BROOMFIELD — Jefferson Academy, ranked fifth in this week’s CHSAANow.com 3A boys basketball poll, handed No. 1 Holy Family its first loss of the season on Friday.
Jefferson Academy’s high scorers were Andrew Ullman with 15 and Bryson Sharpley with 16.
Austin Brown with 14 and Chris Helbig with 15 were the high scorers for Holy Family.
BROOMFIELD — 3A No. 1 Holy Family girls basketball rolled to its 17th win of the season on Friday. The Tigers topped Jefferson Academy 60-29.
Alyson Thimsen was the high scorer for Jefferson Academy with 11 points. For Holy Family: Lindsey Chavez 13 points, Claudia Pena 12 and Maggie Spitzer 10.
Summit’s Taeler McCrerey. More photos. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
NEDERLAND — This time around, Taeler McCrerey walked away with a title.
A year after finishing runner-up in both Nordic events at the state skiing championships, the Summit junior captured the classic crown with a time of 18:25. She actually led Summit’s sweep of the podium in the event — teammates Ruthie Boyd (18:41) and Christa Gutzel (19:27) finished second and third, respectively.
“My goal was to just ski fast, get the team going so we can all do well,” McCrerey said afterward. “That’s what needed to happen. We needed to get at least a podium.”
A constant snow fell all day Thursday on Eldora Mountain Resort, though it was unseasonably warm even if racers had to fight off the occasional gust of wind.
Even still, McCrerey jumped out ahead of the classic field with a fast first lap.
“I think I might have started a little too hard,” she said. “I was excited, but I calmed down a bit and really just focused on skiing. I played with the conditions a little bit and adapted to that. Because it’s a little tough today: it’s warmer, but the wind’s blowing.”
McCrerey is also looked at as the favorite for Friday’s skate event, and with good reason. She recently returned from a trip to Finland, where she competed in the under-18 Scandinavian Cup with the U.S. National Team. That’s a squad comprised of the top six Nordic skiers nationally in that age group.
“It was awesome representing USA. It was interesting, it was very fun,” McCrerey said. “It was the best in the world for my age group. They’re fast, but I definitely know what I need to do to be closer to them.”
The experience also helped Thursday.
“It definitely boosts your confidence a bit,” McCrerey said. “Then again, it all comes down to the team. I’m proud of the girls. I think we can pull it off. It will be interesting to see, but I hope so.”
The podium sweep helped push Summit — the defending champion on both the girls and the boys side — into a tie for the girls team lead after the first day of competition. The Tigers and Aspen both have 325 points. Nederland, this year’s host, is in third with 303. (Find full results here.)
Battle Mountain’s Haley Frischholz won the giant slalom with a combined time of 1:38.47. Summit’s Anne Parker was second in 1:39.45.
Summit also heads the boys team standings after the first day. The Tigers have 317 points to second-place Aspen’s 315. Battle Mountain is third with 301.
Once again, it was the nordic side that led the way. Summit’s Henry Trowbridge won the classic event, finishing in 16:18, and teammate Cameron Bobb was second (16:58). Trowbridge was third last year, while Bobb was fourth.
Battle Mountain’s Sands Simonton won the giant slalom by going 1:36.06. Aspen’s Luca Woehrle was second in 1:38.15.
D’Evelyn senior Mallory Seemann shoots in traffic during the second half Thursday night. The Jaguars edged Green Mountain 31-30 to come one step closer to winning a third straight Class 4A Jeffco League title. (Dennis Pleuss)
LAKEWOOD — There would be no high marks given out for style points Thursday night at Green Mountain High School.
D’Evelyn clawed its way closer to a third straight Class 4A Jeffco League girls basketball title by gutting out a 31-30 victory against Green Mountain in a defensive struggle. The Jaguars control their own destiny in winning the conference title with two league games remaining.
“A win is a win. That’s a huge win,” said D’Evelyn senior Malia Shappell, who made two free throws with 4.1 seconds left to give the No. 9-ranked Jaguars (16-4, 11-1 in league) a one-point lead.
