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Tag: Jeffco

  • No. 6 Ralston Valley girls basketball gets tested by Mountain Vista

    ARVADA — Ralston Valley’s girls basketball simply found a way to win Tuesday night despite the odds.

    The Mustangs — No. 6 in this week’s CHSAANow.com Class 5A girls basketball standings — shot under 30 percent from the field and were outscored by Mountain Vista in three of four quarters in the non-league games. However, Ralston Valley walked off its home court with its seventh straight win after a 49-44 victory.

    “We kind of needed one like this,” Ralston Valley coach Jeff Gomer said. “We haven’t played a close game in a long time. We needed some adversity going into the playoffs.”

    Ralston Valley senior Brooklyn Seymour (14) drives to the basket during the Mustangs’ 49-44 victory over Mountain Vista on Tuesday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Ralston Valley (9-2 record) looked to be in control with a 20-8 lead after the first quarter, but Mountain Vista (6-5) gave the Mustangs all they wanted for the final three quarters.

    The Golden Eagles knocked down seven 3-pointers in the final three quarters, while Ralston Valley didn’t make a 3-pointer after the first quarter and finished the game 2-for-15 from long range.

    “There is definitely a lot to learn,” Ralston Valley senior Sydney Bevington said. “When Mountain Vista started knocking down 3-pointers they got the momentum and we got sloppy. We got away with it tonight, but we won’t get away with it against a better team.”

    Mountain Vista never took the lead, but cut the Mustangs’ lead down to as few as 3 points in the second half. Senior Sara Vafaie led the Golden Eagles with 16 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.

    “There was a minute there where it was getting a little hectic, but Gomer calmed us down a little bit,” Bevington said. “We just needed to focus. At one point we were just throwing up shots because we were so rushed.”

    Ralston Valley went to a sagging man-to-man defense in the fourth quarter that was able to slow down Mountain Vista’s offense. In fact, there was a stretch of nearly five minutes in the fourth quarter than neither team scored.

    “When we were having problems scoring that is when I decided to spread the floor,” Gomer said. “We are a good free-throw shooting team. I figured we would get to the line, but that didn’t go well either.”

    The Mustangs missed the front-end of three one-and-one attempts from the free-throw line late in the fourth quarter. However a pair of free throws by freshman Sophia Sabus and one from senior Brooklyn Seymour in the final minute helped seal the victory. Seymour pulled down a whopping 14 rebounds in the win.

    Ralston Valley junior Saya Sabus, left, finds her path to the hoop blocked by Mountain Vista senior Madrid Klabunde during the first half Tuesday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “We will definitely be going hard in practice the next few days,” said Ralston Valley junior Saya Sabus, who combined with her younger sister for 19 points.

    Bevington had her normal consistent night with 16 points to lead the way for the Mustangs. The four-year starter is in her final days as a Mustang, something she isn’t ready to dwell on yet.

    “I don’t want to think about it. It’s sad,” said Bevington, who has signed to play at Santa Clara University. “It has been good.”

    Bevington has been much better than good over the past four years. She will finish her career with some remarkable stats … 1,000+ points, 700+ rebounds, 300+ assists, 200+ steals and 100+ blocks.

    “She plays both ends of the court. She rebounds, blocks shots … we ask her to do a lot,” Gomer said about Bevington. “She is probably the best all-around player we’ve ever had. I’ve had some girls that were maybe better in some spots, but she does everything. It’s been a great career and she has become a great leader for us.”

    Ralston Valley’s record is 68-20 over the past four seasons with Bevington being a big piece of the puzzle. She also had some large shoes to fill right away. Ashley Van Sickle, a junior now playing hoops at Montana State University, finished with nearly 1,400 points running the Mustangs’ offense for four straight years before Bevington.

    “I had a really good point guard who was ahead of me. She was a great scorer,” Bevington said of Van Sickle. “I wanted to standout in a few other areas and be an all-around player. I’ve been able to do that thankfully and contribute any way that I can.”

    Ralston Valley closes out the regular season with a road game at Lewis-Palmer on Saturday, followed up with home games next week against Lakewood and Denver East. The state tournament brackets are scheduled to be released Monday, March 8, with first-round games starting up March 9.

    Ralston Valley senior McKenna Nichols lines up a 3-pointer during the second quarter Tuesday night. The Mustangs won their seventh straight game with a 49-44 victory over Mountain Vista. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Photos: Bevington leads No. 6 Ralston Valley girls basketball over Mountain Vista

    Sydney Bevington’s 16 points were just enough to give Class 5A No. 6 Ralston Valley girls basketball a 49-44 win over Mountain Vista.

