Merino boys basketball nabs 2 seed for Great 8
Merino boys basketball is one step closer to vying for a possible state championship.
Last week, after barreling their way to a Class 2A Region 2 title, the Rams earned the No. 2 seed to the final leg of the state tournament — the Great 8. On Thursday, they’ll head to Blue Arena in Loveland to take on No. 7 Denver Christian at 5:30 p.m.
Following a strong showing during their regular season slate, the Rams won the privilege of hosting their own regional tournament. They first welcomed No. 31 Evangelical Christian, who they defeated by a 54-41 score, then moved on to the regional championship game, where they smacked No. 18 Monte Vista in a 50-25 campaign.
Those two wins pushed them to a 21-3 record.
Through 17 games this season, senior Tyler Miller has led the Rams with 18.5 points per game, but he struggled to get much done on the rebounding end. Senior Jaxson Samber, by comparison, scored 11.5 points per game, grabbed six rebounds, dished out 1.7 assists and stole 1.2 balls per game through 19 contests.
Through those 19 games, the Rams shot well (55.4 points per game), protected the glass well (29.1 rebounds per game) and shared the ball well (14.1 points per game).
Denver Christian, meanwhile, will enter the contest with an 18-5 record. The Thunder’s offense and defense has been a bit more prolific than that of Merino. To date, the Thunder are enjoying 63.3 points per game, 33.5 rebounds per game and 16.6 assists per game. They have five players — Jackson Schroeder (10.3 PPG), Ryan Wind (9.2 PPG), Nolan Epperhart (8.4 PPG), Elias Romero (8.3 PPG) and Kaden Moore (eight PPG) — boasting strong scoring averages, making the Thunder a tough lineup to guard.
Should the Rams pull out a win, they’ll move on to the Final Four, where they’ll face off with either No. 3 Crowley County or No. 6 Sanford.