Mullen football coach Tom Thenell has resigned, the school announced on Tuesday.
Thenell took over at Mullen before the 2012 season. His teams were 34-31 in six seasons.
“Tom is passionate about football, but even more passionate about making a difference in the lives of young men,” Mullen athletic director Vince Massey told the school’s website. “He will be sorely missed leading the football program.”
Before joining Mullen, Thenell coached at Bear Creek from 1992-2011. His overall record is 183-112, according to Mullen.
Mullen was 5-6 this past season, advancing to the Class 5A playoffs. The Mustangs reached the postseason each of Thenell’s final three seasons.
Van Gytenbeek, a 5-foot-7 point guard, is averaging 13.8 points and 8.0 assists this season, along with 4.4 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game. Her 8.0 assists lead the state by a wide margin.
As a freshman last season, she averaged 14.8 points and 5.7 assists in helping the Bruins reach the Class 5A Final 4.
After her freshman season, Van Gytenbeek was named second-team all-state in Class 5A.
Welcome to 2018, Happy Hoops Year! The break is over and despite some opinions, believe us when we tell you, the level of big-school hoops has not dropped a bit.
Let’s take a look at the “wide open” scene in 2018!
Tuesday, Jan. 2
Sand Creek and Palmer got things started for us in the new year and the Terrors squeaked out the win 80-76.
Mikail Zaidah and Brendan Temple scored 14 points each for the Huskies as Douglas County continues to show legit improvement beating Columbine by 14 on the road.
No. 5 Grandview still unbeaten in CO, kept the hot streak alive with a 15-point road win at Mullen. Junior Dayne Prim broke into the new year with a 27 point, 9 rebound effort!
Valor dropped out of the 4A top 10 and had a rough trip to Las Vegas but they return with a win at home 69-61 over Mead. Jeremy Randle with 19 points!
The Fever Crew sees you Wyatt Stratmeyer starting 2018 with a 25 point effort for Berthoud in the win over Erie!
Silver Creek, 4A No. 4, remains unbeaten with senior Trent Dykema continuing his amazing scoring average of 27 points per game and 26 points in this win over Northridge by 13.
Tommy Gonzales’ 25 points helped Greeley West hold off Aurora Central’s late run winning by 2.
No. 1 Rock Canyon rolls to a 20-point win over Mountain Range powered by Sam Masten’s 26 and Tyson Gilbert’s 17. State’s No. 1 squad didn’t miss a beat after break.
Speaking of not breaking stride, 4A No. 1 Lewis Palmer had four players in double figure scoring led by Joel Scott’s 19 in the win over Sand Creek.
Tanner Baird’s 19 points lifted 4A No. 5 Holy Family over Skyline by 29 points!
Senior Cortney Dean, Denver South’s leading scorer, carries a heavy load for the Rebels and was rewarded with this 9News highlight in the win vs. Castle View
.@DSOUTHAthletics got a big win at home tonight over Castle View, beating the Sabercats 53-45. We'll have full highlights this weekend on the 9NEWS Prep Rally. But, for now, check out this dunk in the 1st quarter from senior Cortney Dean! #copreps#9Sportspic.twitter.com/W8bwMEY7gy
Senior Erik Grossaint joined Trent Dykema in double figures this time as Silver Creek “left no doubt” thumping Pueblo County 80-41.
Nieyeme Smeyer-Williams doing a little bit of everything again for No. 9 Pueblo West beating Colorado Springs Christian by 20!
Our Fever Crew talked about No. 6 Grandview’s balance before and this time they upset Smoky Hill with four players in double figure scoring led by Dayne Prim’s 15 to go with 8 rebounds, 3 assists in the top 10 match! Grandview’s run brought out the cameras in their HOME win
No team has faced as tough of an early schedule as Overland and they continue to stride in the right direction going into a tough Eaglecrest gym coming out with a win by 16 highlighted by Tucson Redding’s 22.
Adversity can crush a team or bring them together. Our Fever Crew looks for Golden to play inspired ball and they come out of the break with a 10-point win over rival D’Evelyn with Adam Thistlewood “Stat-Stuffin” 25 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals!
