AURORA — A subgroup of the volleyball committee has been hard at work examining the current format of the sport’s state tournament.

The subcommittee was tasked with formulating thoughts and ideas, and exploring whether the current format was the best option. As part of that, they’ve crafted a proposal to have a bracket replace the current pool play setup.

This proposal, which keeps the number of state qualifiers at 12 per class, will be discussed and likely voted on by the volleyball committee at its next meeting, which will come in November. But, prior to that, they’re seeking feedback from member schools.

If the volleyball committee does forward the proposal, it would be voted on by the Legislative Council at its January 2018 meeting. If approved there, it could potentially be implemented for the fall 2018 season.

What follows is the proposal itself, including background, rationale and an example bracket. It was created entirely by the subcommittee.

The subcommittee is seeking feedback from school personnel, including coaches and administrators. That feedback may be directed to Caleb Howard at choward@rcschool.org.

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CHSAA volleyball state format proposal

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Background: Over the course of a few months, a volleyball subcommittee met to take a look at the current state format. The subcommittee was made up of a mix of coaches and athletic directors from all different sized schools in various locations around the state.

The goal of the subcommittee was to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the current state format to decide if there was a format that would be better for the schools, fans, coaches, and especially the players. With that goal in mind, the subcommittee started with a list of pros and cons and then explored many different format options to see which would contain the most strengths while also eliminating the most weaknesses.

Rationale: The subcommittee set out to find a format that would meet several characteristics.

• Keeping all 5 classes playing at the same location
• Keeping all 5 classes playing the finals at the same time
• Keeping the number of teams at the state tournament at 12
• Keeping all 12 teams playing multiple matches on multiple days
• Eliminating matches between teams who are already eliminated
• Eliminating tiebreaker matches
• Creating a Saturday schedule that keeps the number of matches realistic for teams playing in the championship
• Creating a Saturday schedule that will ensure that Championship matches begin on time
• Creating a schedule that is simpler for fans to understand and easier to predict for game times

It should be mentioned that while all of these characteristics were important, the most emphasis was given to Saturday’s schedule. The last two years there have been limited tiebreakers and yet the championship match has still had to be pushed back. If there is a year of several tiebreakers, the starting time for the championship matches would have to start at an unrealistic time.

The Proposal:

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

It was very difficult to find a format that would meet all of the criteria listed above. After exploring several options that included pool play, single elimination brackets, consolation brackets, and double elimination brackets, the format on which the committee settled was one called an Olympic Crossover Bracket. Essentially, it is a double elimination bracket that becomes single elimination bracket once teams reach the semifinals. A copy of the bracket is available below, or by clicking here.

This format offers numerous advantages. The biggest change to the state tournament would come in the fact that this bracket requires 21 matches to complete (the current format has 15). Therefore, the state tournament would become a 3-day tournament taking place on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Details of the bracket:

• 12 teams from each classification would qualify for state. Note: Regionals will remain the same pool play format (3A-5A: 12 regional winners, 1A-2A: 8 regional winners + 4 wildcards).
• The top 4 seeds get a bye to the second round.
• Every team is guaranteed at least two matches.
• When a team loses, they are moved from the Winner’s Bracket to the Contender’s Bracket.
• The semifinals will be made up of 2 teams who win their portion of the Winner’s Bracket and 2 teams who win their portion of the Contender’s Bracket.
• Once the semifinals begin, and a team loses, it is out of the bracket.

