CHSAANow

Month: March 2018

  • Photos: George Washington, ThunderRidge, Grandview and Rock Canyon advance to 5A boys hoops Final 4

    DENVER — The Class 5A boys Final 4 is set as George Washington, ThunderRidge, Grandview and Rock Canyon all won Friday’s quarterfinal games.

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    (5) George Washington 42, (13) Smoky Hill 41

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    (2) ThunderRidge 45, (7) Doherty 43

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    (6) Grandview 59, (3) Chaparral 53

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    (1) Rock Canyon 54, (8) Overland 47

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  • Grandview boys basketball holds off Chaparral to move to 5A Final 4

    Chaparral Grandview boys basketball
    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    DENVER — Grandview boys basketball is headed to its first Final 4 since 2006.

    The Wolves knocked off No. 3-seeded Chaparral 59-53 in the Class 5A Great 8 on Saturday to advance to next week’s semifinal round. They will face ThunderRidge on Friday.

    The Wolves used a monster third quarter that saw them nail 9-of-12 shots, including 4-of-6 from 3-point, to build a 42-37 lead. Grandview would maintain that lead the rest of the way in securing the win.

    “We had energy, and we just relaxed,” Grandview coach Michael Rogers said said of the third quarter. “We were just so tight the first half, like we didn’t know how to play basketball. But we came out, we adjusted. … The kids just believed in themselves.”

    Chaparral fought back in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to two points with two minutes to play, but Grandview hit its free throws down the stretch the seal the win. Included were five from Levi Dombro, a junior.

    Chaparral Grandview boys basketball
    (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)

    “The kids stepped up at the end and hit some big free throws for us,” Rogers said.

    Chaparral did have a chance to tie the game, but, down 56-53, Joseph Dalton’s 3-point attempt barely rimmed out with 25 seconds left.

    It marks Grandview’s first trip to the Final 4 since that 2005-06 season, which was the second of two consecutive trips to that round, and third in four seasons.

    “Hopefully we’re establishing some type of tradition and expectations of our kids and our program,” said Rogers, now in his fourth season. “Gary (Childress) did a great job before I was here, and I’m just trying to put my mark on it and hope that the kids perform well.”

    Dayne Prim led Grandview with 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting, as well as six rebounds.

    “That was probably the most patient I’ve seen him,” Prim said. “He took quality shots tonight.”

    Each team started slowly in the first quarter — Chaparral led 7-4 — but things picked up in the second. The Wolverines took a 22-20 lead into halftime, despite leading 14-6 at one point in the second quarter.

    After the break, Grandview started to assert itself. The Wolves’ excellent third quarter turned into that five-point lead at 42-37.

    As the fourth quarter opened, Caleb McGill hit a layup to push Grandview’s lead to 44-37 with 7:36 to go. The Wolves maintained at least five-point lead until Chaparral’s Ronnie DeGray III cut into the margin with a bucket that made it 50-47 with 2:53 to go.

    50 seconds later, DeGray hit two free throws to further trim the margin down to two at 51-49. But Grandview’s clutch free throw shooting didn’t allow Chaparral to get any closer.

    Grandview (22-4) entered the game having won eight straight games, while Chaparral (21-5) had won five in a row.

    DeGray led Chaparral with 22 points. Kobe Sanders added 15.

    Tanner Unger had 10 points for Grandview, Ben Boone had nine, and Davon Walker added eight.

  • 4A boys basketball Great 8 roundup: No. 1 Pueblo South fends off Valor Christian

    (1) Pueblo South 59, (9) Valor Christian 50

    (Charles Hurley/@PuebloRdoSports)

    Pueblo South raced out to a 11-2 lead in the first quarter, and also went up 27-19 in the second, before holding off the defending Class 4A champions.

    Valor Christian tied the game at various points in the third and fourth quarters, including 48-48 late, but Pueblo South closed the game on an 11-2 run.

    What’s more: Pueblo South did that without star Marcell Barbee, who fouled out early in the fourth quarter.

    Jeremy Cody led the Colts with 20 points and eight rebounds. Barbee had 16 points, and David Caporicci added 11.

    Valor Christian was led by Jeremy Randle’s 15 points, and Roger Rosengarten had 10 for the Eagles.

