahim Sylla (10) works his way around Green Mountain senior Will Zeiner on Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss)
LAKEWOOD — Denver South turned up the defensive pressure and cleaned things up on the glass in the second half Friday night at Green Mountain High School.
The Rebels evened up their record to 5-5 this season with a 71-64 road victory in boys hoops action. Denver South trailed 40-34 at halftime, but turned things around in the second half.
“The main focus is we felt we were getting beat on the boards,” Denver South coach Malik Fletcher said after the Rebels’ first game back from winter break. “We dedicated the second half to cleaning up the rebounds on both ends.”
Green Mountain senior Tyler Myers, middle, splits Denver South seniors Tyson Purifoy, left, and Keeshawn Gleason, right, during a non-league game Friday night at Green Mountain High School. Purifoy scored a game-high 28 points in Denver South’s 71-64 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
The Rams rarely had second-chance opportunities after halftime. Green Mountain senior Will Zeiner hurt the Rebels several put-backs in the first half. Zeiner poured in 13 points in the first half, but was held scoreless in the second half.
Denver South took the lead for good with 5:05 left in the fourth quarter when senior Antonio Garcia drained a 3-pointer to give the Rebels a 57-55 lead. Senior Tyson Purifoy hit another 3-pointer a minute later to push Denver South’s lead to 60-55.
“It felt good coming off of break,” said Purifoy, who finished with a game-high 28 points. “It was tough being behind coming into the second half. We had a slow start, but we got it done.”
Purifoy and senior Lorenzo Snoddy (20 points) led the way for the Rebels. Denver South outscored Green Mountain (3-4 record) 25-14 in the final quarter.
Denver South’s 6-foot-8 senior Ibrahim Sylla had a quiet 15 points, but had a couple of key baskets in the final two minutes to keep Green Mountain at bay.
Green Mountain sophomore Austin Fritts had a team-high 24 points for the Rams. He drained six 3-pointers and was fouled on two other 3-point attempts that led to five made free throws.
“We were prepared coming in knowing (Fritts) was going to make some shots,” Fletcher said. “We just wanted to stay positive if he knocked some down.”
With Denver South picking up its defensive intensity, Green Mountain didn’t get many open offensive looks in the second half while being held to 24 points in the second half.
Green Mountain senior Will Zeiner goes up for a shot over Denver South senior Antonio Garcia during the first half Friday night at Green Mountain High School. (Dennis Pleuss)
“We’ve got to work harder on screens. We’ve just got to work,” Fritts said. “We had wide-open looks in the first half, but when they came up on us in the second half we needed to run more offense and be more aggressive.”
Senior Daniel Brughelli had a solid second half for the Rams. He finished with 13 points in what was Green Mountain’s third straight loss.
Green Mountain plays one final non-league game at 7 p.m. on Jan. 6, before heading into its 14-game 4A Jeffco League schedule. The Rams will host defending 5A Jeffco champion Chatfield next Monday night.
The Chargers (6-2, 2-0 in league) will come into Green Mountain High School on a four-game winning streak. It will also be Chatfield’s first game since the winter break.
“This is exactly what we need,” Fritts said. “These two games (Denver South and Chatfield) are big for us. It shows what we are going to be going up against and shows what we are made of.”
Denver South hosts Hinkley at 7 p.m. on Jan. 7.
Denver South seniors Tyson Purifoy, left, and Shun Jackson, right, close in on Green Mountain senior Tyler Myers during a non-league game Friday. The Rebels held the Rams to 24 points in the second half to grab a 71-64 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
Nearly every classification is happy with its current format, except one, according to the results of a basketball survey that was sent to CHSAA member schools last fall.
The survey, which focused on statewide and individual classification concerns, had 496 respondents, of which 309 were administrators (athletic directors, district athletic directors, principals and/or superintendents). The remaining respondents were coaches.
Class 1A had 66 overall responses, of which 58 were administrators. Class 2A saw 98 responses with 68 administrators, while Class 3A had 101 respond, including 57 administrators. In Class 4A, 120 people responded, including the 68 administrators. Meanwhile in Class 5A, there were an overall total of 110 responding, including 58 administrators.
The CHSAA Basketball Advisory Committee had commissioned the Association staff to survey the membership on a number of topics that it felt important for its work looking to the 2014-2016 competitive cycle. While the complete results are linked to this story, they have been separated by overall results and administrator results. The comments that were provided by individual responders have also been included on the survey results posting.
