Boys Basketball Class 2A State Tournament Breakdown
#1 Crowley County vs #8 Sanford on 3/8 @ 5:30pm
All 8 Regional hosts won their region and now they battle it out to advance farther into state. Game #1 features #1 Crowley County vs #8 Sanford. Sanford struggled through their Regional barely beating Mancos 46-37. Sanford then pulled off an upset beating Sedgwick County 42-39. Sanford was down 20-6 after the first quarter then held Sedgwick County to 19 points the rest of the game. Sanford outscored Sedgwick County 36-19 in the remaining 3 quarters. Sanford is playing their best basketball of the season and could be peaking at the right time. Sanford is 19-5 on the season and went 7-4 against teams that made it to regionals/State. Sanford is averaging 54.0 ppg and giving up 38.3 ppg. Sanford is one of the better defensive team in 2A. Sanford will be looking for another shocker in the Elite 8. Crowley County continued their perfect season beating Center 67-32 and Fowler 48-34 to punch their ticket to the State Tournament. Crowley County had to beat Fowler 4 times this year to get to State but took care of business each time. Crowley County is a perfect 23-0 on the season and went 9-0 against teams that made it to regionals/state. Crowley County is averaging 56.8 ppg and giving up 32.3 ppg. Crowley County is led on offense by senior Bradley Carnes-Clabey 16.3 ppg 10.4 rpg and senior Hayden Carter 9.4 ppg and 5.2 rpg. Crowley County and Sanford have not played each other this year and have 3 common opponents. Sanford and Crowley County both beat Swallows Charter and Center and both teams dominated both opponents. I may be reaching here but I am putting Crowley County on upset alert. Sanford is playing their best basketball of the season and after a huge upset have some monster momentum. I am picking Sanford over Crowley County by 2.
#4 Highland vs #5 Meeker on 3/8 @ 8:30pm
Game #2 features #4 Highland vs #5 Meeker. Meeker cruised through their region beating Telluride 73-42 and then beat a solid Simla team by 10 56-46. Meeker has not lost a game since 2/1 and are playing really good basketball at the moment. Meeker went 20-4 on the season and improved from last year. Meeker went 6-3 against playoff teams. Meeker is averaging 59.7 ppg and giving up 44.3 ppg. Meeker is led by senior Zach Dinwiddie 12.4 ppg & 6.9 rpg and Logan Hughes 11.7 ppg & 8.3 rpg. Meeker has 5 players averaging 5 ppg and may be a team to watch out for in the state tournament. Meeker must continue to play good basketball going forward. Highland cruised through game #1 against Front Range Christian 77-46. Highland then was in a dog fight like I predicted. Highland faced Del Norte and literally went down to wire. Highland was trailing by 3 with 4 seconds left and hit a half court buzzer beater to send them game into overtime. Highland then took care of business in OT to advance to State. Highland is hoping to use their momentum in their first game. Highland went 20-3 on the season and went 6-2 against regional/state teams. Highland is averaging 68.1 ppg and giving up 50.4 ppg. Highland is led by sophomore Tate Bessire 17.0 ppg 4.1 rpg and senior Koby Anderson 14.9 ppg 8.8 rpg. Highland has only 4 players scoring over 5 ppg. Highland and Meeker have no common opponents and both teams have senior’s leaders as well. This will be a very close game and Highland does have the State Playoff experience that Meeker does not. Picking a winner on this game I am going with experience and a team that has some solid momentum. I am going with Highland over Meeker by 8.
#3 Byers vs #6 Ignacio on 3/8 @ 1:15pm
Game #3 features #3 Byers vs #6 Ignacio. I won’t lie I did not pick Ignacio to get out of regionals and they proved me wrong in a big game. Ignacio blew past Denver Christian 65-42 and then blasted Limon 59-39 to punch their ticket to State. Ignacio has been playing really good basketball since their lose to Ridgway on 2/10. Ignacio is having another solid year going 19-4 on the season and went 6-3 against state/regional teams. Ignacio is averaging 61.2 ppg and giving up 42.2 ppg. Ignacio has not updated their stats in a while but are led by Johnny Valdez 15.7 ppg and Kai Roubideaux 14.8 ppg. Ignacio has 7 players scoring over 5 ppg and have plenty of scoring options. Ignacio biggest knock is they lack height and do rely on outside shooting. If Ignacio is hitting on all cylinders watch out for this team. Byers punched their ticket to state by beating Union Colony Prep 85-68 and then being challenged by Vail Christian 69-59. Byers took care of business against both teams. Byers must be wondering how Limon lost by 20 to Ignacio after only beating Limon by 1 & 9. Byers has been consistent so far this season and is hoping to keep that going moving forward. Byers went 19-4 this year and went 9-4 against playoff teams. Byers is averaging 66.9 ppg and giving up 49.0 ppg. Byers is led by senior Austin Davis 17.9 ppg 4.9 rpg and junior Brady Shelley 12.6 ppg and 2.9 apg. Byers has 5 players scoring over 5 ppg. Byers and Ignacio have 2 common opponents and both teams went 2-0 against them. Byers beat Denver Christian by 15 and Limon by 9 and Ignacio beat Denver Christian by 23 and Limon by 20. Just looking at scores has some red flag going up for Byers. Like I said if Ignacio is hitting they will be a very scary team. I am going with Byers over Ignacio by 4.
#2 Yuma vs #7 Ellicott on 3/8 @ 10:15am
Game #4 features a team that was expected to be here and a Cinderella story. #2 Yuma plays against #7 Ellicott. Ellicott has surprised everyone this year before the District tournament Ellicott was just 10-9. I got to see Ellicott play and they have plenty of size and a good point guard. Ellicott stunned everyone when they won their District tournament then pulled an OT win over Calhan in the Regional final to punch their ticket to State. Ellicott may have found the ingredients to win and with the size they have could cause problems for teams. Ellicott is 15-9 on the season and went 1-7 before the district tournament against playoff teams. Ellicott is averaging 56.5 ppg and giving up 51.5 ppg. Ellicott is really playing good basketball and seeing if they can keep the pace will be interesting. Yuma may be playing the best basketball in 2A. Yuma made quick work of their regional opponents beating Swallows Charter 67-33 and then Evangelical Christian 59-31. Yuma must continue to play consistent basketball and they also have the size to stick with Ellicott. Yuma went 22-2 on the season and went 9-2 against playoff teams. Yuma is averaging 60.2 ppg and are giving up 38.4 ppg. Yuma is hoping to make a deep run into the playoffs and their only disadvantage is lack of playoff experience. Yuma and Ellicott have one common opponent and that is Evangelical Christian. Ellicott went 1-1 against ECA and recently beat them by 13. Yuma beat ECA in regionals by 18 points. I have gone 0-2 when picking against Ellicott but I am going with Yuma over Ellicott by 10.
MileHigh Prep Report 