  • Wheat Ridge boys basketball finds its range in win versus Standley Lake

    WESTMINSTER — Wheat Ridge senior Dominic Cross had a memorable night on the basketball court Monday at Standley Lake High School.

    Cross dropped a career-high 27 points as the Farmers defeated the Gators 70-42.

    “I don’t remember ever scoring 27 points in a game,” Cross said. “This year I’ve struggled shooting. Tonight I really wanted to get to the rim and get my rhythm going. It was a great team win. My teammates got me going feeding me the ball early.”

    Cross carried a heavy load in the first half scoring 18 points by halftime. The Farmers (7-4 record) held a 27-18 lead going into the break with the senior guard doing it on both ends of the court.

    Wheat Ridge senior Scotty Kingman puts in a layup during the Farmers’ 26-point fourth quarter Monday against Standley Lake. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “He (Cross) can get us going. He has the energy to do it,” Wheat Ridge coach Tommy Dowd said. “He is just a smart player. He shot the ball really well and destroyed them (Standley Lake) defensively.”

    Standley Lake (3-8) was still hanging around through three quarters trailing 44-33, but Wheat Ridge really got going offensively in the fourth quarter. The Farmers outscored the Gators 26-9 in the final 8 minutes to grab a third straight victory for Wheat Ridge.

    The Farmers finished Class 4A Jeffco League play last week with a 5-3 conference mark, good enough for tied for fourth in the league that features three teams — Evergreen, Golden and Green Mountain — ranked in the top-12 in 4A.

    “We always want to win. We want to have great momentum going into the tournament,” Cross said. “I would love to go on the road and beat some good teams, stun some people and make some noise in the tournament.”

    Wheat Ridge senior Westin Miller has been making plenty of noise this season. The future Regis University baseball player is the leading scorer in 4A Jeffco. Miller is averaging 20.4 points per game.

    However, it took awhile for Miller to find his shot against Standley Lake. The senior guard didn’t score in the first half.

    “It did come to me a little bit,” Miller said when asked if he had any thoughts of hanging up his basketball shoes for his baseball cleats at halftime after going scoreless in the opening half. “You just have to keep shooting. I just needed to get some confidence back and keep shooting. I knew they would go in.”

    Standley Lake junior Silas Von (42) goes up to block the shot of Wheat Ridge senior Kale Kissell (10) in the first half Monday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Miller got on track driving to the basket and getting fouled early in the third quarter. He made both free throws and then preceded to drain a trio of 3-pointers to finish with 11 points.

    “Just keep shooting. You’ll never make it until you shoot the next one,” Dowd told Miller at halftime. “He is one of the best shooters we’ve ever had at Wheat Ridge.”

    With the start of the high school baseball season getting pushed out until early May during this COVID-19 year, Miller can focus on the hardwood before moving onto the diamond.

    “I’ve always loved playing basketball,” Miller said. “It is always a great team sport. I love playing with my teammates and my coaches. It’s always a good time.”

    Wheat Ridge has three regular-season games left starting with No. 7-ranked Evergreen on Wednesday night on the Farmers’ home court. The Cougars took a 55-41 win over Wheat Ridge in their league match-up back on Feb. 8.

    “We hope to move up a couple of stops and see where we are at,” Dowd said of the upcoming state tournament that begins with first-round games March 5. “It’s nice to be one of the top seeds, but we’ve been pretty good going on the road and beating somebody. I’d love to go out west (Western Slope).”

    Standley Lake (3-8) was 51st in the RPI rankings to start this week. The Gators close out their regular season at Conifer on Friday night before a pair of home games next week against the 4A Jeffco League champions — Evergreen — and Alameda International.

    The Gators did have nine different players score against the Farmers. Senior Louis Ortega (9 points) and junior Silas Von (8 points) led the way for the Gators.

    Wheat Ridge senior Westin Miller (3) drives on Standley Lake defenders during the second half Monday. Miller, leading scorer in 4A Jeffco, was held scoreless in the first half, but rebounded with a trio of 3-pointers in the second half. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • No. 12 Chatfield boys hoops wins thriller against rival Columbine

    LITTLETON — Chatfield senior Carter Rubin knew he had probably made a mistake taking a 3-pointer in front of the Chargers’ bench in the final seconds Friday night.

    The No. 12-ranked Chargers had the ball leading 55-54 with the clock ticking down. Chatfield was trying to take care of the ball and run out the clock. However, Rubin couldn’t help himself when he found himself open in the corner with under 30 seconds to play.