(Pam Wagner)
The survey also looked at game limits, the viability of eliminating consolation bracket in 1A, 2A and 3A, championship sites, male and female participation rates and attendance concerns as a means to help the basketball committee look at the future of Colorado high school basketball. Another question was focused on the 4A Great 8 sites and whether those should be played at the home site of the higher seed. Additionally, the committee asked those responding to weigh in on the prospects of a championship weekend, where 6 or 10 championship games would be played at a central site.
Classes 1A, 2A, 3A and 5A show a general satisfaction with their playoff formats, all approving of those formats by nearly a 66 percent to 33 percent margin. The lone exception, Class 4A, showed a perfect split of 50 percent to 50 percent from its 68 administrative respondents.
To get a clearer general view of each classification, some of the findings are noted below. They all reflect the information gleaned from the administrators’ responses. But, to get a feel for all the results, click on the links embedded in each classification below.
The most obvious conclusion in Class 1A is that this classification is most happy with its current district, regional and state format (86 percent of the total like the format). Those taking the survey also noted that 24 qualifiers was the appropriate number of qualifiers and that a limit of 19 regular season games was appropriate. Travel and expenses should remain a priority when developing a playoff format, say those taking the survey said. Class 1A did not believe that eliminating the consolation bracket was appropriate.
Attendance at 45 percent of the classification’s boys’ and 47 percent of the girls’ games is declining, while only 22 percent say that they’re attendance is increasing. While that information is reflective of what is happening in small schools, too, is the declining participation rates for both boys and girls. According to the survey, 43 percent of the schools are seeing a decline in boys’ basketball participation and 33 percent in girls’ participation.
On the matter of the central championship game format, where either all 10 state championship games, or six of the 10 would be played at a central site, Class 1A was the least support, by a 57 percent to 43 percent margin.
The survey results in Class 2A show some desire for the committee to address travel and expense at the regional level. Although the classification is generally happy with its format, 65 percent believe that the format should keep boys’ and girls’ teams from the same schools in the same regions. And, 68 percent noted that a more balanced approach to regional travel needed to be adopted.
Like their 1A counterparts, the classification felt that 19 games was appropriate for the classification and taking 32 teams to regionals was the right number. On the question of the consolation bracket, the responses where split 50 percent to 50 percent with 34 responders taking each side.
When looking at attendance, most schools said that their attendance for both genders has not changed, or was increasing. Only 25 percent said their boys’ attendance was declining, while just 27 percent said the same thing in girls.
The vast majority of 2A responders would like to see a weekend championship event, with most preferring a 10-team championship series at a central site. The second preference was a two-site championship format with six games at one site and four at another.
Travel is one area that the basketball committee needed to address, 58 percent of the Class 3A respondents said. They survey results also showed that 56 percent like to have the committee look at a Final Four concept similar to Class 4A and 5A.
The classification was in agreement that 19 games and 32 teams qualifying to regionals was an appropriate number for both areas. As far as the consolation bracket goes, the respondents noted by a 68 percent to 32 percent margin that the elimination of the first round losers would be appropriate, leaving the third place and state championship games for the final two days of the tournament.
The classification also showed stable numbers as far as attendance, with 64 percent saying that attendance at both genders’ games had not changed. In fact, 26 percent said that attendance was growing for boys’ games, while 19 percent said the same for their girls’ games. Participation numbers for the boys’ showed no change for 63 percent of the responding schools, while on the girls’ side, 28 percent said they had declining numbers, 28 percent said that had increasing numbers and 44 percent said there has been no change in the participation rate for girls.
Certainly, with a 50-50 split on satisfaction of the playoff format, there are several interesting results from the survey that leave much for the basketball committee to consider. The respondents noted that it would be okay to have home teams host through the Great 8 (63 percent-23 percent) or to use large neutral high school gymnasiums as Great 8 sites (62 percent-38 percent).
By a large margin (68 percent-32 percent), the respondents noted that too many teams were qualifying to the state bracket, preferring to go down to 32 from 48 qualifiers. The survey results also showed that 60 percent of the responders preferred 23 regular season games to a game limit less than that. The CHSAA Legislative Council will vote on a proposal that will limit 4A regular season games to 19, sponsored by the Northern League.
As for the questions on attendance at games, 44 percent said their boy’s game attendance has not change, while 26 percent said it was increasing and 32 percent noted a decrease. On the girls’ side, 52 percent said that attendance had not changed, 10 percent said they saw an increase, while 38 percent saw a decrease.
