PREP BASKETBALL STATE PLAYOFF CAPSULES: SECOND ROUND
The defending champ hoops teams from Holy Family advanced out of the opening round of their postseason bracket.
The Tigers boys and girls are a win away from getting right back to the Denver Coliseum for the quarterfinals.
Another victory for Silver Creek’s boys and Frederick’s girls, in the meantime, would get them to unchartered territory, with the Raptors having yet to reach the quarterfinals as a program, and the Golden Eagles not in more than 25 years.
Overall, teams from the Boulder, Broomfield and Longmont area went 13-7 in the first round of the Class 6A, 5A and 4A state playoffs. The girls from Broomfield, Erie, Monarch, Longmont and Silver Creek — the boys from Frederick and Fairview — all lost on the road in Round 1.
The five local teams remaining in the girls’ brackets are from Mead, Frederick, Peak to Peak, Jefferson Academy and Holy Family.
The eight boys’ teams are Legacy, Monarch, Broomfield, Silver Creek, Mead, Longmont, Peak to Peak and Holy Family.
Girls’ second-round games go Friday. Boys’ games are Saturday. For full capsules on each of the remaining 13 teams, head to Bocopreps.com. Class 5A Girls
No. 3 Mead hosts No. 14 Mountain View, 6 p.m.
How’d the Mavs get here: Caroline Kron tied her career high with 12 points, while Darby Haley (11 points) and Gianna Wurth (10) rounded out a balanced attack in their 54-31win over No. 30 Glenwood Springs in the opening round.
Why they can advance: The Mavericks get a tough test against Mountain View and its very talented senior leader, Addison Branscum. She is averaging team highs in points (16.7), rebounds (7.4), assists (2.7), steals (2.0) and blocks (1.0). Probably more if you keep digging.
But the Mavs (20-4) are seeded as one of the best teams in the classification for good reason.
They held their own atop a daunting NCAC during the regular season, splitting games with 4A No. 1Holy Family and 5A No. 5 Windsor, only to fall out of the lead in the standings in the final days.
They’re great at home, where their two losses in 10games both came by a single point (Windsor 42-41, Feb. 14; Chaparral 61-60, Dec. 20).
No. 8 Frederick hosts No. 9 Vista PEAK Prep
How’d the Golden Eagles get here: Led by Gabby Jima, Zoe Wittler and Kaylee Gardner, the Golden Eagles dominated the first quarter and the entire second half against No. 25 Denver North, beating the Vikings 58-39.
Why they can advance: Jima, a senior, makes what coaches like to call “winning plays”. Big rebounds. Assists. Strong defense.
In round one, she took it further, looking to help get Wittler back in a groove after the team’s scoring leader missed three weeks late in the season with a foot injury.
Tuesday, Jima said when she and Wittler are on the court together, both scoring, they’ll be a tough out.
Class 4A
No. 1 Holy Family hosts No. 16 Moffat County
How’d the Tigers get here: After winning the NCAC, they beat No. 32 Eagle Ridge by 69 points in the opening round.
Why they can advance: Strange things happen in the postseason but nothing hints at a letdown here for Holy Family.
The defending champs (22-2) are the clear favorites to repeat following a campaign that saw just two losses. The first one came to 5A No. 3Mead (by five), which they redeemed with a 16-point win over the Mavs earlier in the month. The other was to defending 5A champ Roosevelt (by three).
Class 5A boys
No. 5 Silver Creek hosts No. 12 Dakota Ridge, 6:30 p.m.
How’d the Raptors get here: They overcame an injury to sophomore starter Luke Schmeeckle early in the opening round, beating No. 28 Frederick 80-65.
Why they can advance: Looking for their first quarterfinals appearance in program history, the Raptors have depth and talent.
Gabe Selby scored 29in Wednesday’s win, Ashoka Surkhang added 20, and both could go big again Saturday — especially if they’re without Schmeeckle.
They just can’t have Dakota Ridge’s Ethan Berninger completely take over. The junior averaged 23 points per game during the regular season, fourth-best in the class.
No. 8 Mead hosts No. 9 Palmer, 1 p.m.
How’d the Mavs get here: With their seventh win in eight games, the Mavericks beat No. 25Pueblo West 75-54.
Why they can advance: Dominic Mclawrence is electric on both sides of the floor and junior guard Matthew Angelo is the steady hand guiding the offense.
While this group doesn’t have the firepower of recent Mead teams that make deep postseason runs, they’ve proven they can win on the back of their defense (like its 45-33 win over Longmont on Jan. 5), but can also still light up the scoreboard, scoring 68or more in four of their past eight games.
No. 16 Longmont at No. 1 Northfield, 1 p.m.
How’d the Trojans get here: A much healthier Trojans team than a month or so ago, they opened the postseason with an impressive win against Pueblo South, beating the No. 17 Colts 48-42.
Why they can advance: The Trojans have played their best over the past month.
Their lone loss over the past six games came in overtime at Silver Creek, 57-56. Health of guys like leading-scorer Cole Corner (15.3 ppg) and talented sophomore Joey Foot is one reason why.
The defense is also in top form. In round one, they held Pueblo South’s Maurice Austin to 29points, a bit under his state-leading scoring average (31.6). The rest of Austin’s team made just six shots (four from Caeden Herrera).
Class 4A
No. 13 Holy Family at No. 4 Pagosa Springs, 3 p.m.
How’d the Tigers get here: They overcame walking double-doubles from No. 20Denver West in Jacob Dallas (15.7 ppg, 11.6 rpg) and Jeremiah Parker (14.8, 11.5), beating the Cowboys 64-53 in round one.
Why they can advance: More like why not? The Tigers dominated this bracket a year ago as the 17 seed. They’re battle-tested out of the 5A-heavy NCAC featuring top 10s in Windsor, Silver Creek and Mead. And they’re led by Pete Villecco, known around some basketball circles as one of the best coaches around the state.
On the floor, the Tigers have senior leaders in Gabe Tafoya and Joseph Portillo Jr., both of whom were key to their title run last winter.
- Brent W. New, Bocopreps.com