Friday, Jan. 5
Our Fever Crew got over to the ThunderDome Friday night for a classic “city vs. suburbs” top 5 match up! Denver East hosted Chaparral in an electric atmosphere that was treated to high flying dunks, “deep 3’s”, and a Wolverines team that proved it had no fear in visiting the “east side.”
Despite some wonderfully skeptical foul calls on Ronnie DeGray III, which eventually fouled him out, he showed why he is the rising star scoring 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Simply couldn’t be stopped on the inside where East has a lack of depth/size.
Speaking of stars, the Angels’ Daylen Kountz didn’t disappoint using that mean left-hand inside-and-out, pacing East with 28 points.
When DeGray fouled out early fourth quarter you could feel the Angel relief and belief that this was the time to make the run.
The Angels vaunted defensive pressure did pick up, but the Wolves crafty point guard Kobe Sanders along with sharp-shooter Joe Hayden found the holes in the press. Hayden showed he could do more than just shoot 3s, scoring on the inside and running the floor for a dunk which added to his 25 points in the Wolverines impressive 81-76 win.
Wolves win? They Dance!
Big time road win tonight over Denver East 81-76. Total team win. @josephdalton44 lead the way scoring 25, but big time contributions from everyone. Side note, Chap is 1-0 this year and 4-0 over all when Coach @trues10 has worn the red pants. Wins = Dancing pic.twitter.com/5ofk6mePkv
Trent Dykema scores 19 and Silver Creek caps an impressive first week of 2018 with 11-point win over Steamboat Springs.
4A No. 9 Pueblo West notches another win over a 5A squad 63-56 on the road over Fruita Monument.
Sounds repetitive, but the duo of Masten/Gilbert step up huge again on the road scoring in double figures and No. 1 Rock Canyon flexed its muscles putting a 30-piece on Rangeview in their house.
Longmont closed 2017 as No. 6 in 4A and looking to rise after a 17-point home win over Mountain View.
GW played tough on the road and Mo Diallo scored 18 in the absence of fellow big man Tray Pierce but not enough for the Patriots to get over the hump in No. 5 ThunderRidge’s house where seniors Cruickshank, Hammonds, and McCaw led the Grizzlies to a 4-point close one.
Lewis Palmer jumped out to a 9-point first quarter lead and then were steady behind Joel Scott’s 19 points in the 13-point win over visiting Vista Ridge.
Saturday, Jan. 6
(Max Potter/CHSAANow.com)
Watch out for these Trailblazers late in the season…they have faced a brutal schedule and are returning to their winning ways.
Shooting 72% from the field will bring you a “30 piece” and Regis Jesuit’s Sam Bannec claimed his Saturday in a win over Lincoln.
Earl Boykins Jr. did a little shining of his own scoring 17 points in Douglas County’s road win at Gateway.
Goodness! That good looking soph Luke O’Brien was at it again for Columbine with a “monsta” double-double of 22 points and 15 big rebounds in the Rebels win over Pomona.
If you’re going to pull off an upset of a top 5A team you will need a senior leader to take the reins and that’s exactly what Deon Barfield of Cherokee Trail did scoring 19 points with 9 rebounds and 4 assists in the Cougars surprise overtime win vs. Smoky Hill. The Buff’s second loss this week will have them slide a bit in our rankings.
Grandview is powered by juniors and soph’s but they are not waiting for the future to claim their place in Centennial action! This time juniors Dayne Prim and Tyler Unger scored 17/15 respectively in the 8 point home win over Arapahoe. Look for the Wolves to land in the top 5…and they’ve earned it.
No. 2 Golden closed the week hot as well 80-47 over Wheatridge and Adam Thistlewood poured in 22.
No let down for the Ball Fever No. 2 5A squad Chap after their big win over East as they almost cruised by 50 over Hinkley!
Valor had a tough trip to Vegas over break but are bouncing back with 18 point win over Green Mountain charged by Hunter Shkapich’s 23.