The survey revealed that the boys’ participation rate in the classification had not changed (60 percent) and actually saw an increase for 29 percent of those responding, while 10 percent noted a decrease in attendance. For the girls’ it was a different story. The survey showed that just 46 percent did not show an increase in attendance, while 29 percent saw a decrease. Just 25 percent noted that their girls’ participation rate was increasing.
Class 4A respondents also noted that they would like to see a weekend championship series for all classifications (79 percent), indicating a preference for one-site and 10 games but also in support of a six games at one site, four at another concept, as well.
The majority of respondents approved of the Denver Coliseum as a site for the Great 8 (64 percent-36 percent), but also supported a smaller venue that more appropriately accommodates the crowd size for the 5A girls’ Great 8 (71 percent-29 percent). The classification was lukewarm on the idea of changing the format to neutral high school gymnasiums for the Sweet 16 games (47 percent-53 percent).
Fifty percent reported that 48 teams was the appropriate number of qualifiers in 5A, although 31 percent noted that 32 was the right number of qualifiers. Twenty-three regular season games, the number each school is now allowed, was deemed appropriate by 60 percent of the respondents.
Fifty-nine percent of the survey responders noted that attendance at their boys’ games had not changed and 22 percent said that attendance was increasing. Just 19 percent said they had a decrease in boys’ attendance. On the girls’ side 43 percent of those responding noted no change in attendance, but another 43 percent said their girls’ attendance was decreasing, causing concern. Only 14 percent reported an increase in attendance.
The participation rate for the two genders showed some similar results. On the girls’ side, 29 percent said their girls’ participation had remained stable, while 36 percent said they had seen an increase. But, 35 percent said their girls’ participation rate was decreasing. For the males, 55 percent reported now change in the participation rate and 35 percent report an increase. Just 10 percent said that they were seeing a decrease in boys’ participation.
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The complete survey results have been imbedded by classification for individual perusal.
The CHSAA Basketball Committee meets February 6 at the CHSAA Office to look at the next competitive cycle. If a school or coach would like to provide input into the process, contact the Basketball Committee chair Paul Cain at paul.cain@d51schools.org, or Bert Borgmann, CHSAA Assistant Commissioner at bborgmann@chsaa.org.
If you are not a coach or administrator, please go through your local school athletic director to provide comment.
As the 2013-14 basketball season emerges from its annual winter break on Thursday, we take a look at where things stand:
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Boys
Fossil Ridge started the preseason ranked No. 6 in 5A, so it’s not as though the SaberCats weren’t on anyone’s radar. Still, at the break, Fossil Ridge (8-0) has perhaps the most impressive resume of any big-school basketball team.
Among the wins? Defending champion Eaglecrest, at the time ranked No. 3; Grandview, which has since won five in a row and is now ranked No. 8; then-No. 5 Highlands Ranch; and Thompson Valley, at the time 4A’s No. 2 team.
The start has been so impressive that the SaberCats got eight of 19 first-place votes in the most recent CHSAANow.com poll. They still sit No. 2, behind everyone’s presumptive favorite, Denver East, but are at this point a serious contender.
The SaberCats have three players averaging double figures, all seniors: Brandon Bodnar (13.4 points), Evan Smith (12.8) and Alex Semadeni (11.3). As a team, their 69.8 points per game rank sixth in 5A.
Surprise team: Mountain Vista.
The Golden Eagles are unbeaten (8-0) and opened at No. 8 in the preseason, but not many people are talking about them. Here’s the surprise: The No. 5 Golden Eagles lead the state in scoring (85.1 points) and assists (22.1), and also lead 5A in rebounding (36.1) and steals (15.4), and rank third in blocks (5.8) and free-throws made (129). This is a complete team which should also be counted as a serious contender in 5A.
Jake Pemberton (19.1 points, 7.1 assists) is a dynamic player who led Mountain Vista to the final four for the first time in school history a season ago.
Looking ahead: Denver East remains the favorite in 5A, and the early-season performance against a tough schedule has reinforced the talent the Angels have.
Already, East has been to two out-of-state tournaments and played national-caliber competition. They are 7-2, but both losses came in Florida just prior to the winter break. (The Angels are 3-0 in Colorado, with wins over Cherokee Trail, Cherry Creek and Eaglecrest.)
CU recruit Dominique Collier again looks like a player of the year candidate (21.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 3.3 steals per game) and his supporting cast is among the best with seniors Ronnie Harrell and Jevon Griffin and junior Brian Carey.
It’s early, but there seem to be clear-cut favorites in the other classes, as well. None of the No. 1 teams have changed since the preseason.
Valor Christian, in search of its first boys basketball championship in 4A, already owns six wins over 5A teams.