    “I was like, ‘Oh no!’ Here we go,” said Chatfield senior Dylan Carter, who dished the ball out to Rubin. “Then he made it and I was like, ‘My man!’ It felt good when it went in.”

    Chatfield senior Ethan Johnson (21) gets a shot up over Columbine senior Xander Mossberger during the first half Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    The monster 3-pointer gave Chatfield (9-1, 7-1 in Class 5A Jeffco League) a 58-54 lead with 24 seconds left. Carter, who led the Chargers with 19 points, made a pair of three throws that allowed Chatfield to hang on for a 60-58 victory.

    “He (Rubin) is one of the best shooters in our program,” Chatfield coach Erik Buehler said. “Every one that leaves his hand usually looks good. It was a big one and we needed it. We’ll take it.”

    Rubin had only made one 3-pointer early in the game way back during the second quarter. He admitted he was a little concerned after the ball left his hand on what was the biggest shot of the night.

    “They said good shot, but it was very scary,” Rubin said of what his teammates said when they mobbed him after a timeout was taken right after his big 3-pointer. “I was kind of hesitate right after I took it. I knocked it down and it kind of sealed the deal for us.”

    Chatfield looked to be well in control with a 48-31 lead early in the third quarter, but Columbine (6-4, 5-3) went on a 10-0 run and held the Chargers without scoring for a stretch of 8 minutes in the second half.

    Columbine seniors Garrett Rogers (22 points), Treyvaughn Williams (15 points) and Luke Garrelts (12 points) carried the Rebels offensively. It was the first game of the year for the talented Williams playing for Columbine, who have been hit hard with injuries this season.

    “Treyvaughn is a game changer,” Buehler said. “Rogers is special shooter and one of the best players in our league.”

    Garrelts made a driving layup and was fouled with 1.2 seconds left to make the score 60-58. He intentionally missed the free throw with the hope to get a tip-in by the Rebels to force overtime, but Chatfield junior Chase Miller grabbed his 14th rebound of the game as the buzzer sounded.

    The victory placed Chatfield as runner-up in 5A Jeffco behind No. 11 Valor Christian (8-2, 7-1) in the final conference standings.

    Columbine senior Garrett Rogers (2) scored a game-high 22 points in the rivalry game against Chatfield on Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Valor clinched the 5A Jeffco League title Friday night with a victory over Bear Creek. Valor’s lone league loss came against Ralston Valley in the Eagles’ conference opener back on Feb. 3. Valor reeled off seven straight league victories to win its first boys hoops conference title since moving up to 5A Jeffco.

    “I think we were still a little disappointed about Wednesday,” Rubin said referring to the 3-point loss against Valor that cost the Chargers the league title. “Columbine has kicked our butts that last few years and we wanted to bring it and beat them tonight.”

    Columbine plays four non-league games to wrap up it season over the next two weeks. The Rebels are scheduled to play area rivals Dakota Ridge (Feb. 26) and Chatfield (March 5) in non-conference games.

    The Rebels could be a very dangerous team in the postseason with the likes of Williams and Rogers leading the way.

    Chatfield closes out the regular season with Erie, Chaparral, Dakota Ridge and Columbine. The Chargers were 16th in the RPI standings prior to Friday’s win.

    Buehler said he will treat the final four non-league contests as playoff games.

    “Our season is so short and it will be the toughest part of our schedule,” Buehler said. “We just need to battle through that and we’ll be battle tested going into that final 32 (state tournament).”

    Columbine senior Anthony Latham (0) attempts to get a shot off despite the effort of Chatfield junior Chase Miller on Friday night. Miller had a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds in the Chargers’ 60-58 victory. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Photos: Huard leads No. 2 Valor Christian girls basketball over Bear Creek

    Macy Huard scored a team-high 12 points to lead Class 5A No. 2 Valor Christian girls basketball to a 78-30 win over Bear Creek.

  • Photos: Aldin leads Ralston Valley boys basketball over Dakota Ridge

    Zack Aldin scored a team-high 15 points to lead Ralston Valley boys basketball to a 56-47 win over Dakota Ridge on Friday.

  • Photos: No. 4 Ralston Valley hockey gets big win over Standley Lake

    Class 5A No. 4 Ralston Valley is still undefeated after getting a shutout win over Standley Lake on Friday.

  • Photos: Late surge lifts No. 10 Heritage hockey over Chatfield

    A four-goal third period boosted Class 5A No. 10 Heritage hockey to a 6-3 win over Chatfield on Friday night.

