5A Second Round Preview: Kent Smith Region
The first round of the Colorado Class 5A 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 5A 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 Kent Smith Region:
No. 4 Overland (17-6) vs. No. 29 Horizon (16-8), Saturday, 2:30 p.m.
Here comes 6-foot-9, 245-pound junior Graham Ike and the Overland squad. Ike averages a double-double with 17.6 points and 11.7 rebounds a night and the junior-led Trailblazers scored just over 65 points a night during the regular season. A Great 8 team a year ago, Overland has its sights set on the trophy. Led by senior Alex Lawrence (14.4 ppg), Horizon looked good during a first-round win over Bear Creek, but this will be a much tougher game for the No. 29 seed.
No. 13 Eaglecrest (14-9) vs. No. 20 Legend (15-9), Saturday, 2 p.m.
In junior Aaron Bokol and sophomore Ty Robinson, Eaglecrest has as good a one-two punch on the wing as there is in the state. With Zion Ruckard running the point, the Raptors have the talent to hang with any team in the state when they’re on. This game is also a rematch of these teams’ season opener, in which Eaglecrest beat Legend, 51-48. Sufyan Elkannan (13.5 ppg) and the Legand boys have been the architects of several upsets – No. 1 Chaparral and No. 10 Regis Jesuit – this season, so Eaglecrest will need to come ready to play.
No. 5 ThunderRidge (18-5) vs. No. 28 Poudre (16-8), Saturday, 2 p.m.
Poudre got past Pomona in the first round with a combined 46 points from its senior tandem of Damian Forrest and Jack Fisher. Scoring 46 of the Impalas’ 64 points in the first round, Forrest (20.0 ppg) and Fisher (22.0) account for roughly 70 percent of their team’s offense. ThunderRidge will need to use its all-around athleticism and length to stop those two, and continue to play the brand of defense that allowed the Grizzlies to hold their 23 regular-season opponents to an average of 48.1 points.
No. 12 Ralston Valley (17-6) vs. No. 21 Denver East (17-7), Saturday, 5:30 p.m.
The Denver East boys ran wild in a 80-38 win over Gateway in the first round. Senior Caulin Swain scored 29 points and the Angels need to stay locked in if they want to pull off an upset here. Ralston Valley has some horses of its own, with senior Jordan Stratch (15.7 ppg), junior Caden Gigstad (14.2) and Caleb Rillos (12.2) all scoring in double figures. This could be one of the more high-scoring and exciting games of the tournament’s early rounds.