Five Takeaways from the Final Four: Range view v. Mountain Vista
Friday evening was the Final Four game between the Raiders and the Golden Eagles. Range view won 62-51. Here are my five takeaways in the game. Speller Brothers own the half The Raiders offense did not show up early on…
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Continue ReadingFriday evening was the Final Four game between the Raiders and the Golden Eagles. Range view won 62-51. Here are my five takeaways in the game.
Speller Brothers own the half
The Raiders offense did not show up early on but still they led 28-21 going into half and that was on the shoulders of the Speller brothers. Christopher Speller had 10 points in the first quarter and got some help from a person he is familiar with, his twin. Christian Speller joined in on the action and proved to be too much for Mountain Vista as they had themselves a half. The brothers combined for 24 of the 28 points in the half and were the main reasons the Raiders went into the half with a lead and Range view rode the hot hand to a victory.
Stat of the game
There are a few things that stood out from this game but what really stood out was the play of the Raiders. The Raiders were only able to hit one 3-pointer for the fill game as they went 1-12 from beyond the arc which means they were getting to the paint and doing their work from inside. It is known that it is difficult to shoot in the Coliseum so the game plan was simple, get inside. The Raiders did that as they had two other eye-popping stat lines. The Raiders not only won the rebounding battle 49-33 and went to the free throw line 35 times as Mountain Vista only went 12 times.
Player of the game
Quincey Jewett continued his play as the Most Improved Player in the state and built on his reasoning behind being the forerunner for the Tournament MVP. In the game it was behingb him that the Raiders were able to secure the win as he was the player of the game. He affected the game on both ends of the floor as he had 13 points on an efficient 6-7 from the field, 22 rebounds (eight offensive rebounds) and was able to change the game with his defense as well as he finished with three blocks as well.
Golden Eagles Seniors
It was not the result that Mountain Vista was looking for but it was a successful season nonetheless.
In the Final Four loss the Seniors made their mark on the way out. Two seniors that really separated themselves all season long had solid games to conclude their high school career. Ben Grusing had an incredible year and in his final game put up a team high 16 points and five rebounds. Simon May was a double-double machine this year and continued that as he finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Both seniors attempted to bring their team back in the game as they were the only two from the Golden Eagles to finish with double digits and their play kept things close but in the end Range view was too much.
Trip to the Finals
With the win the Raiders earned a trip back to the championship game. They started to see players emerge in ways of scoring, showed their incredible depth as one of the best second units in all of the state. They rebounded well, defended at a high level, got inside of the paint and from there made the Golden Eagles pay. They will now be up against the Chaparral Wolverines who went are the No. 1 team in the state that plays with confidence and have the size and speed to match up with the Raiders but Range View made a statement with the win that they are here to stay.