Trent Dykema not only has Silver Creek on one of the hottest streaks in the state he also kept the score keepers sweating adding up his 32 points as part of the teams 87-78 win over Roosevelt.
Brendan Sullivan is averaging 23 points per game for Highlands Ranch and he closes out this week’s coverage as the Falcons beat Fossil Ridge by 15.
[divider]
The Look Ahead
(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Monday, Jan. 8
Douglas County & Brighton.
Young Columbine vs. Veteran No. 1 Rock Canyon!
Rangeview vs. Overland that is better than record.
Chaparral (unbeaten in CO) takes on GW!
Denver East won’t be happy vs. Lakewood.
Tuesday, Jan. 9
Montbello (FNE) & Thornton.
Silver Creek unbeaten vs. Greeley Central.
Legacy/Boulder action!
A Central vs. Denver South.
GW taking the City to Regis!
Wednesday, Jan. 10
Highlands Ranch quietly 8-2 vs. Hinkley.
Grandview & Cherokee Trail, A-Town!
No. 1 Lewis Palmer vs. Falcon.
Vista Peak & Pueblo South.
Golden & Valor 4A fun!
Smoky looking to get right @ Overland.
Mullen/Creek! Who takes the #CentennialToughStep??
Thursday, Jan. 11
Silver Creek rollin’ but here’s tough Thompson Valley!
Longmont vs. Greeley Central.
Lincoln travels to A-Town & Aurora Central.
Liberty & Rampart? Someone gets a 4th loss!
Denver South rides down to Pueblo East.
Friday, Jan. 12
Holy Family vs. Windsor…somethin’ has to give!
Smoky Hill/Mullen meaningful Centennial?
Valor/D’Evelyn reunion….
Douglas County & H Ranch in southern improvement!
Chap CANNOT take Mountain Vista light…
Sweeeeet Continental Regis & T-Ridge!
Cheyenne Mountain tries to blemish Lewis-Palmer.
Saturday, Jan. 13
D-South with another road trip to Holy Family!
Green Mountain/Littleton with your 1pm action.
Will Golden stay hot at Standley Lake!??
Overland/C Trail athletes for braggin’ rights.
RC Jags & Dakota Ridge.
Mead & Longmont never let you down, fans!
GW & Rangeview in 5pm Denver/A-Town tilt!
Grandview looks to Centennial Tough Eaglecrest.
TJ @ Highlands Ranch.
No. 1 Lewis Palmer & Pueblo East close out the week!
From our Ball Fever Crew view there was little to no rust on our big school courts after the break! The ball is only getting better…get out and enjoy!
INDIANAPOLIS — Bob Gardner, executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) since May 2010, has announced his retirement, effective August 1, 2018.
Gardner notified the NFHS Board of Directors of his retirement plans at the NFHS Winter Meeting January 3 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Gardner is the fifth full-time executive director of the NFHS, following H.V. Porter (1940-58), Cliff Fagan (1958-77), Brice Durbin (1977-93) and Bob Kanaby (1993-2010).
Gardner’s eight-year run as head of the national organization for high school athletics and performing arts activities will conclude a 48-year career in secondary education, including the final 18 years on the NFHS staff in Indianapolis.
Since assuming duties as NFHS executive director in 2010, Gardner has vigorously promoted the values of high school activity programs and expanded opportunities for participation by boys and girls nationwide. During his eight years as executive director, participation in high school sports has increased by almost 400,000, including the expanded opportunity for students with disabilities in high school sports.
Gardner has led the organization’s focus on risk minimization in high school sports, with particular emphasis on concussion awareness, and has brought a heightened national presence to the work of the NFHS and its member state associations. In addition to the continual expansion of the NFHS Learning Center during his tenure, Gardner is credited with starting the NFHS Network, the first-of-its-kind digital coverage of high school sports with more than 25,000 events covered during the 2016-17 school year.
In addition, during his eight years as chief executive of the organization, operating revenue for the NFHS increased by $4 million.
