FORT COLLINS — Brady Subart hit the game-winning 3-pointer from the corner with one second remaining to lift No. 9 Mountain Vista boys basketball to a 65-62 win over Fossil Ridge in Class 5A on Thursday.
Subart finished the game with 18 points and seven assists. He hit the game-winning shot after an assist from Isaac Phillips, who had six in the game to go along with eight points.
Ray Beresford led Mountain Vista with 19 points, and he also had five rebounds.
Ryan Quaid’s 23 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks paced Fossil Ridge, which also got 14 points apiece from Braxton Bertolette and Andrew Semadeni.
Chaparral’s Chase Coon played a big role in his team’s win on Thursday. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Somehow, Chaparral boys basketball beat Denver East in double overtime on Thursday night.
Despite finishing the game with four players on the court. Despite 46 points from Denver East star Brian Carey. Despite its own stars, Jake Holtzmann and Chris Moody, fouling out.
“You hear about (playing with four players), but I don’t think I’ve ever seen that,” Chaparral coach Rob Johnson said on Friday morning.
Denver East’s Brian Carey (11) had a big game for the Angels. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Chaparral’s bench shortened on Thursday when one player hurt his ankle in PE class and was unavailable to play. That followed another player unexpectedly moving to Florida a few days ago. So the Wolverines had nine players available against Denver East. Five fouled out by game’s end, leaving Chaparral to play the final 10 seconds with four players.
“There were so many crazy things that happened just to even go to that point,” Johnson said.
Up two with less than 10 seconds to play in regulation, Denver East had Brian Carey at the line to ice things. Carey entered the game 45-of-49 on free throws (92 percent), and was 10-of-10 at that point in the game. He hit the first shot, but missed the second.
“We couldn’t believe it,” Johnson said. “He never misses free-throws.”
(Indeed, Carey finished 18-of-19 from the line. “He’s an unbelievable guard that’s very hard to contain,” Johnson said. “Just unbelievable.”)
Moody grabbed the rebound, and pushed the ball up the court. Holtzmann was to his left. The defender slid over to Holtzmann to try and anticipate the pass, so Moody pulled up and hit the game-tying 3-point shot.
In the first overtime, Chaparral was up two when Moody was fouled intentionally going for an open bucket. A flagrant foul was called on East, but Moody was also whistled for a technical due to his reaction. That was his fifth foul, and so he fouled out with 21 points.
The two teams traded a pair of free-throws. Eventually, East’s Ben Potts tipped a missed layup in at the buzzer to send the game to a second overtime — but only after the refs huddled for a minute-long conversation to discuss whether the shot came before the buzzer. They eventually ruled that it did.
Jake Holtzmann (10) had 26 points to lead Chaparral. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
As the second overtime opened, both teams continued to lose players due to fouls. Chaparral’s Holtzmann (26 points) fouled out on the first possession of the second overtime. By the time the game ended, Denver East also had five players foul out and had junior varsity players playing significant time.
For Chaparral, that meant it was up to Chase Coon. He responded by hitting free-throw after free-throw in the second overtime. He finished with 15 points in the game, including 11-of-14 shooting from the line.
“He had been struggling from the free-throw line the last couple of games and really stepped it up,” Johnson said. “He had a big steal to tie it up, and in double-overtime he kept making free-throws. He just took it over.”
With 25 seconds left, Chaparral’s Peter Wilson had four fouls.
“I said, ‘Peter, you cannot foul, we don’t have any players left on the bench.’ He goes in there and gets a foul,” Johnson said, laughing.
So Chaparral finished the game with four on the floor, the final touch of adversity to overcome on Thursday night.
“That’s exactly what we talked about,” Johnson said. “Not only those things, but there are some little things within our own team that we were battling through and overcame. Then, obviously the situation they played through. It was really good for us. Hopefully it can kind of define who we are.”
BROOMFIELD — Brenna Chase led Broomfield with 17 points as the No. 4 Eagles beat No. 3 Highlands Ranch 59-51 in Class 5A girls basketball on Thursday.
Chase was one of four players in double figures for Broomfield. Callie Kaiser (12 points, seven rebounds and five steals), Nicole Lehrer (11 points and six rebounds) and Maddie Kern (10 points) also contributed in the win.
Golden senior Jason Johnson (21) scrambles after the ball after stealing it away from Conifer senior Dustin Morrison (10) on Wednesday night. Morrison scored a game-high 17 points, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Lobos undefeated on the season. No. 2 Golden scored a 59-47 victory. (Dennis Pleuss)
GOLDEN — Golden junior Nick Capaul provided instant energy and offense Wednesday night in the Demons’ Class 4A Jeffco League opener.
