Pemberton’s clutch free throws lift Mountain Vista into final four
DENVER — Jake Pemberton had not missed a free throw all night, but walking up to the line in a tie game with 7.6 seconds remaining Friday night, the Mountain Vista senior nearly psyched himself out.
“I started thinking about it when I walked up. I told myself, ‘This is for the game,’” Pemberton said. “If I miss these, that could be a big deal. When I got the ball, I told myself, ‘Don’t think about it. Just shoot like I’ve been shooting free throws all game.’ I was just feeling it from the free-throw line tonight.”
He certainly was, and never was that more evident than the two clutch foul shots he drained to help send the Golden Eagles to a 65-61 victory over defending state champion Eaglecrest in the Class 5A state quarterfinals at the Denver Coliseum.
Mountain Vista (25-1) draws undefeated Fossil Ridge (26-0) in the state semifinals March 14 at the CU Events Center in Boulder.
What made the victory even sweeter was the fact that Eaglecrest (19-7) ended Mountain Vista’s season a year ago.
“It was even better that, not only were they the defending state champs, but that we lost to them last year to go to the state championship,” Pemberton said. “It was like a rivalry.”
Brady Subart led five Golden Eagles in double figures with 16 points and Pemberton added 15. Raymond Beresford (12 points), Graham Smith (11 points and 12 rebounds) and Carson Simon (10 points) also played pivotal roles.
Blend Avdili paced the Raptors with 14 points and Elijah Ross and Jaisean Jackson added 13 points each. Eaglecrest had whittled away at a five-point deficit with 1:07 to go, getting a clutch steal that led to the tying free throws from Ross with 13.7 seconds left.
Pemberton was driving the baseline on the other end when he was fouled.
“I was totally confident in him,” Subart said. “We always go over those late-game situations. I knew he was going to knock them down.”
Ross missed a deep 3-pointer on the other end and Smith added two more free throws to provide the final margin.
Each team knocked down six 3-pointers on the night and the lead changed hands enough times that it was easy to lose track of who was leading whom.
“It was probably one of the funnest games I’ve ever played in,” Subart said. “Credit to Eaglecrest, they’re a really good team. They like to play fast, which is fun because it’s constantly an up-and-down game.”
Fossil Ridge will provide yet another challenge for Mountain Vista. Pemberton said as excited as the team was to win Friday night, the Golden Eagles are far from satisfied.
“This year we’ve been tested a bunch and this adds to that,” Subart said. “That will really help us with the experiences going into the Final Four.”