    The win means the Colts will play Longmont in next week’s Final 4.

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    (6) Pueblo West 57, (14) Ponderosa 48

    (Anthony Sandstrom/Pueblo West View)

    Ponderosa twice pulled within a point of Pueblo West in the fourth quarter, but the Cyclones pulled away late to secure the Great 8 win.

    Pueblo West led 39-34 going into the fourth quarter, only to see Ponderosa cut their lead to 44-43 and 46-45 midway through the final frame.

    At that point, Pueblo West went on a 10-0 run to make it 56-45 late in the quarter.

    Ponderosa had led 17-10 at one point in the first quarter.

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    (5) Longmont 62, (4) Falcon 54

    (Adam Dunivan/BoCoPreps.com)

    It was a game that featured 10 ties or lead changes in the first half, but Longmont was able to pull away in the second half to move to the Final 4.

    The Trojans rallied from down 18-11 to take a 26-24 halftime lead. That lead expanded to 40-34 after the third quarter, and Falcon would not get closer than four points in that final frame.

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    (2) Lewis-Palmer 70, (10) Widefield 67

    (Photo: Lewis-Palmer HS)

    Widefield trailed by as many as 10 in the third quarter, but pulled to within four heading into the final eight minutes.

    Lewis-Palmer regained a seven-point lead, but the Gladiators went on a 8-1 run to tie the game 67-67 with under a minute remaining. 

    With a trip to the Final 4 on the line, it was Matthew Ragsdale who buried the 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Rangers will face Pueblo West in the 4A semifinals on Friday as they look to win their first state title since 2013.

  • New number, same Sam Masten as Rock Canyon beats Overland in 5A boys hoops Great 8

    Overland Rock Canyon boys basketball
    (Marlee Smith/CHSAANow.com)

    DENVER — A change in jersey is just what the doctor ordered for Sam Masten. Rock Canyon hadn’t made a field goal until after Masten got blood on his standard No. 5.

    So that came off and No. 24 came on. And the shooting ills were cured as the Jaguars beat Overland 54-47 to return to the Class 5A boys Final 4.

    “At the start of the game when I put on 24 I made like my first six shots,” Masten said. “I was feeling pretty good.”

    Masten finished the game with 19 points, but it was his ability to operate the Rock Canyon offense that made all the difference in the world.

    He scored the first two points for the Jags on a pair of free throws, but Trailblazers had jumped out to a 8-2 lead at that point.

    “We’ve had slow starts,” Rock Canyon coach Kent Grams said. “Teams have been playing us so differently that it’s been hard to get into a rhythm and figure out how to attack things.”

    A cut on his finger forced the jersey change. At that point, the guy wearing No. 24 looked like the guy that had haunted teams in the Continental League all year and made Rock Canyon the perceived No. 1 team in the state.

    At least until the loss to Chaparral. 

    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    “I feel like after we lost to Chap and to ThunderRidge that people thought we were a middle-tier team,” Masten said. “We’re the No. 1 team for a reason and we’ve been battle tested this whole year and we wanted to come out here and prove that tonight.”

    The Trailblazers got more than enough offense from Tucson Redding who had taken the Jags to task for 18 points through three quarters.

    His first points of the fourth quarter came on a pair of free throws that brought Overland to within three points.

    But Tyson Gilbert pushed the lead back to five with a tough layup. Another free throw from Nick Janedis pushed the lead to six, but a turnover gave the ball back to the Trailblazers with under a minute remaining.

    On the ensuing possession, Redding’s third personal foul put it right back in the Jags’ hands. Overland had several looks to close the gap, but to the delight of the Rock Canyon section, none of the shots fell.

    It was an easier path to this year’s Final 4 for Rock Canyon. Last year, the Jags had to make a shot at the buzzer to beat Grandview, a team who will also be playing next weekend. 

    But no matter how the Jags advanced, the only important thing in Grams’ mind is that they did.

    “We just want to move on,” he said.

    The Jags will see George Washington in the 5A semifinals next Friday. And when they take the court, Masten will don No. 5 despite the success he saw in this week’s substitute uniform.

    “I’ve been wearing No. 5 my whole career so I probably have to go back to that one,” he said. “But 24 did me just fine, so it’s all good.”

