CLASS 1A BOYS BASKETBALL DAILY DIGEST – FEB. 22ND by Kerry Sherman

CLASS 1A BOYS BASKETBALL DAILY DIGEST – FEB. 22ND

BY: KERRY SHERMAN

We’re getting closer to knowing the automatic qualifiers into the field of 32, with one bracket already having cleared the semifinals. Three more will be down to their finalists by the end of the night, and one district is just beginning play. Last night saw a couple of upsets, including a seven seed over a two.

DISTRICT ONE (ALL GAMES AT OLATHE HS)

After sitting back and watching everyone having fun all week, District 1 gets in on the action today. Top-seeded De Beque and #2 Nucla still have the night off, as both received byes into the semifinals.

De Beque awaits the winner between #4 Ouray and #5 North Park. Ouray beat the Wildcats 54-42 back in early-December, getting 28 points and 13 rebounds from Cavan Pasek. Gavin Pittington put up 21 for the Wildcats before fouling out.

The other quarterfinal will have #3 Dove Creek and #6 Caprock Academy fighting for the right to face Nucla in the semis. The Bulldogs and Eagles did not play this season, and have not met since the 2022 state tournament. Sheldon Gardner leads Dove Creek at 11.8 points and 8.5 rebounds a night, while Caprock is led by Jayce Templeton (6.6 ppg) and Reed Struwe (6.6 rebounds).

DISTRICT TWO (ALL GAMES AT LAMAR COMMUNITY BUILDING)

The top half of the bracket semifinal has #1 McClave seeing its first action of the tournament against #5 Granada. The Bobcats upset #4 Cheraw 56-48 on Tuesday, with Maddox Coleman scoring 25 points. He had 19 in the meeting with McClave back on Jan. 26^th, which was his third game after returning from a knee injury suffered in football. The Cards won that contest 76-41, getting 19 from Conner Forgue, and 11 apiece from Mason Barr, Ethan Bronniman, and Tuff Kelley.

In the bottom half of the bracket it’s #2 Eads and #3 Cheyenne Wells going at it. Eads rolled past #7 Kit Carson 67-44 on Tuesday, with Brentley Lening putting in 23 points. Stockton Mitchek added 15, and Case Nelson, 11. Corey Hill powered Cheyenne Wells to a 42-14 win over #6 Wiley, posting a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds. Carson Noe added a dozen points.

Eads collected a 44-33 win over the Tigers two weeks ago, thanks to 19 points from Porter Spady and 12 from Mitchek. Hill had another double-double, 19 points and 17 rebounds, in the losing effort. Perry Chadwick added nine. The Tigers went 1-21 from three-point range.

DISTRICT THREE

The final pairing in District 3 is now set after last night’s semifinals. Top-seeded Springfield won the rubber-match with #4 South Baca, 69-51, on Wednesday night. The Longhorns will play #3 Kim/Branson on Friday for the district championship after the Mustangs bounced #2 Primero 58-49. Kolter Cranson posted an 18-point, 18-rebound double-double.

Springfield used a 19-13 edge in the fourth quarter to beat Kim/Branson 59-54 last Friday, earning the Longhorns the Ark Valley league title. Cooper Stolebarger led the way with 17 points and 16 rebounds, while Colby Batterton and Leland Gable each scored 16 for the Longhorns. Brock Doherty paced the Mustangs with 16 points. David Gamez added 12 and Cranson supplied 10.

The losers of Wednesday’s semifinals will meet for third place on Friday and it will also be a rematch from earlier this month. South Baca won a tight 62-58 contest on the road, getting 19 points, nine rebounds, and seven steals from Landen Stegman. Hayden Brooks added 14 points and 18 boards, and Dallas Calzonetti contributed 12 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. Brett Kendall was one of four Bulldogs in double figures, scoring a game-high 23 points. Primero also got 12 points from Xavier Garcia, 11 from Jace Robinson, and 10 from Mathew Pachorek.

DISTRICT FOUR (ALL GAMES AT NORTHEASTERN JUNIOR COLLEGE)

It’s semifinal time at NJC, as #1 Peetz squares off with #4 Fleming in the top half of the bracket. Fleming moved past #5 Weldon Valley 48-37 on Tuesday, earning another shot at the top-seeded Bulldogs. Peetz raced out to a 67-26 lead through three quarters in the meeting just over a month ago, and went on to claim a 70-43 victory. Rhyder Bayne (15) and Aiden Hill (14) combined for 29 points in the win. David Betley had a dozen for the Wildcats.

The other semifinal is a rematch from last Saturday, with #2 Prairie taking on #3 Briggsdale. Briggsdale won the earlier contest 46-40, giving the Falcons the North Central title. Tanner Fiscus scored 30 in the win. Hunter Johnson had 15 for the Mustangs.

DISTRICT FIVE

Three out of the four quarterfinals went according to the script last night, with #1 Stratton beating #8 Bethune 75-26, #3 Idalia racing past #6 Flagler 84-29, and #4 Otis handling #5 Hi-Plains 61-29. Absent from the list is #2 Arickaree, who was upset by #7 Lone Star, 63-61. The Bison held a 16-point lead midway through the third quarter.

The Longhorns will try to replicate that result on Friday when they face Idalia in the early semifinal at Brush High School. Stratton and Otis will round out the day in the Beet Cellar.

DISTRICT SIX

District 6 won’t be back in action until tomorrow night, when #1 Sierra Grande meets #4 Moffat in one semifinal, and #2 Sangre de Cristo tangles with #3 Centennial in the other. Moffat beat #5 Creede 57-45 on Tuesday, while the Rams earned their semifinal shot at Sangre by downing #6 Antonito 66-32.

DISTRICT SEVEN

It’s another day of preparation for the remaining four teams in District 7, as they will have semifinals tomorrow in Limon. The top seed in the bracket, Pikes Peak Christian, hooks up with #4 Hanover, who had to beat #5 Kiowa 38-36 on Tuesday to reach the semis. Tyler Decker scored 15 in that win.

Second-seeded Genoa-Hugo, who ripped #7 Deer Trail 61-28 in the quarters behind a balanced effort that was led by Trey Smith with 12 points, meets #6 Cripple Creek Victor in the other semifinal. The Pioneers upset #3 Miami-Yoder 54-50, as Myles Durham went for 20 points.

DISTRICT EIGHT (GAMES HOSTED BY HIGHER SEEDS)

Semifinals are on tap tonight in District 8, with #1 Denver Jewish Day hosting #4 Front Range Baptist in the top half of the bracket. The Tigers had no problems with #8 Rocky Mountain Lutheran in the quarters, with Keenan Winnerman recording 19 points and 10 rebounds in a 67-21 decision. The Falcons held off #5 Denver Waldorf 59-50 behind 19 points from Ethan Granthan.

These two met in late-January, with the Tigers winning 71-61. Winnerman and Lev Friedman both had 25 to lead Denver Jewish Day. Alex Prelog led Front Range Baptist with 20.

The bottom half of the draw has #2 Belleview Christian hosting #3 Flatirons Academy. Brandon Ewing and Garrett Owen combined for 30 points, scoring 16 and 14, respectively, in the Bruins’ 60-25 win over #7 Mile High Academy in the quarterfinals. For the Bison, it was Pistol Chavez’ 23 points and nine rebounds that propelled them to a 70-30 win over #6 Denver Academy of Torah. Parker Wilson and Jude Meyer each had a double-double to aid the cause.

When these two semifinalists met on the first of the month, it was the Bruins pulling out a 68-56 victory on the road. Ewing lit up the nets for a game-high 25 points to lead Belleview Christian. Wilson had 21 and 12 for the Bison.