Schedule

Thursday

• 8 a.m.: Match A
• 9:30 a.m.: Match B
• 11 a.m.: Match C
• 12:30 a.m.: Match D
• 2 p.m.: Match E
• 3:30 p.m.: Match F
• 5 p.m.: Match G
• 6:30 p.m.: Match H

Friday

• 8:00 Match I
• 9:30 Match J
• 11:00 Match K
• 12:30 Match L
• 2:00 Match M
• 3:30 Match N
• 5:00 Match O
• 6:30 Match P

Saturday

• 8 a.m.: Match Q
• 9:30 a.m.: Match R
• 12 p.m.: Semifinal No. 1
• 2 p.m.: Semifinal No. 2
• 6 p.m.: Finals

Strengths of this format

• Every team is guaranteed to play at least two matches. Every team will play on Thursday and Friday, and only the final 6 will play on Saturday.
• Every team has the ability to lose one match (before the semifinals) and still come back and win it all. This is different than pool play in which most teams who lose a match are eliminated. The advantage of offering this double elimination is that even if a team gets a “bad draw” on their seeding from RPI, they still have the ability to play it out at state.
• Adding a third day will increase overall attendance, and therefore revenue, for the tournament.
• The schedule for Saturday is very open and simple. With only 5 matches and no chance of a tiebreaker, the finals are sure to start on time. Additionally, teams will be able to have a longer break between matches and longer warmup times on the court, encouraging a higher level of play in the final 3 matches.

Summary

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

This new format is certainly a change from the current pool play format. However, this new format adds a new level of excitement and comeback ability for all the teams. Additionally, there are no longer any matches between eliminated teams, thus ensuring that every one of the 21 matches will be meaningful.

The biggest change is undoubtedly the addition of a third day. There is obviously an added cost for getting the Coliseum for another day, but that should easily be offset by increased attendance. There will also be an additional cost to most teams to spend one more night in Denver.

However, the many advantages of this format really seem to outweigh the additional costs. Plus, there are already several sports that conduct their state tournament across 3 days (boys and girls basketball, boys and girls track, boys and girls tennis, wrestling, etc.).

Overall, this format would provide a healthy change to current format. There are so many great things about the CHSAA State Volleyball tournament already, and this change would simply enhance the atmosphere, experience, and competition of the tournament.

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Sample bracket

Download: PDF

https://old.chsaanow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/new-proposed-bracket.pdf

(Bud Ozzello/CHSAANow.com)

Tickets to hockey’s Frozen Four games are on sale now, and they can be used toward redemption of a ticket to a Colorado Avalanche game.

The Frozen Four — hosted by the Avalanche — begins with the semifinals on Friday, which this year pit Regis Jesuit against Resurrection Christian at 5 p.m., and Monarch against Cherry Creek at 7:30 p.m.

The winners will advance to the state championship game on Monday at 6 p.m.

All games will be played at the University of Denver’s Magness Arena.

Tickets are available at Avstix.com/FrozenFour2017. Prices are $13 for students and $14 for adults, and include free parking for the Frozen Four at DU.

Tickets will be available at the Magness Arena box office only on the day of the event.

One ticket to an Avalanche game can be redeemed for every two Frozen Four tickets purchased. Tickets to both the semifinals and final can be combined for a redemption.

Avalanche games available for ticket redemption are the following:

• Carolina Hurricanes (3/7, 7 p.m.)
• New Jersey Devils (3/9, 7 p.m.)
• St. Louis Blues (3/21, 7 p.m.)
• Edmonton Oilers (3/23, 7 p.m.)

The ticket redemption information will be communicated via email on March 4.

For more information, contact 303-615-6825 or Amateur.Hockey@TeamKSE.com.

Aspen’s Kennidy Quist is the 3A girls swimmer of the year. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

The 2017 all-state girls swimming teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.

These teams were created based upon results at the state meet.

Swimmers of the year were selected based upon the number of team points they produced at the state meet. This means that they received the full amount of team points from individual events they swam in, as well as one-fourth of the total points earned by the team in relays they swam in.

Finally, in order to be considered for swimmer of the year, athletes must first have made the all-state team by winning in a championship.

Divers of the year were selected by finish at the state meet, as were coaches of the year.

