(Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

Well hoop fans, it is on now! We had a few No. 2 seeds lose early in Class 4A, but the remainder of the brackets played out well for the 1’s and 3’s.

We expect some shake up and surprises in the coming week! Let’s check out how we got here:

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Week in review:

5A Round 1:

Liberty boys basketball beat Westminster at the buzzer in Round 1. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

• Our Ball Fever buddy “J-Dubb” James Walsh had himself a night scoring 17 points with 6 rebounds to lead Arapahoe to the Round 1 win.
• Good to see Isaac Essien back for Mountain Vista with the wicked 15 point, 10 assist double-double in 10-point victory over Fairview.
• Highlands Ranch was our sole squad to go on the road and get a victory surprising Monarch by 6!
• We picked Lincoln as our 5A bracket buster and Tino Chavez scored 16 as the Lancers got by Legacy.
• FRESHMAN ALERT: JoVon Nelson putting in 13 as the FNE Montbello Warriors roll Bear Creek!
• Performance of the week? Braxton Bertolette with 8 three pointers and 37 points to help Fossil Ridge roll.
• Arvada West held Castleview to 2 points in the fourth quarter and won big!
• Jack Buckmelter 23 and Daytone Jennings 18 as Denver East coasted past Hinkley.
• The Fever Crew got out to Aurora Central/Heritage on this night! We love senior guard play in the tourney and Elijah Coleman’s 17 points along with Ladarius Thomas’ 16 points (including a sweet dunk to close the game) led the Trojans to the win.
• Dan Mohrman caught Rampart’s fast start!
• Dominic Coleman continues to be the go to “stat-stuffer” for Chaparral and Stephen Priest covered them Round 1.
• Palmer advanced and Josh Watt has the photos.
• TJ Clark with the last second heroics for Liberty in a win over Westminster and Matt Matthewes was in the house!

4A Round 1:

Valor Christian beat Glenwood Springs to open the 4A tournament. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

• Vista Peak by 17 over a tough Thompson Valley team and Stephen Priest has you covered.
• Dan Morhman made it to Pueblo to catch Durango move on.
• Long ride for Glenwood Springs to Valor and the Eagles weren’t kind!!
• Dylan Mileto with 29 but it’s not enough to get Mesa Ridge past Pueblo West.
• Windsor meant business as Colton Mclean’s 21 points led four in double figures as they spanked Thomas Jefferson Round 1.
• Mitchell put up a fight but good looking sophomore Courtney Dean’s 20 point, 12 rebound double-double helped Denver South advance.
• Kion Wingo with 17 points and 7 steals for Sierra as they march on over Wheat Ridge.
• Charles Davis (22 points) and D’Evelyn are riding a hot streak and knock off Sand Creek in an upset.
• Vista Ridge has some scoring punch and take down Pueblo Central by 23!
• Colton Bachman with 15 as Longmont throttles Sky View.

5A Round 2:

ThunderRidge moved to the 5A Sweet 16 by beating Lincoln. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

• Josh Watt caught BJ Hardy and Dalven Brushier putting in work for Doherty.
• How about a 20-3 start to the game for Cherry Creek! Jack Eberhard has the action shots.
• Eaglecrest by 16 over Highlands Ranch.
• Clay Verk and ThunderRidge said “take that Ball Fever upset prediction!” and rolled past Lincoln.
• Will we ever stop using the word “balance” when it comes to Regis hoops? They were at it again and Jack Eberhard snapping the shots.
• Lechaun Duhart scored 32 but it wasn’t enough as Will Wittman and Dallas Walton both put up double-double performances on the night for Arvada West who won by 2.
• Seniors Ronnie Barfield and David Thornon with 19 points each to lead Cherokee Trail over Palmer.
• Jack Buckmelter likes it out west as he torched Grand Junction for 37 points and also chipped in 5 assists for Denver East in the win.
• It took overtime and 24 points from Landon Taliaferro for Boulder to take down Montbello!
• Big De’Ron and Jervae Robinson both with 14 as Overland looks fierce right now!
• A 15 point fourth quarter from Sam Masten helped Rock Canyon win the neighborhood battle over Arapahoe.
• A 20-4 second quarter advantage blew this one open for Legend as they surprisingly beat Fossil Ridge by 22! Wow…didn’t see that coming. Monroe Porter with 17 in the win.
• Cordell Gillingham scored 18 but it wasn’t enough for Greeley West as they traveled well but fell short to the streaking GW Patriots!
• Tyler McFarland and Devante Jones both in double figures for Dakota Ridge in impressive 4-point nod over Mountain Vista.
• Ladarius Thomas finished his career with 28 points as Aurora Central gave Chatfield a fight but lost by 7.
• We all know about No. 1 Rangeview’s scoring ability but what’s up with holding Chaparral to 26 in the lopsided win?!!