Ironically, Gardner’s entire 48-year career was spent in the state of Indiana. He was a teacher and coach at three schools for eight years and also served as an athletic director for a period of time. In 1978, Gardner became principal of Milan Junior-Senior High School, followed by a stint as superintendent of the Milan Community Schools.
After serving on the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) Board of Directors during his time at Milan, Gardner joined the IHSAA staff in 1985 as assistant commissioner. He served 10 years in that role prior to becoming commissioner in 1995.
During his five years as IHSAA commissioner, Gardner led the change in the IHSAA football playoffs to permit participation by all schools, negotiated the association’s largest corporate sponsorship agreement in history with Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance and led the transition to multiple classes in team sports.
Gardner joined the NFHS staff in 2000 as chief operating officer and served in that position for 10 years prior to becoming executive director. During this time, he chaired the NFHS Rules Review Committee and was responsible for day-to-day operations of the organization.
Gardner earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Evansville (Indiana) and his master’s and Ed.S. degrees from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. He has served on the Board of Directors for USA Football, USA Basketball and the Indiana Sports Corporation. He is a member of the Indiana High School Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Following the March 1 application deadline, finalists for the position will be interviewed by the NFHS Board of Directors April 17-18 in Indianapolis, with the new executive director expected to begin duties August 1.
Heritage (No. 7), Steamboat Springs (No. 9) and Pueblo County (No. 10) all joined this week’s hockey rankings. In addition, Regis Jesuit is now the new No. 1 team.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, the poll will release each Monday.
The first boys basketball rankings after the break brought a host of changes, including a new No. 1 team — Creede — in Class 1A.
Joining the polls this week:
Highlands Ranch, No. 10, in 5A.
Ponderosa, No. 8, and Valor Christian, No. 9, in 4A.
Manual, No. 9, in 3A.
Limon, No. 6, and Vail Christian, No. 8, in 2A.
Sangre de Cristo, No. 8, and De Beque, No. 10, in 1A.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
First-place votes are in parentheses.
Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Rock Canyon (8)
11-0
105
1
2-0
2
Grandview (3)
10-1
98
6
6-1
3
ThunderRidge
12-1
82
5
3-0
4
Chaparral
10-2
67
3
4-2
5
Denver East
9-2
62
4
3-2
6
Regis Jesuit
10-1
52
8
4-0
7
Doherty
9-2
33
10
4-0
8
Smoky Hill
7-4
32
2
3-2
9
George Washington
7-5
24
7
2-3
10
Highlands Ranch
8-2
20
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Rampart 8, Liberty 5, Broomfield 4, Mountain Vista 4, Castle View 2, Cherokee Trail 2, Overland 2, Cherry Creek 1, Eaglecrest 1, Rangeview 1.
Dropped out
Eaglecrest (9).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Lewis-Palmer (14)
8-0
157
1
2-0
2
Silver Creek (1)
8-0
125
4
4-0
3
Pueblo South
9-2
124
3
2-0
4
Golden
9-2
107
2
2-0
5
Pueblo West (1)
9-2
100
9
6-0
6
Longmont
5-1
61
6
1-0
7
Holy Family
6-4
31
5
2-2
8
Ponderosa
10-1
25
–
3-0
9
Valor Christian
5-6
24
–
4-3
10
Falcon
5-3
21
10
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Evergreen 19, Widefield 18, Elizabeth 15, Windsor 15, Roosevelt 12, Air Academy 5, Mountain View 5, Palmer Ridge 4, D’Evelyn 3, Mesa Ridge 2, Steamboat Springs 2, Thomas Jefferson 2, Montrose 1, Pueblo East 1, Thompson Valley 1.
