Prairie boys hoops drops its season at regionals

Prairie boys basketball did just enough to earn a spot in the Class 1A Region 8 tournament, but that’s where its road ended.

Last week, the Mustangs earned the No. 25 seed for the first leg of the state tournament in Colorado’s smallest classification, meaning they had to travel to No. 8 Nucla with the hopes of pulling off a first-round upset against the host.

That upset bid fell flat. Instead, Nucla maintained full control of the first three quarters, first jumping out to a 12-6 lead and then growing that to 46-26 before the last eight minutes began. In the fourth, the Mustangs found one last spark, but their comeback effort fell far short of what they needed to extend their 2023-24 run. Instead, they lost 5138.

Nucla advanced to the regional championship, but lost to No. 9 Flatirons Academy.

The Mustangs ended their year with an 8-12 record, as losing streaks were more frequent during the season than rattling off consecutive wins. Their longest successful runs came two at a time during a particularly fortuitous stretch between Dec. 16 and Jan. 23, when they won four of five, save for a small blip against Denver Jewish Day.

During that time frame, the Mustangs defeated Dayspring Christian Academy (46-37), Haxtun(49-41), Fleming (4324) and Potter-Dix (4936). The team never had a player averaging doubledigit scoring, but enjoyed the strongest game play from sophomore Brennan Bringelson, who averaged 8.7 points per game, 3.7 rebounds per game, 1.9 assists per game steals per game.

Prairie could credit its tough schedule for its bid to the postseason, with three of the 16 Great 8 teams between 1A and 2A making an appearance on their regular-season slate. Now, they’ll say goodbye to senior Wyatt Butler, with the rest of the team being eligible to return. and 1.8