4A Sweet 16:

Pueblo West advanced to the 4A Great 8. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

• Dan Mohrmann extended the Pueblo stay and caught Pueblo West getting defensive!
• Valor cruised again and Matt Matthewes caught the fun.
• Michael Scheid scored 19 and Windsor is looking good taking down Pueblo South!
• No. 1 Lewis Palmer rolled again beating Evergreen by 21!
• Mead won the north/south battle taking down our 4A Ball Fever sleeper Sierra by 10.
• “THREE”S PLEASE” – Denver South knocked down 19 from behind the arc and junior Tucker Cargile had 4 of them scoring 19 in the Rebels win over Vista Peak. Watch for the Bison next year as they have a core of youth returning!
• Vista Ridge takes down 2 seed Golden behind 31 points from Hunter Maldonado!
• D’Evelyn was on a nice late season run but then ran into Longmont who beat them by 22!

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Previewing the week ahead

The Denver Coliseum awaits the 5A boys for their Great 8 this weekend. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

5A Sweet 16

Jim Baggot Region

Denver East and Eaglecrest tangled back in January and Colbey Ross straight “went off” for 38 points hitting buckets from all over the gym. If the Angels have any hope at making this visit different it’s time to get the ball out of Ross’ hand and not allow him to cross half court so freely.

Balance can be used to describe Dakota Ridge and Regis which will make this one a fun battle. Expect a low scoring affair right down to the wire!

Bill Weimar Region

Arvada West pulled out a close one in round one but allowed Duhart to score 32 of Grandview’s points. They will have MULTIPLE scorers to deal with as they face the No. 1 Rangeveiw Raiders who will have to use a “by committee” approach vs. big man Dallas Walton inside. Intriguing match here!

Nice: the Legend squad who many say haven’t lived up to the potential of a talented senior heavy crew vs. a Cherokee Trail squad who is eager to prove their tough losses this season that were oh so close has prepared them for this stage. The Cougars gym will be rocking and Legend travels well!

Ray C. Ball Region

As previously noted, Overland has just been on a tear since their surprising home loss to Grandview. Boulder has some scorers who can keep this one interesting but who’s going to stop big De’Ron inside? This will be better than expected!

We talked last week that we almost hated to see Doherty and Rock Canyon in the same region. Not surprising to our crew at all that they both advanced to see each other. Someone has to lose and this one will be wildly entertaining. These two have the stuff to beat anyone!

Chauncey Billups Region

This one lines up to be a heavy weight fight between top squads from the Continental and Centennial. Two excellent coaches in Brookhart and Ortiz who will have their squads well prepared. This will be chess, not checkers as the Grizzlies are well known but Creek has the roster to pull the upset.

Two teams that both scored in the 70s in Round 2 games and expect them to produce even more points when they tangle Wednesday. Chatfield went into GW and got an 88-83 win over the Patriots in Game 2 of the season but as we all know this a matured Patriot squad that has seemed to gel right at the perfect time.

4A Great 8

Richard Tate Region

It was a tight 52-46 win for Longmont when they faced Mead early in the season. Mead is playing confident and fresh off an upset of a two seed. They took down lefty D’Shawn Schwartz and are very familiar with the lefty they’ll see this time in Justinnian Jessup!

Mark Randall Region

Windsor took down two perennial 4A powers in Pueblo South and Thomas Jefferson but now their toughest test vs. Valor who haven’t been challenged since the late season loss to D’evelyn which has seemed to spark their fire.

Maceo Broadnax Region

Fully expect this to be a high scoring, up and down the court match as both teams averaging in the 70s thus far in the tournament in Denver South and Pueblo West. The Rebels have multiple ways to beat you but can they corral David Simental?

Guy Gibbs Region

Vista Ridge and Lewis-Palmer have seen each other twice this season: Polar Opposites! The first game neither team reached 40 points and in the second Lewis-Palmer won by 10 at a much faster pace. Jonathon Scott and Hunter Maldonado are two of our best from down south. Hard to beat a team three times in one season but that’s what the Rangers hope for!

Cornerstone Christian hired Reed Doughty as its next athletic director. (Courtesy of Amy Downey)

Cornerstone Christian hired Reed Doughty as its new athletic director last week.

The school announced the move to its community on Friday.

Doughty attended Roosevelt High School, and is a 2005 graduate of Northern Colorado, where he was an All-American football player. He played eight seasons in the NFL with Washington.