Dropped out
Windsor (7), Widefield (8).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Sterling (15)
7-0
159
1
0-0
2
Alamosa (1)
6-1
117
4
1-0
3
Faith Christian
6-2
113
3
1-0
4
Kent Denver
7-2
89
2
1-1
5
Grand Valley
6-0
76
6
0-0
6
DSST-Stapleton
4-4
62
7
0-1
7
Platte Valley
7-1
55
5
2-0
8
La Junta
7-2
34
8
0-2
9
Manual
4-3
32
–
0-0
10
The Vanguard
5-1
29
9
0-0
Others receiving votes:
Arrupe Jesuit 15, Resurrection Christian 14, Colorado Springs Christian 12, Strasburg 12, Colorado Academy 11, Bayfield 9, Centauri 9, Coal Ridge 9, Lutheran 8, Roaring Fork 5, Pagosa Springs 3, Delta 2, Jefferson 2, The Pinnacle 2, Manitou Springs 1.
Dropped out
Resurrection Christian (10).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Sedgwick County (5)
7-0
105
1
2-0
2
Crowley County (4)
8-0
98
2
1-0
3
Del Norte
6-2
74
4
0-0
4
Yuma (1)
5-2
65
3
0-0
5
Meeker
4-2
48
8
1-1
6
Limon (1)
6-1
45
–
2-0
7
Simla
6-0
38
7
1-0
8
Vail Christian (1)
6-1
36
–
2-0
9
Ignacio
4-3
31
5
1-2
10
Sanford
3-3
30
6
0-1
Others receiving votes:
Byers 16, Hoehne 14, Custer County 9, Twin Peaks 9, Highland 8, Merino 5, Plateau Valley 5, Clear Creek 4, Evangelical Christian 4, Dolores Huerta 3, Haxtun 3, Hotchkiss 2, Paonia 2, Sargent 2, Calhan 1, Dawson 1, Fowler 1, Front Range Christian 1.
Dropped out
Byers (9), Hoehne (10).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Creede (5)
8-0
91
3
1-0
2
Holly (4)
8-0
81
1
0-0
3
Peetz (1)
8-0
74
2
2-0
4
Heritage Christian
5-1
44
9
0-0
5
South Baca
4-2
42
4
1-1
6
Longmont Christian
6-1
39
5
1-0
7
Cheyenne Wells
5-1
32
6
1-0
8
Sangre de Cristo
6-1
24
–
2-0
9
Primero
5-1
23
10
1-0
10
De Beque
7-0
21
–
1-0
Others receiving votes:
Front Range Baptist 19, Kit Carson 14, Moffat 9, Aguilar 7, Rocky Mountain Lutheran 5, Sierra Grande 5, Mile High Academy 3, Caliche 1, Shining Mountain 1.
Regis Jesuit claimed the top spot in this week’s Class 5A girls basketball rankings, the first since the sport returned from its annual winter break.
This week’s newcomers:
Fruita Monument (5A)
Thomas Jefferson (4A)
University and Sterling (3A)
Ellicott (2A)
Eads and La Veta (1A)
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
First-place votes are in parentheses.
Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Regis Jesuit (5)
7-2
96
2
1-0
2
Highlands Ranch (1)
9-3
94
1
4-2
3
Grandview (2)
7-3
93
3
4-2
4
Ralston Valley (1)
9-1
85
4
4-0
5
Horizon (1)
10-1
67
7
6-1
6
Fruita Monument (2)
11-1
45
–
3-0
7
Lakewood
8-3
43
5
2-1
8
Fossil Ridge
8-3
39
10
3-1
9
Castle View
10-2
38
6
3-2
10
Cherry Creek
6-3
29
9
4-2
Others receiving votes:
Fairview 12, Mountain Vista 7, Doherty 5, Denver East 3, Fort Collins 2, Chaparral 1, Columbine 1.
Dropped out
Fairview (8).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Pueblo West (10)
10-1
160
1
5-1
2
Golden (6)
10-0
154
2
2-0
3
Evergreen
9-1
117
3
3-0
4
Valor Christian (2)
9-2
114
4
5-1
5
Holy Family
9-2
93
5
3-1
6
Air Academy
9-1
83
7
2-0
7
Thomas Jefferson
10-1
72
–
1-0
8
Mesa Ridge
5-2
52
6
1-0
9
Berthoud
11-0
50
10
3-0
10
Windsor
6-3
21
9
2-1
Others receiving votes:
Centaurus 17, Widefield 17, D’Evelyn 7, Greeley Central 6, Pueblo South 6, Rifle 6, Pueblo County 5, Mead 4, Standley Lake 3, Skyview 2, Pueblo East 1.