Capaul came off the bench and scored a team-high 16 points, including 13 points in the opening half, to help Golden to a 59-47 victory against previously undefeated Conifer (8-1 overall, 0-1 in league).
Golden senior Ryan Thistlewood (20) splits a pair of Conifer defenders on a drive to the basket Wednesday night at Golden High School. (Dennis Pleuss)
“It got us all pumped up to play,” Capaul said having the chance to end the Lobos’ winning streak. “We were playing a good team and we had a big crowd.”
Capaul scored six points during a key 13-0 run in the first half by Golden, ranked No. 2 in the current CHSAANow.com 4A boys basketball poll. No. 10 ranked Conifer was never able to cut Golden’s lead to single-digits after the offensive outburst by the Demons.
“He (Capaul) could start on this team, but I’ve always loved bringing offense off the bench,” Golden coach John Anderson said. “He brings it.”
Golden (7-2, 1-0) also brought its scoring touch inside the paint early on. The Demons dominated down low with Capaul, Cole Greff (12 points), Kayden Sund (11 points) and Ryan Blodgett (seven points).
Sund scored his season-high thanks in part to three 3-point plays where he made the shot, was fouled and made the ensuing free throw.
“He (Sund) made some plays tonight. The mid-range jumper he made was a huge bucket,” Anderson said of Sund’s final 3-point play in the fourth quarter that stopped a little run by the Lobos. “Once he gets more confident in his shot he is going to be a big-time scorer for us.”
Conifer senior Dustin Morrison provided a second-half spark. Morrison buried four 3-pointers after halftime to finish with a game-high 17 points.
Conifer coach Eric Valerio said he is proud of his team’s progress over the past two seasons, but added Wednesday night’s performance was a bit of a letdown. The Lobos’ 8-0 record to begin the season was the best start in the program’s history.
“I’m disappointed we really didn’t give them our best shot,” Valerio said. “We didn’t play well in the first half at all. We looked frazzled. We weren’t focused.”
Conifer stays on the road to face Littleton at 7 p.m. Friday.
“When you play in the Jefferson County League you don’t have any other choice then to play a full game if you want to be successful,” Valerio said. “All these teams are well-coached and talented.”
Conifer junior Nate Ferguson (13) finds himself surrounded by Golden’s Ryan Thistlewood (20), Ryan Blodgett (33) and Jason Johnson (21) during Wednesday’s Class 4A Jeffco League game at Golden High School. (Dennis Pleuss)
The Demons are set for another solid test Saturday night. Golden travels to Valor Christian (5-3, 1-0) in Highlands Ranch to face the Eagles. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
“It’s a big game. They are a good team,” Anderson said of facing Valor. “I’m excited to go play that team.”
Valor took an 80-61 home victory against Wheat Ridge in its conference opener Wednesday night. The loss ended a six-game winning streak for the Farmers.
Anderson added he liked having the extra day to prepare for the Eagles, a 4A semifinalist last season. Valor is back in the 4A Jeffco conference after a two-year hiatus. The Eagles won the 2010-11 4A Jeffco League championship title four seasons ago.
“I think we can beat them,” Capaul said. “We’ve just got to play good. If we play bad we’ll lose.”
Conifer junior Robert Burnett, left, looks for a way around Golden junior Ryan Blodgett during the second half Wednesday night. (Dennis Pleuss)
ARVADA — Four players scored in double figures as Ralston Valley girls basketball beat rival Arvada West in Class 5A on Wednesday.
Chloe Gillach led the Mustangs with 19 points. Sydney Prey (16 points, six rebounds, four steals), Hannah Weber (14 points and nine rebounds) and Morgan Nishida (11 points and five assists) also had solid contributions.
Kent Denver is off to a 6-1 start this season in Class 3A. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hen the Class 3A boys basketball season began, Kent Denver wasn’t considered one of the state’s top teams. The Sun Devils, however, have turned plenty of heads after racing out to a 6-1 start.
That record is more impressive considering Kent only has two seniors.
“With all the attrition we had and all these new players, there wasn’t much talk of us winning six games all season,” veteran Kent Denver coach Todd Schayes said. “But, they have come together fast.”