“I am excited to direct a program that has enormous impact on young people,” Doughty said in a statement

Cornerstone Christian has teams in football, volleyball, boys and girls golf, boys and girls basketball, baseball, and girls soccer. It has an enrollment of 77 students, and competes in Class 1A in most sports.

“We are very pleased to have someone with the depth of knowledge and experience in professional athletics that Reed Doughty will bring to our AD position,” Cornerstone Christian principal Larry Zimbelman said in a statement. “Reed understands the importance of the role that athletics plays as a component in the culture of a school, and he is committed to the process of continuing to build Cornerstone’s athletic program.”

Pueblo West’s Kenny Tack (5) looks for an open teammate during the Cyclones’ 52-41 win over Durango. More photos. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

PUEBLO — In all three of Pueblo West’s regular season losses, the Cyclones failed to score more than 60 points. In fact, they were 2-3 this season when failing to break that 60-point mark.

But they’re 1-0 in the playoffs.

The Cyclones (22-3 overall) overcame a strong defensive showing from Durango and hung on to beat the Demons 52-41 to advance to the Great 8 of the Class 4A state playoffs.

It was no secret that the Demons (17-8) were going to do everything possible to disrupt the high-tempo Cyclones and limit their scoring ability.

“I think they’re coaches do a good job analyzing what works best and going with it and staying with it,” Pueblo West coach Robert Tyler said. “Once they figured out that we were having trouble with that match-up zone they kind of stayed in it. They came out of it once and went man for a while. We scored twice and they went right back to that match-up zone.”

In order to survive, the Cyclones knew they had to be just as resilient on the defensive end. It was a rough start as the Demons knocked down five 3-pointers in the first quarter.

Orion Clay scored 11 of his team-high 15 points for the Demons in that stretch and initially the Cyclones were put on their heels. But that’s when one of their best offensive weapons in Kenny Tack began to provide a sound defensive effort.

“I’ve been wanting to work on defense a lot and playoffs boost everything,” Tack said. “Coaches said if (David Simental) is having a bad game, the whole team would pick it up.”

Two defining moments came for Tack, who scored 14 points for the Cyclones, and both came in the fourth quarter. With about four minutes left, Terrance Trujillo knocked down 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to tie pull the score even at 39-39.

Tack responded with a big three of his own to regain the lead for the Cyclones and shifting momentum in their favor. But even as the home crowd went into a frenzy, he knew the game was still not in hand.

“We always want to be on our toes,” he said. “We don’t want to think that we won the game on that shot.”

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

As the Demons fought to pull even once again, it was Tack who came up with a key block that resulted in Pueblo West regaining possession of the ball.

It was the kind of play that Tyler and the coaching wants to see out of a guy who is primarily an offensive weapon they simply call “The Sniper.”

“Kenny now has an individual coach on defense,” Tyler said. “Coach McGraw’s job is to stay on Kenny’s butt the entire game. Kenny has been amazing these last two games, defensively.”

And just as they Friday night, fourth quarter free throws became a crucial component that helped the Cyclones advance to the next round.

Semintal once again got to the line and in the final eight minutes, knocked down all four of his shots.

“David Simental is probably not going to break any CHSAA free throws records for a season,” Tyler said. “But if they had a record for fourth quarter free throw percentage, I guarantee he’s probably one of the best I’ve ever seen.”

For the Demons, the loss was a tough one to swallow. They felt that if they stuck to their game plan and limited the Cyclones offensively that they could advance to the next round.

“We executed perfectly,” Demons coach Alan Batiste said. “They did everything we asked. We told them they couldn’t have 16 turnovers at the end of the game, they had 15. If (the Cyclones) were going to beat us, they would beat us in the 50s. They had 51.”

But Durango just couldn’t get enough offense. They totaled nine 3-pointers on the day, but only shot 26 percent as a team from inside the arc.

With the win, the Cyclones are slated to host their Great 8 match-up next Saturday against Denver South.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

(Brock Laue/CHSAANow.com)

LONGMONT — The Tanya Haave Region of the Class 4A girls basketball state tournament has produced the top upset of the playoffs thus far, three overtime games and a Sweet 16 showdown at Longmont High School that was won in extra time.

On Friday, the region featured a 45-38 upset by No. 8 Widefield over No. 1 Longmont, snapping a 21-game winning streak for the Trojans, along with overtime wins by No. 4 D’Evelyn over No. 5 Pueblo West and No. 3 Windsor over No. 6 Thomas Jefferson.