Dropped out
D’Evelyn (8).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Centauri (7)
9-0
118
1
2-0
2
St. Mary’s (5)
8-0
117
2
2-0
3
Colorado Springs Christian (1)
6-2
88
3
2-2
4
Pagosa Springs
5-2
62
5
1-1
5
Cedaredge
7-0
60
10
1-0
6
Lamar
5-2
57
4
0-1
7
Kent Denver
7-1
44
6
0-0
8
Resurrection Christian
6-1
38
7
1-0
9
University
8-1
35
–
2-0
10
Sterling
3-4
16
–
1-0
Others receiving votes:
Delta 12, Manitou Springs 12, Alamosa 10, Eaton 10, Jefferson Academy 10, Lutheran 5, Weld Central 5, SkyView Academy 4, The Vanguard 4, La Junta 3, Moffat County 3, St. Mary’s Academy 1, DSST-College View 1.
Dropped out
Alamosa (8), Manitou Springs (9).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Yuma (10)
7-0
136
1
0-0
2
Swink (2)
7-1
104
2
2-0
3
Holyoke (2)
8-0
92
6
2-0
4
Limon
7-0
87
3
2-0
5
Simla
5-0
69
4
1-0
6
Wray
4-2
65
5
1–1
7
Del Norte
5-3
45
7
0-0
8
Ignacio
5-0
39
8
1-0
9
Vail Christian
8-0
27
9
2-0
10
Ellicott
6-0
25
–
1-0
Others receiving votes:
Colorado Springs School 15, Dayspring Christian 11, Denver Christian 10, Haxtun 9, Highland 9, Swallows Charter 9, Clear Creek 7, Soroco 3, Paonia 2, Vail Mountain 2, Lyons 1, Rocky Ford 1.
Dropped out
Haxtun (10).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Kit Carson (10)
7-0
109
1
2-0
2
Fleming
6-1
88
4
3-0
3
Briggsdale
6-1
80
3
1-0
4
Kim/Branson (2)
9-0
75
2
2-0
5
Antonito
4-2
65
7
0-1
6
Eads
6-2
49
–
2-0
7
La Veta
5-1
34
–
1-0
8
Springfield
4-3
27
9
0-1
9
Holly
6-2
23
6
0-0
10
Sangre de Cristo
7-0
22
5
2-0
Others receiving votes:
North Park 14, Wiley 14, Heritage Christian 12, Genoa-Hugo/Karval 10, South Baca 10, McClave 6, Cheraw 5, Cotopaxi 5, Nucla 5, Cheyenne Wells 4, Edison 2, Arickaree/Woodlin 1.
GREENWOOD VILLAGE — Overland boys basketball earned a tough Centennial League victory, 72-60, over Cherry Creek on Saturday afternoon on the road.
After a brutal non-league schedule, Overland has found some success in the league, with a win over Eaglecrest Thursday and now a win over Cherry Creek. Tucson Redding headed the Overland offense putting up 24 points, 11 of which were in the third quarter.
“Free throws early weren’t good, I had to calm myself down during halftime,” Redding said of that strong third quarter. “My teammates moved the ball well and it ended up in my hands.”
“Every league win is important because any team is capable of beating you on any night,” Overland coach Danny Fisher said about the strong league win. “Everybody is so tough, so well coached, every win matters.”
Cherry Creek held tough with Overland throughout the game, but at the start of the fourth quarter, Overland found their groove.
(Max Potter/CHSAANow.com)
“We wanted to establish more of an inside presence,” Fisher emphasized about his gameplan. “Our protection at the rim by Laolu Oke completely changed things. He rebounded, he was aggressive, scored, and made free throws when we needed him to.”
It is no secret the troubled faced by Overland in the early season, going 1-7, but back-to-back wins has Overland right back in the mix of contenders.
