CHSAANow

Month: March 2017

  • Lamar overcomes slow start to claim 3A girls basketball title

    Lamar girls state basketball
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    DENVER — This game wasn’t pretty, but it had a beautiful outcome for Lamar High School’s girls basketball team.

    The Savages muscled past Colorado Springs Christian 24-18 Saturday afternoon to win the Class 3A state championship at Hamilton Gym on the University of Denver campus.

    “This feels surreal,” Lamar coach Erik Melgoza said. “I’m just happy for our kids, especially our seniors.”

    Lamar (25-2 overall) won its fifth state girls basketball title and first since 1998. The first four championships were back-to-back in 1995-98. CSCS (24-3), which was trying to capture its first girls state basketball title since 2002, ended its season with a 1-2 record against Lamar as both teams compete in the Tri-Peaks League.

    “We have a great team and everybody brings something to the table,” said Lamar senior guard Brenna Vallejos, who had five points. “We’re really close and have a great bond with each other and I think we will celebrate this for the rest of our lives.”

    Lamar freshman, Cali Clark, who had a game-high nine points, concurred with Vallejos.

    “This feels great, and it’s just wonderful to have this happen,” said Clark, a 6-foot-2 post player.

    The fourth quarter began with Lamar holding a 19-13 advantage and the Savages never loosened their grip.

    Shelby Henderson’s jumper in left corner with 4:57 remaining stretched the Lamar lead to 22-13 and the Lions couldn’t answer. Madison Mackie’s inside bucket got CSCS within 22-15.

    With 55.6 seconds left, CSCS was still putting up a fight, trailing 24-17, but could get no closer than 24-18 following a free throw by Megan Engesser with 13.6 ticks on the clock.

    Engesser and Mackie each finished with seven points to pace the Lions.

    “Our league (the Tri-Peaks League) is known for good defense,” Melgoza said. “We know each other. We know every play they are going to do and they know every play we are going to do. We chose to play their slow down game and it worked for us today.”

    The first quarter was a huge struggle for both teams offensively as the game was tied 2-2 after eight minutes. Lamar was 1-for-12 shooting in the first quarter and CSCS was 1-for-9.

    The frigid offensive display continued in quarter two as the game was knotted at 6-all at intermission.

    Lamar was 3-for-25 (12 percent) from the field, and the Lions were 2-for-19 (11 percent). Engesser and Mackie added one free each for CSCS.

    “At halftime, I told the kids, it’s not a football game, we must shoot the ball,” Melgoza said. “We were tight as drum, but I told them whatever happens is going to happen, so just shoot the ball and give it everything we have.”

    When Melgoza spoke – his team listened.

    The action picked up dramatically in the third quarter for the Savages, thanks to Brecken Payne and Vallejos. The duo combined for nine points – the final three coming on a trey from Vallejos to give Lamar a 15-10 edge with 3:04 left in the third.

    A bucket by Clark at the 2:24 mark gave the Savages a 17-10 lead. Payne added a layup to make it 19-10 with 1:15 remaining. The Lions finally answered with Engesser’s 3-pointer with 50 seconds on the clock to cut the deficit to 19-13.

    “It such a good feeling to know that all of our hard work has finally paid off,” said Payne, a sophomore, who had six points, all in the key third quarter. “We gave it 100 percent and now we are state champions. We are the team, but we couldn’t have done it without our community. The community made this happen for us and I’m thankful for that.”

  • Grandview girls basketball runs away with first 5A championship

    (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    DENVER – With 46 seconds remaining in the Class 5A state championship game Saturday night, Michaela Onyenwere walked off the basketball court for the final time in her high school career to a standing ovation.

    Grandview coach Josh Ulitzky was there to embrace her first. A short minute later, Onyenwere and her teammates stormed the floor at the Denver Coliseum to celebrate a 61-32 victory over Lakewood in the Class 5A state championship game – the first in the Wolves’ history.

    “It was the last time ever, ever, ever – which is crazy – playing in Colorado for high school,” Onyenwere said after the game as the Grandview fans soaked in the moment above her. “It’s kind of surreal. It hasn’t hit me yet that my high school career is over, but I’m just glad we went out this way.”

    Grandview (27-1) capped a postseason run where the team averaged 76 points in its five victories. Onyenwere finished with a game-high 25 points and eight rebounds, and the UCLA-bound senior is in the record books with 2,288 points for her career – good for fourth-best in state history.

    “She was really good as a sophomore; really, really good as a junior,” Lakewood coach Chris Poisson said. “She is absolutely great as a senior. She is special. There is a reason why she is going where she is going. She is incredible.”

    Lakewood Grandview girls basketball
    (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    The Tigers (22-6) were playing in the state championship game for the first time as well. Lakewood entered the playoffs as the No. 9 seed, but upset No. 1 Highlands Ranch in the Great 8 and defeated Cherry Creek in the Final 4.

