No. 17 Holy Family boys
When the Class 4A, 5A and 6A boys and girls basketball tournaments first began a couple weeks back, the Bocopreps area sent 20 teams to the postseason. Now only four remain.
When the lights shine down on the court of the Denver Coliseum on Thursday and Friday, both Holy Family teams, Monarch girls basketball and Frederick boys basketball will all fight for their spots in their respective championship games. All have proven themselves worthy of being called one of the best four teams in their classifications.
Here’s what fans can expect of their final push toward state glory, which will come to an end one way or another this week. All state championship games will be played on Saturday. of the year in Dallas and they were really good then, and I think they have only improved as the season has gone on. Knocking off Valor says a lot about what they are capable of as a team. I think a lot of people had Valor penciled into the finals and beating them helps everyone else see what Arapahoe is capable of. Beating them is going to take a team effort, offensively and defensively. If we can score a little and guard the way we have during most of the season, I really like our chances.” (Mead). Head coach Jeff Conway knows the toprated Kadets will cause his boys headaches if they can’t defend the 3-point line well, and highlights defense in general as one of the keys to victory.
“I think we match up well with their size and speed,” Conway said. “A big key to the game will be rebounding and not giving them second-chance points. We gave up a lot of offensive boards against Mead and we need to do a better job of keeping Air Academy off the glass and not giving them easy put-backs.” them this season, with revenge at the forefront in their minds. The Tigers know they’ll have to outrebound and out-shoot a Lions team that excels at both.
“Besides getting to the finals, we’re kind of motivated. That was one of our losses that we felt that we could have won,” Rossi said. “You learn more from a loss than you do a win. I’ve always believed that. We learned a lot. Our team grew in spirit. Sharing the ball became more of a factor. They realized how important it is to be a team and they also learned how intense you have to play.”
Game details: Thursday, 12:45 p.m. against Eagle Ridge Academy
Scouting report: Much like the ladies, the Tigers boys learned to wade through the best 5A league as a 4A team, and certainly suffered a few bruises along the way, especially through the last few weeks of the season.
A slump, during which they lost eight of 10, only sharpened their focus and intensity once the postseason began. That fire simmered within them when they barely beat out No. 16 DSST: Green Valley Ranch in round one, then sparked into a raging inferno when they dominated top-seeded Kent Denver in the Sweet 16.
The Tigers have relied on their speed and shooting acumen to carry them forward in the state tournament and house four strong shooters that can lead them on any given night: senior shooting guard Rocco Bridges (12.5 ppg), junior small forward Joseph Portillo (9.7 ppg), junior Jaxon Grable (8.1 ppg) and senior point guard Eric Quintana (7.8 ppg).
That opening-round victory was just the seismic shift the Tigers needed.
“We squeaked it out against DSST. From there, I felt like our spirit changed. I just felt confidence and our togetherness move in the right direction,” head coach Pete Villecco said. “(Eagle Ridge Academy) is huge. I mean, they don’t start a guy under 6-(foot)4. Their length is a challenge for us and we got to keep them off the glass. Post defense is going to be a big deal. … We’ll present some challenges too with all of our little guys. Hopefully they’ll have a hard time guarding us as well.”