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Class 5A

Swimmers of the year: Kylee Alons, Fossil Ridge; Zoe Bartel, Fossil Ridge

Diver of the year: Lexie Barker, Douglas County

Coach of the year: Carolyn Fries, Fossil Ridge

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Class 4A

Swimmer of the year: Cat Wright, Cheyenne Mountain

Diver of the year: Izzi Mroz, Valor Christian

Coach of the year: Kate Doane, Cheyenne Mountain

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Class 3A

Swimmer of the year: Kennidy Quist, Aspen

Diver of the year: Kaylee Eakman, Pueblo Central

Coach of the year: Kathleen Callahan, Aspen

A roundup of Jeffco prep highlights, interviews and schedules with Dennis Pleuss, Jeffco Public Schools’ Communication Specialist. This month’s edition features state wrestling where Jeffco-area programs brought home several state titles, Class 5A and 4A boys and girls basketball highlights, along with photos from National Letter of Intent Signing Day.

Whew! Tons of fun in the first and second rounds of the state tournaments.

Our Fever Crew has you covered with a recap of each 5A and 4A region along with The Look Ahead for each, as well. Let’s get it!

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Class 5A

Larry Farmer Region

The Look Back:

• Braxton Bertolette kept his hot scoring streak going dropping 38 to help Fossil Ridge advance past Lincoln.
• Matt Johnson Jr., recently named EMAC player of the year, came out blazing with 33 points for Rangeview in win over Mountain Range.
• Well hello there Mr. Kountz! How about 37 points from Daylen in Denver East’s second round home win over a game Fossil Ridge squad. Angels are dangerous!
• With only three seniors on the roster, this young Smoky Hill squad is confident and they beat Highlands Ranch by more than 20.
• Our 5A favorite Eaglecrest came on strong late beating a tough Rangeview squad by 16 to head again to the Sweet 16.
• Vista Ridge got a road win over Lakewood behind Hunter Maldonado’s 20 points.

The Look Ahead:

Hunter Maldonado. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

We talked about “star power” helping teams advance and Hunter Maldonado showed up big for Vista Ridge to get to this point. The problem is Wyoming-bound Maldonado now has to play one of the most balanced squads in the state who has a star of their own in Eaglecrest’s Colbey Ross. With Vista Ridge playing without senior stellar point guard Noah Beatty we don’t see them advancing here. The Raptors came up short last season to Overland and they will get to the Coliseum again.

You want athletes? Get yourself to Smoky’s gym on Wednesday night when the Buffs host Denver East. Arguably, our state’s two best players in class 2018 and 2019 will be on the floor in Daylen Kountz and Kenny Foster respectively. The Angels have maybe the hottest player in the state in Kountz along with Coach Carey’s playoff experience. The young Buffaloes are hot, but can that confidence take down a perennial power? This will be fun!

Mark Randall Region

The Look Back:

• Big-time home win for the school and community as Montbello (FNE) took care of round one business downing Dakota Ridge behind Steven Goss III 16 points.
• Rock Canyon used a 20-11 fourth quarter advantage to pull away from Boulder late! On to Sweet 16 Jags.
• Mountain Vista sophomore Simon May scored 14 and the Eagles held Legend to 5 fourth quarter points completing the comeback win.
• Grandview shook off some late season rust to cruise to 27-point win over Grand Junction.
  The defending champ Overland dealt with change after losing a tremendous senior class from last year and Montbello (FNE) came in their house to pull off one of the big upsets of round two 68-56. The Warriors dominated the fourth quarter here.

The Look Ahead:

Mountain Vista got serious on defense shutting Legend down in the fourth quarter of round two. They’ll need all of that defense to stop the inside/out tandem of Gage Prim and Lechaun Duhart from Grandview. Prim is one of our state’s top big men and Duhart is a “microwave” type point guard who can heat up and score 30 if needed. Will be tough for Vista to take down the higher seed here.