  • 2A boys basketball’s state tournament bracket

    Boys basketball’s 2018 state tournament bracket in Class 2A.

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    2018 CHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournaments Class 2A

  • 1A boys basketball’s state tournament bracket

    Boys basketball’s 2018 state tournament bracket in Class 1A.

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    2018 CHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournaments Class 1A
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    Bracket notes

    • Cornerstone and Genoa-Hugo/Karval switched to avoid district match-up.
    • The higher seeds will wear white uniforms and be the home team. Seeds determined by final RPI.

  • 2A girls basketball’s state tournament bracket

    Girls basketball’s 2018 state tournament bracket in Class 2A.

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    2018 CHSAA Girls Basketball State Tournaments Class 2A

  • 1A girls basketball’s state tournament bracket

    Girls basketball’s 2018 state tournament bracket in Class 1A.

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    2018 CHSAA Girls Basketball State Tournaments Class 1A
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    Bracket notes

    • Briggsdale, Heritage Christian, North Park moved to avoid district match-ups.
    • The higher seeds will wear white uniforms and be the home team. Seeds determined by final RPI.

  • The 2A and 1A state basketball brackets are out

    (@kcr1wildcats/Twitter)

    Each bracket for the Class 2A and 1A state basketball tournaments was released on Sunday.

    Find them here:

    Teams advanced to the state tournament after advancing out of the regional rounds. Find boys brackets here; and girls brackets here. Teams were then seeded with the help of the final RPI standings.

    Earning No. 1 seeds were Kit Carson (1A girls), Creede (1A boys), Yuma (2A girls) and Crowley County (2A boys).

    The 2A tournament will hold all games at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, with the Great 8 starting on Thursday, and concluding with title games on Saturday.

    In 1A, Great 8 (Thursday) and Final 4 (Friday) games will be held at the University of Northern Colorado’s Butler Hancock Gym. The championship games will be played at Budweiser Events Center.

  • No. 6 Regis Jesuit girls basketball wins Great 8 rematch over No. 3 Horizon

    (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    DENVER — On a similar weekend, a similar matchup had a similar result. Horizon came into the Class 5A girls Great 8 as the higher seed and perceived favorite. But in the end, it was Regis Jesuit who came away with a Final 4 appearance. 

    The Raiders came away with a 57-43 win on Thursday and advanced once again to the Class 5A Final 4.

    “To start the quarter, they shot the heck out of the ball,” Regis coach Carl Mattei said of Horizon. “They made it difficult for us and we had to change our defense up.”

    It felt like every early shot the Hawks were putting up sliced through the nets at the Denver Coliseum. They jumped out to a 14-7 lead after the first quarter and despite Regis briefly taking a lead, went into halftime ahead 26-25.

    But in that second quarter, Avery Vansickle planted the seeds for what would be a defining second half for Regis. She led the Raiders with nine points in the first 16 minutes and got over her freshman nerves fairly quickly.

    “You just have to get used to the game; used to the team,” Vansickle said. “The whole experience has been the best thing ever for me.”

    She didn’t score in the third quarter, but Jada Moore scored all seven of her points in the third and the Raiders built a 43-31 lead.

    It was the defense in that quarter though that proved to be the d

    (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    ifference. At halftime, the Hawks were shooting with near 50 percent efficiency. In the third, the Raiders allowed less open looks and Horizon went just 2 for 14 from the field.

    “We wanted to keep them under seven points and we held them to five,” Mattei said. “That’s been the biggest thing all year. If somebody is not shooting well, we have good athletes and we can defend it.”

    Vansickle led the Raiders with 12 points, shooting 35 percent from the field. She’s not like the more experience players that beat Horizon last year only to fall to eventual state champion Grandview.

    With her initial nerves of playing at the Coliseum now past her, she just wants to do what she can to help the Raiders come away with their fourth state title.

    “I expect us to play as hard as we can, just like today,” she said. “Count on our defense and come out trusting one another.”

    The win comes 52 weeks to the day after the then-No. 11 Raiders beat the Hawks in last year’s Great 8 round. The Raiders last won the state title in 2014, but missed the Final 4 in 2015 and 2016.

    Horizon finishes the year 23-3 and will lose three seniors, including Izzy Allen, to graduation.

    The Raiders will play Lakewood in next Thursday’s semifinal game.