Holy Family, 7-0 in 3A, is outscoring its opponents by an average of 34 points per game this season.
The 5A girls field is extremely deep this year. Everyone knows about top-ranked Regis Jesuit and its impressive college-bound talent, but Highlands Ranch, ThunderRidge and others should make this a fun stretch run.
Consider that at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix just prior to the break Highlands Ranch, Castle View and Cherry Creek all won their divisions. Grandview and Rock Canyon played in the title games. That tournament draws top teams from around the country.
Defending champion Regis Jesuit remains the favorite. But the list of challengers seems to grow by the day. Among them are teams like Fossil Ridge and Lakewood — both off to surprising 8-0 starts — or Ralston Valley, which joined the most recent CHSAANow.com ranking at No. 10.
(Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Surprise team: Lakewood.
The Tigers did get 18 votes in the preseason poll, but ultimately went unranked until Dec. 13. Now No. 6 with wins over Mountain Vista and Chaparral under its belt, Lakewood has a real opportunity to show it belongs in the top-5. It plays Ralston Valley on Jan. 4, and also has a looming date with Castle View.
Sophomore Mackenzie Forrest has been a star thus far, averaging 20.9 points, 5.4 steals and 3.3 assists per game. Along with senior Jessica Brooks’ 12.1 points per game, Forrest paces a Tigers attack which is averaging a state-best 75.1 points per game this season.
Lakewood also leads 5A in steals (25.0), is second in assists (15.9) and fourth in rebounding (37.6).
Looking ahead: Regis Jesuit has six seniors bound for Division I basketball: Diani Akigbogun (Texas), Justin Hall (Purdue), Kelsi Lidge (Drexel), Neffie Lockley (Howard), Jordan Molyneaux (Seton Hall) and Anna Ptasinski (Lafayette).
The Raiders won last season’s championship. They are ranked No. 6 in the most recent national rankings put out by MaxPreps. They’ve beat in-state opponents by an average of 40 points thus far, going 4-0.
Broomfield is the favorite in 4A. (Pam Wagner)
So, yes, Regis is the team to beat.
Things look pretty clear-cut so far in 4A, too. Broomfield (6-0) has handled everything in its path thus far, and has a average margin of victory of 31.7 points per game.
The Eagles own wins over Sand Creek, at the time ranked No. 6 in 4A, as well as 5A teams Legacy, Ralston Valley and Fairview. They’ve also topped rival Holy Family, which occupies 3A’s top spot.
Regis Jesuit moved up one place to No. 4 this week. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Grandview, Monarch and Cherry Creek all joined this week’s CHSAANow.com boys basketball rankings in 5A.
Combined, the three teams went 9-0 last week. Grandview, which went 4-0 at the Mission Prep Christmas Classic in California last week, joined at No. 8. Monarch is No. 9 and Cherry Creek is No. 10.
There was nearly a massive shakeup of the 5A poll this week. Fossil Ridge — which already owns impressive wins over Eaglecrest, Grandview, ThunderRidge, Highlands Ranch and Thompson Valley — received eight first-place votes, and was close to overtaking No. 1 Denver East for the top spot. But the Angels got 11 first-place votes in staying atop the ranking.
So Fossil Ridge remained at No. 2 spot. Overland stayed at No. 3, while No. 4 Regis Jesuit and No. 5 Mountain Vista switched places.
Eaglecrest is sixth and Arapahoe moved up to ninth this week.
The biggest mover in the 4A ranking was Air Academy, which went from No. 10 last week to No. 6 this week. Valor Christian stayed atop that poll, and continued to be followed by No. 2 Thompson Valley and No. 3 Thomas Jefferson. No. 4 Pueblo East and No. 5 Sand Creek each moved up one spot.
3A’s Holy Family, 2A’s Sanford and 1A’s Caliche all remained atop their respective rankings this week. That means the No. 1 teams in each classification have not changed since the preseason.
These polls will serve as the rankings over the winter break, and through the first part of January. The next poll will not come out until Jan. 13.
BROOMFIELD — In a battle of No. 1 teams, 4A Broomfield girls basketball topped 3A Holy Family 73-53 on Friday night. Callie Kaiser had 26 points and 13 rebounds for Broomfield, while and Bri Wilber added 16 points and eight assists. Stacie Hull had 17 points
The schools’ boys teams also played with No. 1 Holy Family winning 54-41. David Sommers had 15 points, Devlin Granberg had 14 and Chris Helbig chipped in with 10 for Holy Family.
