4A Second Round Preview: Guy Gibbs Region
The first round of the Colorado Class 4A state tournament is in the books and the second round is on tap for Saturday. A total of 16 games will be played, and each of the four teams that received first-round…
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Continue ReadingThe first round of the Colorado Class 4A state tournament is in the books and the second round is on tap for Saturday. A total of 16 games will be played, and each of the four teams that received first-round byes in each of the four regions will finally enter the fray.
With teams set to play for spots in the Sweet 16, let’s take a look at each second-round matchup in the Guy Gibbs Region:
No. 3 Steamboat Springs vs. No. 30 Canon City, Saturday, 5 p.m.
The Canon City Tigers won their first playoff game in over 10 years last week and will need that momentum heading into this matchup. Gabe Rall (19.7 ppg) and Josh Rall (16.7) are both excellent shooters who can change a game if they get hot. On the other side of things, senior Mac Riniker is an all-around beast for Steamboat, averaging 18.6 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3.5 steals a night. The Sailors have won nine straight and will look to keep it going on Saturday.
No. 14 Pueblo East (14-9) vs. No. 46 Pueblo County (8-16), Saturday, 7 p.m.
The Eagles have a good combination of size and athleticism with plenty of crossover between their basketball team and their ultra-successful football program. Kain Medrano (12.3 ppg) is the team’s leading scorer but the Eagles spread the ball around with seven players averaging over six points a game and they are tough on defense. Coming in having lost twice to Pueblo East already this season, the Pueblo County Hornets hope they have figured out a secret plan and can get a big night out of one or two of their top three seniors – Lane Sherwood (14.0 ppg), Blake Cesar (12.2) and Ryan Downs (11.7).
No. 6 Pueblo West (19-4) vs. No. 27 Sierra (13-10), Saturday, 4 p.m.
Despite being the sixth seed, the Pueblo West Cyclones considered to be on par with No. 3 Steamboat Springs in terms of their probability of making it out of this region. They’re led by Julian Lucero (12.2 ppg), Taylor Harris (11.8) and Logan Garcia (11.7), and have played a difficult schedule that should have them plenty well prepared for the tournament. Sierra has also played a fair number of top-tier opponents, and is led by senior Eugene Whitmore, who averages 14.5 points and 6 rebounds a night.
No. 11 Cheyenne Mountain (18-5) vs. No. 22 Widefield (15-9), Saturday, 4 p.m.
After sitting out the first round with a bye, Cheyenne Mountain enters the tournament and gets a familiar opponent in Widefield. These two teams played each other in the season opener way back on Nov. 27. Cheyenne Mountain won by 34 points and junior Javonte Johnson (22.9 ppg) went for 40 points on 14 for 19 shooting. Widefield junior Randall Days (14.2 ppg) has been playing well of late so maybe he and the Gladiators can come up with a way to get an unlikely upset here.