    Camilla Emsbo led Lakewood with 20 points and Kira Emsbo added eight. Onyenwere, who drew the assignment of guarding Camilla, had high praise for the Tigers junior and her teammates.

    “We never, ever underestimate anybody. We respect all,” Onyenwere said. “We all made it here for a reason, and they’re an amazing team.”

    Lenzi Hudson added 10 points for Grandview and Leilah Vigil scored eight points and hauled in eight rebounds. The Wolves were undefeated a year ago before falling by two points to ThunderRidge in the state semifinals, which served as motivation for this season.

    “We wanted it so bad,” Hudson said. “From last year, we did not want to experience that ever again. We knew how it felt.”

    Lakewood fell behind early, but opened the second quarter with back-to-back field goals from Hannah Renstrom and Gaby Heayden to pull within five points. That’s as close as the Tigers got the rest of the way, as Grandview went on a 21-8 run to close out the first half.

    Onyenwere had 21 of her points in the first half and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the floor and 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. She said the gameplan was to defend like the team had all year.

    “If we do that without fouling, then there’s not a lot of people who can score on us,” Onyenwere said. “That’s kind of what our motto is – defense is going to win us championships. It showed here.”

    After the game, Grandview coach Josh Ulitzky sat back and watched as his team celebrated with the fans, posing for pictures with the 5A trophy.

    “I’m just really happy for the girls. They worked so hard,” Ulitzky said. “They had a tough end last year and they were determined to play for each other and play together.”

    Lakewood graduates three seniors but returns the bulk of its rotation. The team’s four leading scorers are all juniors.

    Grandview graduates three seniors as well in Onyenwere, Hudson and Kennede Brown. Onyenwere and Brown have been varsity mainstays all four years, and Hudson joined varsity as a sophomore.

    “We had one goal at the beginning of the season, and nothing could stop us,” Hudson said. “This means everything to us. We made history today and from this game we will always be connected as a family.”

    Grandview girls basketball team champions
    (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

  • Eaglecrest wins thrilling back-and-forth 5A boys basketball championship game

    (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    DENVER – Knowing what was on the line, there was an added pressure on the Eaglecrest Raptors to give their beloved coach the only send-off they all would have been truly satisfied with.

    That meant winning a state championship. But facing a talented George Washington team in the Class 5A boys basketball state championship game on Saturday at the Denver Coliseum, there were a number of bleak moments when it looked like the Raptors wouldn’t be able to get the job done.

    Finally in the second half, the top-seeded Raptors showed their quality and jumped ahead to win 53-47. They left the Coliseum with their program’s second state championship trophy and Raptors head coach John Olander, who will retire after 16 years at Eaglecrest, left a champion.

    “You don’t coach high school sports to win state championships,” Olander said. “You do it because it’s a sport you love and you want to help kids out. So that first one was awfully cool. But getting two of them, you know, just kind of validates what you’re doing and you do it with different kids. To do it with all these people here, a great school, my kids, my family, it’s pretty amazing.”

    One of the statewide favorites for much of the season, and leading for much of Saturday’s title game, the third-seeded George Washington (25-3) boys felt as though this year’s club could return to the promised land for the first time since the Patriots won back-to-back state championships in 1993 and 1994 while led by the program’s idol Chauncey Billups.

    Eaglecrest George Washington boys basketball
    (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

    In a low-scoring first half for both teams, the Patriots found an early advantage at the defensive end. Pulling ahead, the Patriots held the Raptors (24-4) to nine points in the first quarter and built upon that lead by giving up just seven points in the second.

    With just three early lead changes in the first half, George Washington junior Mohammad Diallo hit a last-second layup to give the Patriots a 22-16 lead at halftime.

    “In the first half, we weren’t playing our brand of basketball and that’s not going to cut it against a really good team like GW,” Eaglecrest senior Colbey Ross said. “In the second half, we had to take it to them and play defense. That was really big for us.”

    In the second half, the game turned into a back-and-forth contest.

    Eaglecrest’s Ikenna Ozor hit a layup to put the Raptors up 28-27 with 3 minutes, 39 seconds left in the third quarter but just over a minute later, the Patriots retook the lead and looked as though they would be ahead to start the fourth quarter. On the final play of the third, during which the lead changed three more times, Ross hit a 3-pointer to give the Raptors a 33-32 lead.

    The Raptors opened the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run and after hitting a number of bonus free throws, led by 10 with under three minutes left in the game. Down 50-41 with a minute left, George Washington forced back-to-back turnovers and cut the lead to 50-45 with 42.5 seconds left but couldn’t pull any closer.

    “We came out pretty slow in the first half,” Eaglecrest junior Victor Garnes said. “They’re a really athletic and great team and we had to battle back in the second half. We just stayed in it and we were able to get the win.”

    Ross (18.4 points per game) led all scorers with 15 points. Ozor scored 12 and Garnes scored 11. George Washington’s Shaheem Speer and Tre Pierce led the Patriots with 10 points apiece.