The Fever Crew loves confident guard play come playoff time and Rock Canyon has two in juniors Sam Masten and Tyson Gilbert. The Jags defend hard and grind their ways to wins! Montbello (FNE) is led by Aaris Bonds who is a utility knife, college ready player. The Warriors are the surprise in 5A so far and may be able to give the Jags a lot of trouble in a low scoring affair.

Chauncey Billups Region

The Look Back:

• Our Fever Crew got out to Cherokee Trail in round one and were treated to Jaizec Lottie’s 27 points as the Cougars raced away from Douglas County.
• Cortney Dean stepped up with 17 points to get Denver South its first 5A playoff win over Heritage.
• 21 points from senior Jeremiah Pruitt helped Liberty take down Monarch.
• Our Crew thought Denver South had a great chance to knock off Cherry Creek but the Bruins held home court and won 80-71.
• Rampart’s size proved to be too much for Cherokee Trail. Jackson Ehrlin scored 22 in the big second round win.
• ThunderRidge cruised to a 43-point win to advance to the Sweet 16.
• Chatfield can RUN and DEFEND. That’s how you beat Fountain-Fort Carson 94-57!

The Look Ahead:

(Josh Watt/CHSAANow.com)

Size, size, size! The Fever Crew has been flooded with info from our friends down south about how good this Rampart squad is and the coverage they deserve. There could be something to this as they beat a solid Cherokee Trail team by 20 reach the Sweet 16. Well, Rampart, if you want to prove you belong there’s no better opportunity than to face the team that was No. 1 for a great majority of the season: ThunderRidge. The Grizzlies balance and scoring prowess of Corey Seng should prove to be too much here.

Lucas St. Germain led the three-point barrage for Chatfield scoring 30 points in the blowout of Fountain-Fort Carson. The Chargers run but don’t think it’s just run and gun. They pride themselves on defense and we think Cherry Creek may be in trouble if this turns into a track race.

Guy Gibbs Region

The Look Back:

(Jeff Tucker/jefferywtucker.zenfolio.com)

• Senior Sam Foster scores 19 points and Broomfield started fast in win over Grand Junction Central.
• Ralston Valley’s leading scorer fouled out but his buddies came through!
• Believe us when we tell you: you don’t want to see Sitting Eagle Gym as your destination of round one of the playoffs as Pine Creek found out visiting Arapahoe.
• Regis found a way to get it done at home vs. Arvada West.
• Chaparral took down Continental foe Regis by 3 with 19 points from Joseph Dalton in a second-round win.
• Jervay Green was at it again, dropping 32 points for a hot GW squad.
• Speaking of 32, check out Jacob Pfaffinger leading Fort Collins to the Sweet 16.
• The 32 point scoring continues as Kyle Lucasiewicz did just that for Arapahoe as they pulled a huge upset at Doherty. The Warriors travel well!

The Look Ahead:

(Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

Jervay Green, folks. George Washington is talented across the board but we see Green as the difference maker here. A lead senior who plays with a little attitude! Chaparral is young and talented. They came up short in their early season visit to GW but they have grown since that matchup and can cause the Patriots some trouble in this return. Keeping it close early will be key for the Wolverines.

There’s those Warriors! Arapahoe is a huge surprise here as the No. 27 seed but they are “Centennial Tough”. Fort Collins wants to prove they are legit after taking care of business up north. Kyle Lucasieweicz and Jacob Pfaffinger both scored 32 points each for the respective teams in round two. Look for these two to step up again Wednesday.

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4A

Bob Ottewill Region

The Look Back:

(Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

• Widefield put up 93 points and ran away from Roosevelt.
• Mountain View got 13 from senior J. Greylock and held off the Classical Academy to advance.
• Valor needed a big second half surge to put away Thomas Jefferson.
• Michael Ward scored 22 for Mead in second round win over Skyview.

The Look Ahead:

Northridge and Mead both ready to prove they belong in the big dance. Valor Christian is the top overall seed and we see them advancing here.