Not to be outdone, Saturday was drama-filled again at Longmont as D’Evelyn (16-9 overall) sealed their fifth consecutive Great 8 appearance with a 68-61 overtime win over Widefield (14-11).

In a game with regular lead changes, plenty of fast-paced play and senior stars stepping up, the Jaguars trailed 19-18 after the first, led 39-31 at the half, went down 47-46 after the third, and missed a potential game-winning three-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation while tied at 59. But their superior playoff experience, none of Widefield’s girls had ever appeared in the postseason, paid off as they played patient and poised down the stretch.

D’Evelyn coach Chris Olson thinks experience was indeed a factor.

“We are very fortunate that we have a real positive tradition,” he said. “We’ve played in the playoffs and gone far, so a lot of our kids have been a part of that culture the last few years. In a game like this, you really need that reserve to call on. They really did in crunch time when they needed to.”

Senior guard Aubrey Sotolongo certainly displayed the clutch factor late for the Jaguars. The team’s leading scorer on the season with an average of 14.3 points per game going into Saturday, was actually held scoreless through three quarters. She came alive in the fourth and in overtime though with 11 points, including a personal 5-0 run to give D’Evelyn a 51-47 lead early in the fourth.

And backcourt mates Lexi and Angi Reed also played at a high-level throughout. The sister tandem of Lexi (19 points), a senior starter, and Angi (10), a sophomore who came off the bench, combined for 29 points—as Lexi’s playmaking skills applied constant pressure on Widefield, and Angi’s standout defense and seven points in the second quarter gave energy to the Jaguars.

“They have a lot of similarities, but they are their own people,” Olson said. “Angi is a great on-ball defender, Lexi is that floor general and directs things. Angi struggled a little bit early in the game last night. She was real aggressive and had fouls. But I really was proud of her maturity today as a sophomore. It’s fun having them. I know they’ve enjoyed playing together.”

The elder Reed, during an ice cold third quarter for D’Evelyn, had all seven of her team’s points, including a big 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the frame. That was before Widefield freshman guard Aaliyah Ricketts hit a half-court buzzer beater to give the Gladiators a 47-46 lead. Nonetheless, Reed’s offensive output helped D’Evelyn calm the waters again.

“The same thing happened yesterday,” Reed said. “We had a dry spell in the fourth quarter. Having that adversity that we faced yesterday helped us a lot today.”

While D’Evelyn was able to secure another Great 8 appearance, the previous four teams had loftier records and higher seeds.

“This season was a little different than the past four,” Reed said. “We’ve faced more adversity this season than any other year. To make it, people might not have been expecting it, but we’ll be there next weekend.”

As for Widefield, 6-foot-1 senior Logan Prater, entering the Sweet 16 averaging 15.6 points and 12.6 rebounds, was a force in the first half with 20 points, but she picked up her third foul with 37 seconds left in the second quarter and only had two points after the break. Fellow senior forward Alora Lampkin finished with 17 points, 13 in the second half, and Ricketts had 11.

“I think our lack of playoff experience kind of showed up at the end, but we fought for four quarters and a couple extra minutes,” Widefield coach Jim Mason said. “I’m pleased with what they accomplished this weekend. We don’t have anybody on our squad, including our four seniors, who had been to the playoffs. Prater would’ve been her sophomore year, but she had a concussion so she didn’t play. For that, it’s pretty good.”

PUEBLO — Pueblo West battled through a tough Durango defense for a 52-41 win and berth in next’s weeks Class 4A Great 8.

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SUPERIOR — Monarch hockey returned to the semifinals with a 5-2 win over Dakota Ridge in the quarterfinal round on Saturday.

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COLORADO SPRINGS — No. 2-seeded Doherty boys basketball got 23 points from BJ Hardy and 21 from Dalven Brushier as the Spartans beat No. 7 Lakewood 78-69 in Class 5A’s second round.

Brevin Brimble added 15 points for Doherty.

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GREENWOOD VILLAGE — No. 4-seeded Cherry Creek jumped out to a 20-3 lead after the first quarter, and then cruised to a 68-40 win over No. 5 Rampart in the second round of the Class 5A state tournament on Saturday.

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HIGHLANDS RANCH — No. 1 seed Valor Christian boys basketball beat No. 4 Holy Family 53-37 to advance to the 4A Great 8.

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HIGHLANDS RANCH — Top-seeded Valor Christian girls basketball had four players in double figures as the Eagles returned to the Class 4A Great 8 with a 68-36 win over No. 4 Berthoud.

Tess Boade had 15 points to lead Valor Christian, Heidi Hammond added 14, Kim Childress had 11, and Madison McCoy scored 10.

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