Class 5A Playoff Preview: Mark Randall Region
It’s that time of year again! The Colorado high school playoffs begin Wednesday, with 48 teams in each of the state’s largest classifications beginning fresh with their eyes on a state championship run. Through the next few days, we’ll preview…
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Continue ReadingIt’s that time of year again! The Colorado high school playoffs begin Wednesday, with 48 teams in each of the state’s largest classifications beginning fresh with their eyes on a state championship run.
Through the next few days, we’ll preview the 4A and 5A state playoffs, region by region, with storylines to watch, key matchups and predictions.
Let’s get started:
5A Mark Randall Region
Byes (with overall seed in parentheses)
Grandview (4)
Rock Canyon (5)
Overland (12)
Mountain Vista (13)
What To Know: Overland may not have De’Ron Davis, but the young Blazers won’t give up the quest for a three-peat without a fight. A strong surge in the second half of the year earned them a top-four seed. Same for Mountain Vista, which rode the inside-outside senior combo of forward Jake Belknapp and Isaac Essien to a fourth-place finish in the Continental League. Player of the year candidate Sam Masten and Rock Canyon are riding high off their win over No. 2 overall seed ThunderRidge and the Continental League title it helped capture. And though Grandview stumbled of late, the Wolves are talented and experienced and capable of beating anyone, as they’ve shown.
The other eight teams in the region have upset capability, too. This region represents the wide-open nature of this tournament in general.
First Round
No. 36 Columbine (13-10) at No. 29 Grand Junction (12-10), Wednesday, 7 p.m.
The Scoop: A two-game losing streak to the end of the season cost Grand Junction a shot at the hotly contested 5A Western Slope League title, but the Tigers get a chance to make up for all of that with a home playoff game. They will face a Columbine team that won its first seven games of the season before skidding a bit in JeffCo League play. Still, each squad has had moments in which it showed it can compete with solid teams.
Matchup To Watch: Columbine freshman Luke O’Brien vs. Grand Junction senior Drew Derrieux. O’Brien, a 6-2 guard, has been among the top-performing freshman in the state, averaging 11.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. To fare well in his first playoff game and help the Rebels come away with the win, he’ll need to do his part to contain Derrieux, the GJ senior leader who is averaging better than 18 points per game.
Moving On: The Rebels rediscover their early season form to earn a matchup with fourth-ranked Grandview in the second round.
No. 45 Horizon (12-11) at No. 20 Legend, (14-9) Wednesday, TBA
What Scoop: The Titans had to replace as much as any playoff team in the state. All five starters from last season’s Sweet 16 squad graduated, leaving a new cast to take the mantle. The young team — that is buoyed by a much-improved senior in Blake Fields — found its stride as the season got going and finished in a fourth-place tie in the Continental League. The Titans closed with a two-game winning streak. Horizon followed a six-game winning streak with a three-game season-closing skid that included two defeats by one possession — with one of those in overtime. The Hawks finished in an eighth-place tie in the Front Range League.
Matchup To Watch: Horizon senior Phillip Espinoza vs. Legend sophomore Caleb Tamminga. Espinoza does a little bit of everything. At 6-3, he averages 10.1 points and 6.1 rebounds and shoots 35 percent from the 3-point line. He’s active defensively and can be used in multiple spots on that end. Tamminga is a wild card for the Titans. He has the ability to be a real threat from the perimeter, hitting 40-of-102 shots (39 percent) from the 3-point line this season.
Moving On: The Titans will prevail in a hard-fought contest to earn a matchup in the second round with Continental League rival Mountain Vista.
No. 37 Mullen (8-15) at No. 28 Boulder (14-9), Wednesday, TBA
The Scoop: Boulder is as hot as just about anyone entering the tournament, entering on a five-game winning streak that helped the Panthers finish in a tie for second in the Front Range League. Boulder advanced to the Sweet 16 last year, where it ran into eventual state champ Overland. Several key pieces of that team are back for another crack at a deep run. Mullen took its lumps in Centennial League play, but few if any leagues prepare a team for the playoffs as much as that one.
Matchup To Watch: Mullen senior Matteo Busnardo vs. Boulder senior Luke Wilson. You might not find a better shooting matchup in the first round of the playoffs than the duel between these two. The 6-1 Busnardo, among the state’s leading scorers at 19.1 points per game, finished the season with a 33-point performance against Overland in which he hit 5-of-8 3-pointers. Wilson (18.7 points per game) has hit at least three 3-pointers in a game 10 times this season.
Moving On: The past playoff experience will be a big boon to Boulder as it advances to a second-round date with Rock Canyon.
No. 44 Dakota Ridge (7-16) and No. 21 Far Northeast Warriors (16-7), Wednesday, TBA
The Scoop: Dakota Ridge, which had to replace every member of last season’s Sweet 16 team, followed a 1-8 start with a 6-8 finish to place fourth in the JeffCo League and squeeze into the 48-team field. The athletic FNE Warriors won seven of their final 10 games. Two of the three losses in that stretch came by a single point. The Warriors finished in a tie for fourth in the Denver Public League with a 4-4 mark.
Matchup To Watch: Dakota Ridge junior Antonio Norton vs. FNE senior Aaris Bonds. Norton has taken a leadership role in his first year of major varsity action. The 6-5 forward averages 10.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists and has notched double figures in four out of his last five games. Bonds is an athletic playmaker who, at 6-5, has his hands in everything the Warriors do. He leads his team in all five major categories — points (15.4 per game), rebounds (7.4), assists (3.6), steals (1.9) and blocks (2.4).
Moving On: The Warriors prove to be too much for Dakota Ridge as they run to a second-round clash with Overland.