Bill Weimar Region

The Look Back:

(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

• Falcon got 22 points from Noah Martinez and slid past Green Mountain.
• Niwot scored 30 in the fourth quarter but Elizabeth held on for 73-69 win.
• Longmont cruised in its first round match vs. Frederick.
• Golden had a trio of juniors step up big vs. Longmont in the second round.
• A bit of an unknown for us but Durango is playing some ball as they took down Elizabeth by 17!
• Tanner Baird, just a sophomore, scored 18 for Holy Family as they cruised into Sweet 16 over Falcon.

The Look Ahead:

A little bit of the known and unknown here. Holy Family and Golden very familiar with each other in a match that seems a little too early. Durango won’t find it easy vs. Evergreen who has been tested against some of our best 4A squads in league play.

Jim Baggot Region

The Look Back:

(Katie Pickrell/CHSAANow.com)

• Windsor got 13 from senior Jake Hammond to beat Steamboat by 4.
• Sophomore Chano Gonzales with 15 points in Glenwood Springs first round victory.
• “Number 7 Seed?” said defending champ Pueblo West as they hammered Glenwood Springs in round two.
• Silver Creek took care of business to advance and get their shot at the defending champs!
• Top 4A Seed Pueblo South won the first and fourth quarter, starting/finishing strong in win over Windsor by 9.
• Vista PEAK followed Marquise Johnson and his 19 points to a 5-point win over Ponderosa to march into Sweet 16.

The Look Ahead:

Can’t help but pull for a kid like Marquise Johnson and his journey with Vista PEAK but now they face the top overall seed in Pueblo South. South’s late season heroics took down the defending champ Pueblo West and they were tested by an always tough Windsor in round two.

Speaking of Pueblo West, they took out their frustrations of landing a 7 seed on on Glenwood Springs proving they were awakened by late loss to Pueblo South.

Richard Tate Region

The Look Back:

(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

• Senior Garrett Martin scored 22 for Eagle Valley but not enough as Wheatridge pulls out the tight win late.
• Palmer Ridge 70-39 over Pueblo East to advance!
• Cheyenne Mountain got things started here using their height advantage to secure round one victory over Harrison.
• The 3 seed D’Evelyn got defensive in their second round win.
• Sand Creek is a scary 14 seed and they took it to Thompson Valley by 19.
• It took two overtimes and 23 points from CJ Jennings for Sierra to advance past Pueblo Central.
• Lewis-Palmer was cooking as they trounced Wheat Ridge 81-47.

The Look Ahead:

Great matchup here as one of the hottest teams in the state D’Evelyn welcomes a Sand Creek squad who has battled through on and off the court adversity to regain the form that had them as our No. 1 4A team for a few weeks during the season. Does D’Shawn Schwartz, CU-commit, take over now that playoffs are here?

In the other match we have two teams that could easily advance in Lewis-Palmer and Sierra. The Rangers hot streak faces one of our top point guards in the state, CJ Jennings.

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Wednesday, March 1 is action-packed, folks! Whether you are a 5A or 4A fan get out and enjoy CO hoops at it’s best.

The spring sports season is underway on Monday with the start of practice in each of the nine sanctioned sports.

Starting practice today are:

• Baseball
• Girls golf
• Boys lacrosse
• Girls lacrosse
• Girls soccer
• Boys swimming
• Girls tennis
• Boys track
• Girls track

Of note this season, girls tennis and girls golf have each added a third classification for the first time. Both of those sports can begin contests on March 2.

All other sports begin their competitive seasons on March 9.

Spring’s championship season starts with girls tennis’ state meets on May 11-13. They close with baseball’s final games on May 27.

Find more important dates on the 2016-17 calendar.

Spring practice is upon us, and with that new season comes a new set of rankings.

CHSAANow is seeking voters and media members who wish to vote in the weekly spring sports rankings. The following sports hold weekly rankings:

• Baseball
• Boys Lacrosse
• Girls Lacrosse
• Girls Soccer

Coaches or media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org with their name, school/affiliation, and class(es) they are interested in voting in.