Green Mountain junior Cassie Allen (3) attempts to break the full-court pressure from D’Evelyn senior Katie Cunniff, left, and Lexi Reed during the second half Thursday night. (Dennis Pleuss)
Shappell hit nothing but the bottom of the net on the first free throw, but had to watch the ball trip around the rim before falling through on the go-ahead free throw.
“The first one was easy,” said Shappell, who scored a game-high 14 points. “The second one they got in my head, but I hit it. That is all that matters. I don’t care what it looked like.”
Green Mountain (17-4, 10-2) had to go the length of the court in 4.1 seconds. The Rams were able to inbound the ball to midcourt and swing the ball to freshman Delaney Bernard. Quickly after Bernard caught the ball she fouled by Shappell. The Jaguars had fouls to give before the Rams were in the bonus.
The referees huddled for a moment to determine if Bernard was in the act of shooting.
“Heck yes,” D’Evelyn coach Chris Olson said when asked if he was concerned the Bernard would be awarded free throws. “That is why I was yelling ‘on the floor, on the floor’ as soon as she (the ref) blew the whistle. You trust in that situation that (the refs) realize it was on the floor, but sure I was nervous.”
The foul was ruled on the floor and the Rams had possession with just .2 seconds left on the clock. A tip-in attempt by Green Mountain senior Kelli Van Tassel at the buzzer came up empty and D’Evelyn players celebrated getting one step closer to another conference title.
“We just couldn’t pull it out in the end,” Van Tassel said. “We got too comfortable with our lead and couldn’t get a shot off. We had some bad turnovers late.”
The Rams went inside to senior MacKenzie Schaller and junior Brooklyn Gaffner in the third quarter to take the lead after trailing 16-13 at halftime. The Jaguars were focused on covering Van Tassel and Bernard on the outside.
“(Green Mountain coach Rudy Martin) is a great coach and they have a lot of really great players,” Olson said. “They were spreading us out because we were trying to cover the shooters and they went inside.”
Green Mountain senior Kelli Van Tassel (23) fights for a rebound with D’Evelyn senior Emily Garnier on Thursday night. (Dennis Pleuss)
D’Evelyn drove hard to the lane in the fourth quarter to score the final eight points of the game to take the victory. Senior Mallory Seemann made the only field goal for the Jaguars in the final quarter. It was enough as D’Evelyn went 6-for-10 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.
“I said at halftime if we had to win 29-27 that is what we’ll do because we are that good,” Olson said. “We just fought and clawed. I was so proud.”
D’Evelyn is scheduled for a trio of home games next week to finish out its regular season. All games are set for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
The Jaguars faces Wheat Ridge (Feb. 18) and Arvada (Feb. 20) before a non-league tilt against Rock Canyon, the 10th-ranked squad in the 5A CHSAANow.com poll this week.
Green Mountain preps for the postseason with a road game at Conifer on Feb. 18.
“Conifer is a good team and we need to make sure we take care of,” Van Tassel said. “So we are just going to get ready for them. We’ll learn from this and use it as motivation.”
Pairings for the 4A state tournament will be released Feb. 23. Opening round games will be played Feb. 25.
Green Mountain sophomore Hannah Hank kicks a pass out to the perimeter while being surrounded by D’Evelyn defenders (left to right) Madison Berres, Malia Shappell and Lexi Lusk on Thursday night (Dennis Pleuss)Green Mountain freshman Delaney Bernard, left, tries to dribble around D’Evelyn sophomore Lexi Reed during the first half Thursday night in the Class 4A Jeffco League matchup. (Dennis Pleuss)
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D’Evelyn sophomore Aubrey Sotolongo, middle, reaches for a loose ball between Golden junior Alex Ambrozic, left, and senior Haley Blodgett during a Class 4A Jeffco League game Tuesday night at Golden High School. D’Evelyn pulled out a 65-39 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
GOLDEN — It was a bit of a throwback game for D’Evelyn’s girls basketball team Tuesday night.
The Jaguars have been know for their outstanding 3-point shooting ability that propelled them to appearances back-to-back Class 4A state championship games in 2012 and 2013. D’Evelyn’s long-range shooting amassed a dozen 3-pointers in a 65-39 road victory against Golden.
