Chaparral boys hoops grabs ticket to 5A Great 8 with win over Dakota Ridge
LITTLETON — Chaparral used the effective one-two punch of seniors Jake Holtzmann and Chris Moody on Wednesday night to advance to the Class 5A boys basketball Great 8.
Holtzmann (30 points) and Moody (20 points) scored all but 10 of the Wolverines’ points in a 60-47 road victory against 5A Jeffco League champion Dakota Ridge.
“It’s hard to stop both of us (Holtzmann and Moody) at the same time,” said Holtzmann, who closed out the game strong with a 17-point fourth quarter.
Dakota Ridge closed to within three points — 45-42 — on a layup by senior Mason Grothuesmann with 3:23 left in the fourth quarter. However, Chaparral (18-7) responded with Holtzmann scoring 13 points in the final few minutes to allow the Wolverines to win going away.
“When you have guys that are big, skilled and can shoot free throws, it’s really hard to defend,” Chaparral coach Rob Johnson said. “They (Holtzmann and Moody) have had some moments this year where they didn’t have that consistency. Once they find it, it makes everyone better.”
Chaparral made a living at the free-throw line. At one point the Wolverines were 17-for-17 from the charity stripe. They finished 23-for-28.
Dakota Ridge had its struggles at the free-throw line. The Eagles shot just 8-for-14 from the line.
“Chaparral played very, very well. They made their free throws and rebounded very, very well. That is how you close out games,” Dakota Ridge coach Curi Yutzy said. “They did a great job closing out the game.”
Senior Chase Coon was Chaparral’s third leading scorer with eight points, which all came in the second quarter. Coon’s pair of 3-pointer sent the Wolverine fans into a frenzy.
The crowd couldn’t have been much better. It was nearly a standing-room only crowd with large student sections for both teams.
“We’ve played in front of big crowds all year. We are prepared,” Holtzmann said of playing in the load environment. “We have a loyal student section. We love them all and they love us. We are having a fun year with them.”
The Wolverines and their faithful fans head to the Great 8 at the Denver Coliseum on Saturday. Chaparral will face No. 1 seed ThunderRidge (22-3) in the Chauncey Billups Region championship game with a ticket to the Final 4 on the line.
Chaparral is very familiar with ThunderRidge, it’s Continental League foe.
“Awesome. We’ve already played them twice,” Holtzmann said when he was told ThunderRidge defeated Rampart on Wednesday to set-up a third go-around with Chaparral. “It will be fun for a third time. Rubber match.”
ThunderRidge pinned a 15-point loss on Chaparral in the ThunderRidge/Chaparral Tip Off Tournament back in early December. However, Chaparral handed the Grizzlies their worse loss of the season a few week ago with the Wolverines taking a 66-42 victory.
“It’s going to be interesting. Joe (ThunderRidge coach Joe Ortiz) is a tough coach to go against three times, that’s for sure,” Johnson said. “We are going to have to find a way to do what we did last time.”
Dakota Ridge (22-3) closed out its most successful season in more than a decade. The Eagles won their first conference title since 2004 and was the lone 5A Jeffco team to advance to the Sweet 16.
“I’m going to choose to enjoy the process we had this year and the journey we had this year,” Yutzy said. “We had an amazing time as a group together as a basketball team that has done some really special things.”
Junior Devante Jones led the Eagles with 14 points. Junior Tyler McFarland also reached double-digits with a dozen points, including three 3-pointers.
“We aren’t going to get too high or too low,” Yutzy said of the Eagles’ season-ending loss. “Obviously, it’s tough because you don’t get to practice tomorrow.”
