5A First Round Preview: Chuck Williams Region
It’s playoff time! The Colorado Class 5A state tournament is set to kick off with the first round on Wednesday. A total of 16 games will be played, and they will determine who will face each of the four teams…
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Continue ReadingIt’s playoff time! The Colorado Class 5A state tournament is set to kick off with the first round on Wednesday. A total of 16 games will be played, and they will determine who will face each of the four teams that received first-round byes in each of the four regions.
Let’s take a look at each first-round matchup in the Chuck Williams Region:
First-round byes: No.2 Mountain Vista, No. 7 Smoky Hill, No. 10 Regis Jesuit, No. 15 Fruita Monument.
No. 31 Liberty (13-10) vs. No. 34 Rocky Mountain (13-10), Wednesday, 7 p.m.
On paper, this game looks to be about as even as a game can look. Two teams with matching records and separated by two seeding spots, Liberty and Rocky Mountain played during the regular season and Liberty left with a 57-55 win. These teams’ regular-season meeting was close the whole way and it’s reasonable to expect this game will be too. Rocky Mountain’s Joseph Urynowicz (18.2 ppg) has been shooting the ball well down the stretch and Liberty’s Sean Bohuslavsky (17.6) scored 28 points in the Lancers’ season finale, so the back-and-forth between those two will be worth the price of admission.
No. 18 Greeley West (17-6) vs. No. 47 Cherokee Trail (6-17), Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
With just six wins and facing a team with a record mirroring their own, it’s hard to imagine the Cherokee Trail boys pulling off a win here. But wouldn’t that be something? After all, Cherokee Trail does play in the Centennial League where wins don’t come cheap. The Cougars will need Isaac Tesfaye (12.4 ppg) and Chad Robinson (10.9) to have big games and they’ll likely have to hold Greeley West under 60 points to have a chance. On the other side, senior guard Andre Sepeda (17.0 ppg) has been lighting it up this season and if he gets hot from long range, he might shoot the possibility of an upset right out of the gym.
No. 26 Douglas County (11-12) vs. FNE Warriors (15-8), Wednesday, 7 p.m.
The FNE Warriors are the fourth highest-scoring team in all of Class 5A and it’s easy to see why with five players averaging more than seven points a night and senior Myron Hamilton (15.0 ppg) and Dachaun Davis Jr. (14.6) leading the way. Douglas County can score the basketball, too, averaging 65 points a game. Brendan Temple (17.4 ppg) and TJ Boykins (14.7) lead Douglas County and whichever team’s dynamic duo has the better night could determine this game’s outcome. This one is looking like it could become a track meet but don’t discount the defense both team’s top players bring to the court.
No. 23 Highlands Ranch (14-9) vs. No. 42 Vista PEAK Prep (12-11), Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Highlands Ranch skipped the first day of the tournament with a first-round bye last winter but the Falcons will have to play their way into the second round this season. Last season, they were the 10th seed and this year the Falcons will face No. 10 Regis Jesuit if they can get past Vista PEAK. That isn’t likely to be easy, as the 42nd-seeded Bison boast a trio of dangerous players in AJ LaCabe (12.6 ppg), Jaerron Hunter (12.0) and Curtis Stoval (11.0). Of the Bison’s top eight scorers, only Hunter is a senior. Of Highlands Ranch’s top eight scorers, none are seniors. So whichever way this game goes, expect to see these teams back in the mix next season.