Although the Sun Devils are youthful, they certainly aren’t avoiding tough competition. On Tuesday night, Kent suffered its first loss of the season – a 75-47 at Pueblo Central. The Wildcats were ranked No. 7 in the current 4A CHSAANow.com poll, and Kent was No. 6 in the 3A poll.
“We have the toughest 3A league (Metro) in the state so we made a conscious effort to schedule the toughest schedule we could,” Schayes said. “We appreciate the Pueblo Centrals of the world scheduling us. The takeaway is we are young and we are going to need to get better. We are still learning to defend and rebound and not turn the ball over, but you couldn’t ask for a better group of guys.”
Kent Denver boys basketball coach Todd Schayes. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Freshman Stone Delaney is the team’s leading scorer at 11.3 points per game, but this has definitely been a team effort to get the Sun Devils to mesh quickly.
“For this team, the reason why we won our first six games is the camaraderie,” Schayes said. “We have four players coming off that state 3A soccer championship, including Max Mehlman, the 3A state soccer player of the year. We also have Max Gottesfeld, Robby Dunn and Tyler Nowak from the state championship soccer team. And we have Rob Casey and Matt Wells who were on our football team that lost in this year’s state championship game, and we have tennis state champion Willie Gold as well. So, we are a product from coming from winning programs.”
Mehlman, a sophomore, has really enjoyed the basketball season so far. Kent returns to action Saturday at home against Manitou Springs.
“No one really thought we were going to be too good this year, but we started off strong and we play well together,” Mehlman said. “We play a team game. We don’t have a superstar. None of us have really played together before, but we are having fun and we are really getting to know each other. It was tough to lose (to Pueblo Central), but we will learn from this. This was good for us to play a tough 4A team and 3A also will be a good test for us.”
Casey is optimistic about what the Sun Devils can accomplish this season.
“We want to make a deep run in the playoffs and get more experience as we go,” Casey said. “We want to play the best teams we can and I know the best is still ahead for us.”
Kent Denver won the state 3A boys basketball title in 1997 with a 51-44 victory over Centauri.
The Sun Devils most recently made it to the title game in 2012 losing to Faith Christian (41-40) and then they were upended in the 2013 finals to Pagosa Springs (53-49).
“We going to have to keep improving to give the Faith Christians, Lutherans and Jefferson Academys of the world a run for their money to get into the state tournament,” said Schayes, who led the Sun Devils to that state title. “We are a product of completely new kids, but we have shown some signs that we can be pretty good at some point this year and it is a lot of fun. We are not going to base our success this year on wins and losses. It’s going to be based on continuing the success of the program and doing things the right way with character and class.”
Kent Denver’s Max Mehlman (23). (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Travis Peeples, center, is the new football coach at Aurora Central. (Martin B. Hamilton/CHSAANow.com)
AURORA — Aurora Central has hired Travis Peeples as its next football coach, athletic director Dan Lliteras said on Thursday.
Peeples had been the offensive at Greeley West, where he helped turn the Spartans around from 1-9 in 2013 to 8-3 last season.
“We’re really getting our whole program developed from bottom to top,” Lliteras said Thursday at the CHSAA office. “We’ve got a big, big chore ahead of us.”
Peeples emerged from a group of 25 candidates, including 10 finalists, Lliteras said.
“I think probably what brought us to him more than anything was his preparedness,” Lliteras said. “He knew more about us than some of my interview committee people did. Very well prepared. Really focuses on the details. Understands how to establish a program, not just, ‘I’m the varsity coach.’
“He really is genuinely concerned with, ‘How are we going to develop a full-blown program, top-to-bottom?’ That’s one of my big, big pet peeves. If you’re coming in here to just focus and get radar vision on a varsity level, you probably aren’t going to last with me very long. … He had a plan in place for the whole thing.”
Peeples replaces Taylor Calvert, who was left go after three seasons as coach. Calvert was 6-24 during his time leading the program, including 2-8 in 2014.
At Greeley West, Peeples’ offense was primarily a rushing attack, though quarterback AJ Lopez did throw 11 touchdowns last season.
Peeples has decades of other experience as an assistant elsewhere, including in Florida. He played college football and was a quarterback.
“He’s been around the game his whole life. That’s all he’s done is football, football, football,” Lliteras said. “He really brings a lot of experience to the table with what we need to get done.”
Aurora Central is currently playing as a Class 4A program despite an enrollment of 2,198 students. The Trojans dropped down a class due to an inability to compete prior to last season.
Since the start of the 2008 season, Aurora Central is 10-59, and hasn’t won more than two games in a single year. The program’s last winning season came in 2007, when it went 7-3.