D’Evelyn senior Malia Shappell sets up for a 3-pointer during the first half Tuesday night. The Jaguars knocked down a dozen from long distance to help them to a 65-39 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
“We’ve kind of struggled with that this year. We just haven’t shot the ball as well,” D’Evelyn coach Chris Olson said. “I think we shared the ball well today. We made the extra pass and found the open person.”
The Demons (10-10, 6-5 in 4A Jeffco League) scored first with a buck from senior Jessica King. It would literally be all D’Evelyn for the remainder of the first quarter.
Seniors Malia Shappell, Emily Garnier and Katie Cunniff did all the scoring for the Jaguars in the first quarter. D’Evelyn (15-4, 10-1) went on a 19-0 run over the final six minutes of the first.
“I hit some shots early and then my teammates got going,” said Shappell, who finished with a game-high 21 points, including three 3-pointers. “It was a team effort.”
Garnier (eight points) and Cunniff (nine points) gave way to senior Rachel Olson in the second quarter. Olson poured in a trio of 3-pointers in the second quarter. She finished with 14 points.
“We didn’t guard (D’Evelyn) as well as we did last time,” Golden coach Shea Scarlett said. “Today they worked the ball better. They got the open shots and they knocked them down.”
Seniors Jessica King (12 points) and Haley Blodgett (10 points) led the Demons, who gave D’Evelyn a good test in their first league meeting last month. The Jaguars had to squeeze out a 34-27 win at home.
It’s highly likely the 4A Jeffco League title will be decided Thursday, Feb. 13. Green Mountain (17-3, 10-1) will host D’Evelyn at 7 p.m. The winner should come away with the conference crown, baring a major upset during the final week of the regular season.
Golden senior Haley Blodgett blocks the shot of D’Evelyn senior Emily Lusk on Tuesday night. (Dennis Pleuss)
“I love it. These are the type of games you want to play in,” Coach Olson said of the showdown with the Rams. “We are ready for it and I know Green Mountain will be ready for it.”
The Jaguars are attempting to win their third straight conference title.
D’Evelyn had its 38-game league-winning streak snapped last Friday with a 61-57 loss to Evergreen. The previous conference loss was more than three years ago when the Jaguars lost to Wheat Ridge on Jan. 21, 2011.
“We responded well tonight,” Coach Olson said. “I was really proud of the girls for that.”
D’Evelyn is scheduled to finish out its league schedule next week against Wheat Ridge and Arvada. The Jaguars will have one final tune-up before the state tournament begins Tuesday, Feb. 25. D’Evelyn hosts Rock Canyon on Friday, Feb. 21.
Golden has league games against Evergreen, Arvada and rival Wheat Ridge before heading to the postseason.
“First, we have to forget about this one and get ready for Evergreen in two days,” Scarlett said. “It’s a quick turnaround, which is a good thing.”
Golden senior Jessica King, middle, rips down a rebound between D’Evelyn senior Emily Garnier, left, and sophomore Lexi Reed on Tuesday night. King had a team-high 12 points for the Demons. (Dennis Pleuss)
D’Evelyn teammates Cameron Brown (10) and Landon Schoenberger (15) reach for a ball with Golden senior Jake McCormick during the first half Tuesday night. (Dennis Pleuss)
GOLDEN — Lack of familiarity hasn’t been an issue this boys basketball season between Class 4A Jeffco League rivals D’Evelyn and Golden.
The Jaguars and Demons locked up for the third time in just more than two months on Tuesday at Golden High School. No. 4-ranked D’Evelyn scored the final 12 points to notch a key 52-47 conference victory over 10th-ranked Golden.
D’Evelyn senior Ty McGee (1) goes up and over Golden senior Cole Greff for a layup Tuesday night. McGee scored a team-high 21 point in the Jaguars’ 52-47 victory against the Demons. (Dennis Pleuss)
D’Evelyn (16-3, 11-0 in league) holds a two-game lead Golden (16-4, 9-2) and three-game lead over Green Mountain (11-8, 8-3) with three conference games left for the three top teams in 4A Jeffco.