D’Evelyn’s defense spearheaded a 75-53 victory for the No. 3 Jaguars over Cheyenne Mountain on Saturday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

DENVER — The second quarter belonged to D’Evelyn’s full-court press defense late Saturday afternoon.

After a poor shooting first quarter in the second round of the Class 4A boys basketball tournament, the Jaguars looked to their defense to provide a kickstart against Cheyenne Mountain.

“We went to our full-court press and that is possibility the best we’ve played it all year, lots of turnovers and transition points,” D’Evelyn junior Charles Dinegar said of the second quarter where the Jaguars outscored the Indians 20-4. “We didn’t want them to be able to settle into their zone and slow down the game.”

D’Evelyn sped its way to an eventual 75-53 victory to advance into the Sweet 16. The No. 3-seeded Jaguars will host No. 14 Sand Creek (19-5) on Wednesday, March 1. Sand Creek will be a handful for D’Evelyn. The Scorpions are led by University of Colorado-commit D’Shawn Schwartz, who is averaging more than 25 points per game.

“It’s always nicer to be at home,” D’Evelyn coach Dan Zinn of hosting the round of 16 game. “No matter who we get it’s going to be tough. There are no easy teams in this tournament right now.”

D’Evelyn junior Charles Dinegar (0) had 19 points against Cheyenne Mountain. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

It wasn’t easy, in fact, it was a little dicey for the Jaguars on their home court Saturday. No. 30 Cheyenne Mountain tied things up late in the first quarter, but D’Evelyn turned things on in a dominating fashion in the second quarter.

“The week off doesn’t help, but the shots just weren’t going down. We were getting great looks,” Zinn said of the first quarter. “Our defense created the offense in that second quarter and really helped us out and got us going.”

Dinegar and senior Alec Clifton both canned 3-pointers in the second quarter. Clifton’s 3-pointer midway through the quarter gave the Jaguars their first double-digit lead of the night.

As usual, the Jaguars showed off their balance with four players in double-digits — Dinegar (19 points), C.J. Olson (19 points), Josh Brinkerhoff (12 points) and Cole Clifton (10 points).

“That is what makes us special,” Dinegar said. “We have a well-rounded team. We have a little bit of everything. We have eight different players who could go off for 20 points.”

Cheyenne Mountain’s Ben Jepson drives to the hoop. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

After grabbing a 36-15 lead at halftime, D’Evelyn didn’t let up. The Jaguars ended with 10 3-pointers and kept their lead around 20 points for much of the fourth quarter. Most of the damage was done by Olson, who had 10 points in the final eight minutes.

“You have to keep the foot on the pedal and keep playing well,” Olson said. “You try to gain some momentum for the next game.”

The young Indians were led by sophomores Will Louis (15 points), Nicholas Bassett (11 points) and junior Luke Martin (12 points) in the season-ending loss. Cheyenne Mountain finished its season 9-16. The Indians were able to win their first postseason game this season since advancing to the state semifinals in 2014.

D’Evelyn hit the 20-win mark under Zinn’s second year at the helm. The Jaguars also advanced to the Sweet 16 last season during Zinn’s first year. D’Evelyn eventually lost to Longmont in the round of 16, finishing 15-10 on the season.

D’Evelyn junior Cole Clifton, left, was one of four Jaguars in double-digit points Saturday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

Longmont’s Tox Mugunga, right, challenges the shot of Adam Thistlewood on Saturday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

GOLDEN — The Oscar for Best Supporting Cast had to go to Golden’s trio of juniors Joe Madsen, Jack Moore and Riley Stoner on Saturday night.