  • D’Evelyn boys basketball gets signature win over No. 6 Evergreen

    EVERGREEN — D’Evelyn at least delayed Evergreen staking claim to the Class 4A Jeffco League boys basketball title Wednesday night.

    The Jaguars took a 57-51 road victory against the No. 6-ranked Cougars. Evergreen (7-2, 6-1 in 4A Jeffco) had the chance to clinch the 4A Jeffco League title with a win over D’Evelyn. The Cougars haven’t won a boys hoops league title since the 2003-04 season.

    “Dolan has a great team,” D’Evelyn coach Will Gosch said of Evergreen coach Jeff Dolan’s Cougars. “I think we caught them off guard. I have to give credit to our kids and I think our coaching staff had a good plan coming in.”

    D’Even junior Troy Benko (13) goes up for a shot over Evergreen junior Jameson Davis (30) on Wednesday. The Jaguars handed the Cougars their first conference loss of the season. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Evergreen does still control its own destiny in winning the conference title. The Cougars have one league game remaining at home against Alameda International (0-8, 0-7) on Friday. Evergreen has the head-to-head tiebreaker over No. 15 Green Mountain (7-2, 6-1), so a win over Alameda will still clinch the league title for the Cougars.

    However, the snowy Wednesday night in Evergreen belonged to D’Evelyn. The Jaguars (6-3, 4-3) came in on a 2-game losing streak after losses to Golden and Green Mountain, but D’Evelyn came out firing scoring 22 points in the first quarter.

    “We are learning what it means to be ready and playing in this system,” Gosch said. “It’s fun when a kid starts getting hot.”

    D’Evelyn junior Dewayne Johnson scored at will in the first quarter. Johnson poured in 15 points in the first 8 minutes that included three 3-pointers and a monster dunk on a breakaway.

    “DJ came up huge in the first quarter,” D’Evelyn junior Max Grant said. “That kind of set the tone for the whole game and we built off that energy.”

    D’Evelyn broke out to a 22-14 lead in the first quarter against a stingy Evergreen defense that hadn’t allowed any opponent 50+ points in a game this season.

    “We haven’t seen DJ play like that,” Gosch said of Johnson. “He has a pretty shot and he trusted his shot early.”

    The Cougars locked down defensively on Johnson as he finished with 17 points, but Grant, senior Luke Kjellsen, Troy Benko and Bodhi Anderson combined for 29 points for the Jaguars.

    D’Evelyn senior Luke Kjellsen (43) has tight coverage on Evergreen senior Griffin Lauritano (1) during the first quarter Wednesday at Evergreen High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    A huge key was the third quarter where D’Evelyn was able to extend its 31-29 halftime lead to double-digits with driving layup by sophomore Elijah Gusmus that turned into a 3-point play when he was fouled.

    “Our goal was to get the first two minutes out of the way and we did,” Gosch said of the Jaguars’ mentality coming out of halftime. “We kept attacking the rim. We’ve been light and tentative going to the rim at times this year. We have work on that a lot.”

    Evergreen turned up the pressure defensively and nearly tied the game in the final minute. The Cougars forced a handful of D’Evelyn turnovers, but the shots just wouldn’t fall in the final minute for Evergreen.

    Evergreen senior Jackson Mott finished with a team-high 17 points. Senior Griffin Lauritano pitched in 15 points and senior Jared Stiller had 11 points in the loss that ended a 7-game winning streak for the Cougars.

    “It’s a great win, but we aren’t satisfied,” Grant said.

    D’Evelyn was No. 25 in the RPI standings before Wednesday’s win. The Jaguars head into their final five games of their regular-season schedule with some momentum.

    “I feel like this is a great start to something special,” Gosch said.

    Evergreen closes out its regular season after Friday’s league finale against Alameda with non-league games against Wheat Ridge, Golden, Standley Lake and Green Mountain. The Cougars will likely grab the automatic bid for the 32-team 4A state tournament as the 4A Jeffco League champion.

    Brackets are scheduled to be released Monday, March 8. First-round games will be played Tuesday, March 9.

    Evergreen senior Jackson Mott (10) is boxed in by D’Evelyn juniors Braeden Scheer (12), Dewayne Johnson (5) and Max Grant (3) during the Class 4A Jeffco League game Wednesday night. The Jaguars ended a 2-game losing streak with a huge 57-51 victory over No. 6 Evergreen. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

  • Photos: No. 11 Valor Christian boys basketball edges No. 12 Chatfield

    In a battle of ranked Jeffco League teams, Class 5A No. 11 Valor Christian edged No. 12 Chatfield 64-61 on Wednesday.