Lliteras’ expectation, along with developing what he calls a “full linear program,” is that the team regain its spot in 5A.
“We’ve got a ton of kids,” he said. “If you walk into Aurora Central and walk down our halls, there’s about 2,000 kids in the building. About every tenth kid you walk by is 6-2, 240. Every other kid you walk by has no idea why he’s not playing football.
“I’ve got enough kids in building, if we can get these kids on the right page and get them going forward, we’ve got a lot of potential sitting in that building. It’s a diamond in the rough. All we’ve got to do is get going in the right direction. That’s my expectation of him is to get this program headed uphill so we can get where we need to go, get back to the 5A level.”
The hope is to return to 5A as soon as possible.
“The goal is to compete with your peers and all the other schools in our conference are 5A schools and here we are playing 4A football,” Lliteras said. “To me, that’s unacceptable. But it’s what we have to do to get competitive and to rebuild our program. That’s what we’re going to do.
“We’ve got one more year in that cycle, and then my hope is we’re back up to 5A again. I’m going to petition for that. I’ve got a meeting with (Peeples, on Thursday) afternoon, and that’s part of that meeting.
CAÑON CITY — Jeff Beatty predicted a good chunk of Tuesday’s game.
The Mesa Ridge coach knew that second-ranked Canon City would shoot the ball well.
And he knew that if the Tigers tried to play man defense on his star player, Kylee Shook, that she’d have a big game.
He didn’t see the drubbing coming, though.
The Tigers were 8-for-17 from 3-point land in the first half and Shook scored often, but without a second threat the 10th-ranked Grizzlies couldn’t hang. Canon City finished off Mesa Ridge with a 52-44 score in the teams’ Colorado Springs Metro League opener in the Tiger Dome.
“You have to know you’re not going to stop (dominant players such as Shook),” Tigers coach Dan Heath said, “You want to limit them, and then you want to do all the things you always do to the rest of the team. You don’t want to have so much focus on one player that you let other players beat you. We did a good job of that tonight.”
Shook had 12 points at halftime, but the rest of the Grizzlies combined for only two – a first-quarter bucket by freshman Chloe Welch. Shook ended with 23 points, and Welch scored seven late in the game to finish with nine.
“It’s very difficult (to win when only Kylee is scoring),” said Beatty, head coach of the defending state champion Grizzlies. “We were missing inside shots, we rushed our shots a little bit. That’s that youth thing. Sometimes we get in there and let it speed us up instead of playing at our speed.”
Canon City’s Marissa McIntosh looks to pass against Mesa Ridge on Tuesday.
It’s not a surprise they felt rushed. With the way the Tigers came out firing, the Grizzlies felt they needed to keep pace. Tigers senior standout Nicole Archambeau hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter and Emily Lambrecht added two to give the Tigers a 15-6 lead after the first eight minutes.
“We hit a lot of shots,” said Lambrecht, who finished with a team-high 14 points. “It was weird (to miss) a shot in the first half it seemed like.”
Kaylan Miller hit the team’s sixth 3-pointer in the early moments of the second quarter, and it wasn’t until Kristin Katchmar’s bucket with 6:51 left on the clock that the Tigers made a two-point shot. By that time, they’d stretched the lead to 20-8. A Lizzy McCalla 3-pointer at the end of the half made it 34-14 at halftime.
Mesa Ridge inched back in the second half to make the game look close. Welch hit a 3-pointer with less than a minute left to cut the lead to seven, but even Beatty had pretty much called off the fouling at the point.
To go with Lambrecht’s 14 points, Miller had 10 and Archambeau finished with nine. Archambeau led the team with six rebounds and Lambrecht grabbed five. Miller had a team-high six assists. Archambeau ended the game with five steals.
Canon City improved to a state-best 10-0 with the win. Its last two wins have been against fifth-ranked Pueblo West (67-65 in overtime) and now 10th-ranked Mesa Ridge.
The Grizzlies fell to 4-5 and have now lost two in a row — to Canon City on Tuesday and ninth-ranked Pueblo South (50-43) on Dec. 18.
It was the teams’ Colorado Springs Metro League opener. The Grizzlies dominated the league last year to the tune of a 12-0 record with scores averaging 68-25, and the eventual state champs finished 28-0.
The Tigers’ next game will be against Mitchell (7-2) on Thursday in Colorado Springs. Mesa Ridge will host Sierra (5-2) on Thursday.