“Closing games out matters a lot, we were lucky tonight because we missed a lot of free throws again,” Fisher said about what his team must do to improve. “We need to take it one game at a time and improve every day.”
Added Redding: “We learned a lot through all (the non-league games). Now we need bring our chemistry together, get ready for each game, and work to get a good seed in the playoffs.”
Nothing has changed for Fisher’s mindset.
“We want to compete and win state championships and league championships,” he said. “That doesn’t change for us, that our goal all the time.”
COLORADO SPRINGS — In a tournament championship game fitting of its venue, Pueblo West and Rampart gave their fans one of the most thrilling finishes of this young boys basketball season.
The Rams led by four points with under 20 seconds remaining on the clock. Pueblo West found a way to score five points in those 20 seconds to come away with a 61-60 win, claiming the Rampart Holiday Classic title on the boys side.
“Last year in this same game at Rampart, we go up by four with 39 seconds left in the game and lose in overtime,” Pueblo West coach Bobby Tyler said. “It’s amazing how the tide just changes sometimes.”
The tide changed more than in just those final seconds. From the get-go, it looked like the CHSAANow.com Class 4A No. 9 Cyclones wanted to put the game out of reach early.
They started the game on a 8-0 run with Nieyeme Smeyer-Williams attacking the basket often and scoring six of those first eight points. West tried to cause as much damage as they could against Rampart’s man-to-man defense, knowing that they’d eventually move into a more comfortable set.
“Once a team goes man on us, I think that’s a bad idea,” Smeyer-Williams said. “No disrespect to any team, but we have talent everywhere. ”
Rampart coach J’on St. Clair eventually moved his team back into a zone defense which helped slow down the Cyclones (9-2 overall) offense.
“J’on runs Dan McKiernan’s 1-3-1 zone and Dan has perfected that thing,” Tyler said. “They’re so good at it and they’re so big, no matter what you tell the kids, it’s hard to get good shots off.”
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Trailing 17-4 at one point, Rampart went into halftime down by just a single point. That was mostly thanks to Josh Kavalec. He scored half of his game-high 24 points in the second quarter, putting the Rams (7-3) on his back to get them back in the game.
The big concern was just how much energy the Rams expended battling back against a traditionally athletic team.
“It was a lot,” St. Clair said. “We had guys that were trying to put too much on themselves and not play together. Just relaxing helped us.”
The Rams took a two-point lead after the third, needing to hang on to it for just eight more minutes to take the tournament championship.
But both teams were clawing, fighting and scratching to try and gain an edge. Rampart appeared to take one as Kavalec forced a steal at mid-court and scored on a fast break. The Rams got the ball right back and went inside to Dawson Carper who put it in to give them a 54-50 lead.
The two teams traded points as Rampart went up 60-56 with less than 30 seconds remaining. Jordan Lopez connected on a big 3-pointer to cut the lead to one with 14 seconds left. But well after the shot, officials called a foul on Rampart, putting Lopez at the free throw line for two shots and a chance to take the lead.
“Jordan is an animal,” Tyler said. “He plays more minutes than anyone on the team. We can’t take him off the court because he means so much to us in that situation.”
Lopez made one of two free throws, missing the back-end. The battle for ball resulted in it going out of bounds off the Rams.
West ball.
As the Cyclones attempted to setup their play for the final shot, the ball was in the hands of Smeyer-Williams, the kid who scored the first six points of the game for his team. He was fouled by Xavier Johnson with 1.5 seconds remaining.
Now, with two opportunities, he just needed to score one more point. It took the second attempt, but he made one free throw, giving West the win and the overall tournament victory.
“It takes so much practice to be that one guy,” Smeyer-Williams said. “I’m a senior. I’m a leader. I have to be that guy and hit that free throw at the end.”
This year was the first time that the Rampart Holiday Classic was held at the Broadmoor World Arena. It proved to be a basketball-friendly venue and was well-received by players and coaches alike.
There is hope that the tournament will be held at the World Arena next season. If it is, something special will have to happen to top what fans saw in 2018.