Junior Adam Thistlewood and senior Kayden Sund scored all 19 points in the first half for the Demons in the Class 4A boys basketball second-round game against Longmont. There was a realization in Golden’s locker room at halftime that Thistlewood and Sund couldn’t carry the entire offensive load in the second half if the Demons wanted to move on to the Sweet 16.

“We needed someone to step up and that’s exactly what they did,” Sund said of the second-half performance of Madsen, Moore and Stoner.

Golden came away with a 53-43 victory over Longmont to advance to next week’s round of 16.

Madsen got things going in the third quarter as the Demons went to a one-high and one-low post offense. Sund and Thistlewood both found Madsen down low for easy layups to give Golden a little bit of separation in the third quarter.

Golden’s Kayden Sund led the Demons with 15 points against Longmont. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

“We went to our one-high, one-low post and that solved it all for us,” said Madsen, who finished with 10 points. “We got some defensive stops and some blocks on defense. That really helped.”

Madsen had a span in the fourth quarter where he had a pair of buckets, a steal and two blocks on the defensive end.

“You always look at those momentum changing things,” Golden coach John Anderson said of Madsen’s play in the fourth quarter. “That definitely brought the whole energy and building up. Joe was flying around and he can do that when he isn’t in foul trouble.”

Stoner finished with six points, all on drives to the basket. Moore hit a pair of second-half 3-pointers. Madsen, Stoner and Moore poured in 22 points in the second half after being shutout in the opening half.

“We know most teams are going to focus on Adam and Kayden,” Madsen said. “We have to get other people involved.”

Sund, Golden’s lone senior, led the Demons with 16 points. The 6-foot-5 forward found his range from long distance with four 3-pointer on the night. His final 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter, followed up by a jumper seconds later, pushed the Demons to their biggest lead of the night at a dozen points.

Golden’s Adam Thistlewood goes up for a shot Saturday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

“My shot hasn’t been falling great this year from outside the arc,” Sund said. “It felt good tonight.”

Thistlewood finished with 15 points.

The young Longmont squad was led by sharp-shooting junior guard Luke Johnson (16 points) and the Trojans’ lone senior Tol Mugunga (13 points). Longmont finished its season with a 13-12 record.

Golden and Longmont met in the back on Dec. 7 in a non-league game before winter break. Sund has a huge game with 22 points — going 7-for-10 from the field — in the Demons’ 49-39 victory over the Trojans.

Despite entering the state tournament on a 2-game losing streak, Golden (17-7 record) was confident coming in as the No. 12 seed for the state tournament.

“I really feel the way we are playing right now in these past few games we are hitting our peak right now,” Sund said.

The Demons lost to league rivals No. 13 Evergreen and No. 3 D’Evelyn, in double-overtime, before tipping off Saturday night.

Home-court advantage in the playoffs hasn’t been so kind for Golden in recent years. The Demons lost to Vista Ridge as the higher seed last year in the Sweet 16. In 2015, Golden dropped a state quarterfinal game against Air Academy on the Demons’ home court. In 2014, it was a second-round loss to Greeley Central at Denver South when the Demons were a higher seed.

“It’s been in the back of my mind the whole time,” Madsen said of Golden’s issue on its home court in the playoffs. “We can’t lose here again.”

Golden moves on to hit the road to face Holy Family in the Sweet 16 on Wednesday, March 1. The No. 5-seeded Tigers took care of Falcon on Saturday night and will go into Wednesday’s game on an 11-game winning streak.

“Holy Family is going to play a good pressure defense,” Anderson said. “We’ll have to play really well to have a chance.”

Longmont junior Luke Johnson, middle, attempts to split Golden’s Kayden Sund, left, and Jack Moore. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

Classes 2A and 1A are playing their district boys basketball tournaments this week.

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[cbtab title=”Select”]To change between classifications, click on the header.[/cbtab]
[cbtab title=”Class 1A”]2017 1A girls basketball regional tournaments
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[cbtab title=”Class 2A”]2017 CHSAA 2A girls basketball regional tournament brackets
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