Despite all but wrapping up its third straight league crown Tuesday, the Jaguars want to sweep the conference for a third consecutive season.
“Green Mountain and Wheat Ridge both gave us fits,” D’Evelyn coach Troy Pachner said about the Jaguars’ two upcoming league opponents. “We aren’t resting on our laurels. Our plan is to win each league game we play. Maybe it’s mathematically tough for other people to win league, but we’ll take care of business as we go.”
D’Evelyn has reeled off 38 straight 4A Jeffco League victories dating back to the 2010-11 season. The Jaguars’ last conference loss was just over three years ago to Valor Christian on Feb. 10, 2011.
“It definitely makes us feel good,” D’Evelyn senior Ty McGee said of the Jaguars closing in on another league title. “Our first chapter is getting league, but we have some greater goals.”
The goal Tuesday night was figure out away to slow down Golden sophomore Ryan Blodgett. The sophomore was dominating down low pouring in 25 points through three quarters.
“(Blodgett) went off for 16 points in the first half,” said McGee, who led the way for D’Evelyn with 21 points. He was our key kid to focus on in the second half.”
Blodgett, McGee and D’Evelyn junior Gant Witherspoon (15 points) were putting on a scoring clinic through the first three quarters. The trio combined for 59 points going into the fourth quarter with Golden leading 40-39.
The Demons actually took its biggest lead of the game at 47-40 after back-to-back 3-pointers from senior Jake McCormick and a made free throw from junior Ryan Thistlewood with 5:41 left in the fourth quarter. It would be the final points of the night for Golden.
D’Evelyn answered seconds later with a 3-pointer from Nate Flack, who has just recently returned to the court from injury. Flack’s 3-pointer started a 12-0 run for the Jaguars to end the game.
“You hold a high scoring team to 52 points you should have a chance to win the basketball game,” Golden coach John Anderson said. “We got some pretty good looks. Nothing went in.”
Golden junior Phil Katzman (11) has his path to the basket blocked by D’Evelyn junior Grant Witherspoon (24) on Tuesday night. (Dennis Pleuss)
McGee made a pair of free throws with 4:50 left in the game to pull the Jaguars within 47-45. D’Evelyn took the lead for good on a 3-point play from senior Brian Smith with 4:33 remaining.
Junior Christian Denton stepped up in the final minute on both ends of the floor for D’Evelyn. Denton went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final minute and also came up with a huge steal on a Golden inbounce pass intended for Blodgett.
“I really respect Christian Denton,” Pachner said. “He nailed the game with four straight free throws. Then the steal, he really made a play there to get it done.”
Golden had one final shot to send the game into overtime, but McCormick’s 3-pointer was off the mark and Denton grabbed the rebound.
The top two teams in 4A Jeffco split their previous two meetings. Golden defeated D’Evelyn 77-67 in the D’Evelyn/Golden Preview Classic tournament final in early December. The Jaguars answered with a 68-50 win over the Demons on Jan. 10 in the first of two conference battles.
“Golden is a great team,” Pachner said. “I thought Blodgett was outstanding all night. We had no answer for him.”
Golden closes out its regular season with home games against Evergreen (Thursday) and Arvada (Feb. 19) before wrapping up on the road against rival Wheat Ridge (Feb. 21).
“The big thing right now is we have to bounce back and bounce back quickly,” Anderson said. “We can’t have a hangover effect. Right now it’s about positioning ourselves for the playoffs.”
The 4A boys basketball state tournament begins Wednesday, Feb. 26.
Golden sophomore Nick Capaul (34) snags a rebound away from D’Evelyn sophomore Landon Schoenberger (15) during the first half Tuesday night at Golden High School. (Dennis Pleuss)Golden sophomore Ryan Blodgett, middle, tries to get a grip on a rebound between D’Evelyn juniors Christian Denton (21) and Grant Witherspoon (24) on Tuesday night. Blodgett had a game-high 25 points, but it wasn’t enough as D’Evelyn scored its 38th straight league victory, 52-47. (Dennis Pleuss)