    The Raptors, who won their first state title in 2013 and finished runners-up last season, edged No. 5 Rock Canyon in overtime in Friday night’s Final 4 to reach the title game.

  • Photos: 4A basketball state championship games

    DENVER — The Class 4A boys and girls champions were crowned on Saturday.

    Evergreen won the girls title, while Valor Christian claimed the boys trophy.

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  • Photos: 3A boys and girls state basketball championships

    DENVER — The Class 3A boys and girls state championships were decided on Saturday night at the Hamilton Gym and the University of Denver.

    Lamar overcame a slow start to win the girls title while Sterling’s late-game heroics locked up the boys championship.

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  • Through wins and losses, Lakewood girls basketball thrived together

    Lakewood coach Chris Poisson, far left, guided the Tigers to its first state championship appearance this season. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletic)

    DENVER — Losing games is just a part of athletics, while losing friends, teammates and family is the harsh reality of life.

    Lakewood’s girls basketball program made history this season advancing to its first Final 4 and state championship game appearance. The Tigers accomplished greats things on the court while enduring great heartbreak off the court.

    Four-year starter Mackenzie Forrest died after a tragic car accident in the early morning after the state basketball championships a year ago. Gone suddenly was one of the bright faces that helped lift the Tigers’ basketball program under coach Chris Poisson to one of the elite teams in the state.

    Lakewood honored Forrest this season by retiring her No. 33 jersey that now hangs in a glass case in the Tigers’ gym. Players also wore crazy colored socks during the season, a trademark of Forrest.

    (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    On of the purest shooting guards in the state had planned to continue her basketball career at Regis University with Lakewood teammate McKenna Bishop, 2016 LHS graduate.

    “Chris is a great leader. It hit him really hard,” Lakewood athletic director Tim Walker said before the Tigers took the court Saturday night in the Class 5A girls basketball state championship game at the Denver Coliseum. “He proved and showed that he is the leader everyone was looking for. He was positive and doing the right thing. They have stuck together.”

    The Tigers suffered another loss April 25, 2016 when Joe Poisson — assistant coach and father of Chris Poisson — passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack at the age of 67.

    “We knew she (Forrest) hated losing more than anything else. We made it our goal to lose as little as possible,” Lakewood junior Camilla Emsbo said. “That is the only way to honor Little Mac and Papa Poisson, playing the game of basketball and playing it right.”

    As the No. 9 seed in the state tournament. Lakewood defeated Denver East, Highlands Ranch and Cherry Creek on the way to a remarkable postseason run.

    Through those losses, Lakewood thrived together as a team, school and community this basketball season. That was evident Saturday night when the Cinderella of the 5A girls basketball state tournament took on No. 2-seeded Grandview. Lakewood fans came out in force to cheer on the Tigers.

    “When you get knocked down twice, you need people,” Chris Poisson said. “You need to be with people. I’m lucky to be at Lakewood with great people. I needed my team and my team needed me. We needed each other.”

    Even after a 61-32 loss against Grandview, the team received a standing ovation from as Emsbo hoisted the state runner-up trophy toward the crowd.

    “It was a tough loss, but we know we can get through it because we’ve been through so much,” Emsbo said. “Everyone played so hard. You can’t be angry with that. That is what you want in a team.”

    (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Lakewood has had the most successful five-year stretch in the program’s history with a remarkable 108-24 record. Through the darkness of loss, the future is bright for the Tigers’ program that graduates just three seniors in Celeste Barron-Nicoletti, Issy Carbone and Gaby Hayden.

    “It’s good pressure,” Poisson said of the Tigers being one of the favorites to contend again for a state title. “We’ll go about our business and see what happens. We’ll set our goals and standards for next season. This year it was Final 4. Next year, it will be a state championship. We know how hard it is to get it.”

    While the loss to Grandview kept Lakewood from closing the chapter on the book of the past year with a happy ending, the Tigers know their story isn’t over.

    “We are going to learn all the lessons from this season. We are going to remember the perseverance it takes,” Emsbo said after the 22-6 record this year. “We are going to remember how hard it is to get this far. We are going to get back to this point and not go out the same way.”

    (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Photos: 5A boys and girls state championship games

    DENVER — The Class 5A state basketball championships were completed on Saturday.

    Grandview won the girls championship, and Eaglecrest claimed the boys crown.

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  • Photos: Cherry Creek baseball gets a walk-off win over Dakota Ridge

    GREENWOOD VILLAGE — Trailing by a run heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, No. 2 Cherry Creek baseball plated two to come back and beat Dakota Ridge 5-4 on Saturday.

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  • Photos: 1A and 2A state basketball championships

    LOVELAND — The Class 1A and 2A state basketball championships were completed on Saturday.

    Champions crowned include Kit Carson (1A girls), Holly (1A boys), Paonia (2A girls), and Holyoke (2A boys).

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  • Photos: D’Evelyn baseball tops Pueblo County

    DENVER — D’Evelyn baseball opened the season with a 6-5 win over Pueblo County on Saturday.

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