Ball Fever: Great 8 recap, Final 4 preview in 5A/4A boys hoops
Let’s get it out the way early — it was well earned: “CON-TI-NEN-TAL”!
Boy oh boy, were the Continental League supporters chanting their pride as five of the eight teams arriving at the Coliseum were from their league. But Centennial-strong Overland and Eaglecrest said “not so fast” while defending champ Denver East with DPL pride stated, “Hey, remember us?”
In 4A, the Great 8 was now being held at the higher-seed sites, but believe the packed gyms and last-minute excitement kept the crowds pleased and everyone salivating for Boulder. Longmont’s still undefeated, Lewis-Palmer’s “Steal” will be remembered, and Sierra and Air Academy continue the “southern flavor” in our 4A hoops.
Week in review
Wednesday, March 3 (5A Sweet 16):
- Take a look at our Sweet 16 roundup by Ryan Casey with a couple “snoozers” as Overland and Thunderridge ROLLED, but there were also a couple of overtime games and down to the last-second endings that thrilled crowds!
- Montbello (Warriors) could not stop Ray Beresford and his 27 points for Mountain Vista. Check out Matt Mathewes report with photos here.
- Dennis Pleuss was treated to Chaparral’s senior duo of Jake Holtzman and Chris Moody combining for 50 “big ones!” to advance past Dakota Ridge.
- Fossil Ridge couldn’t quite finish it up at tough Eaglecrest but made tremendous advances after losing a lot from the runner-up squad last year. Tim Visser has the photos here.
- A little lower-scoring than expected, but Regis took care of business at home with 7-point win over Boulder and Jack Eberhard was in the house for action shots.
Saturday, March 7 (5A Great 8):
- Check out our 5A Great 8 roundup, highlighted by the Ross brother’s 42 combined points, Reggie Gibson’s getting some “oooh’s & ahhh’s” from the Coliseum crowd, big Zach Pirog’s 21 points, and Brian Carey capping the night with a huge 10 in the fourth!
- Ok players, need some action photos for that Twitter account? We have you covered.
Saturday, March 7 (4A Great 8):
- The 4A boys games were a little tighter and filled with excitement, last-minute action as well. Here’s our 4A Great 8 roundup covering shots that just missed at buzzer.
- Dennis Pleuss put in major coverage at the 5A Coliseum then made his way over to D’Evelyn for what might simply be called “The Steal” in Lewis Palmer’s upset.
Final 4 preview
Class 5A
- Our 7 p.m. game in Boulder on Friday has Eaglecrest, a No. 1 seed, vs. ThunderRidge, a No. 1 seed as well. It will be a classic matchup of size against speed. Big Zach Pirog made his presence felt at the Coliseum with 21 points, 8 rebounds against league foe Chaparral and he will have a size advantage again facing the Raptors. Eaglecrest’s combo of the Ross brothers “push the tempo” style of play with Blend Advili and Peter Anderson on the wing will certainly test the Grizzlies stout defense.
- The Boulder 8:30 p.m. finale couldn’t get any better as athleticism will be on full display with overall No. 1 seed Overland, who as simply been dominant of late, will tangle with No. 6 seed and defending champ Denver East. When the brackets were released many felt East was the scariest six seed in a long time and Brian Carey’s leadership didn’t disappoint as the Angels have the experience/heart/pride combo coach Rudy Carey has instilled in the Angels.
Class 4A
- Our first game on Friday (4:30 p.m.) will be two teams very familiar in No. 2 seed Air Academy vs. No. 4 seed Lewis-Palmer. These two “got it on” not that long ago with Air Academy handing the Rangers a 21-point loss in February. This is a more confident Lewis Palmer who have won four in a row since and will be looking for revenge. Lewis-Palmer also won the first game between these two squads in January. Can you say, “Rubber Match!” for all the marbles? One 4A from the south is guaranteed to march on.
- Game two on the slate, 5:30 p.m. Friday, will bring a nice contrast as Sierra’s southern pride will push tempo and test 4A overall No. 1 Longmont and their undefeated squad which has won low-scoring battle after battle. Both these squads marched through league play 14-0 and Longmont’s undefeated season is well documented. One thing few might have not taken note of is the Stallions are on a 21-game win streak of their own. Ke’Andre Lewis is the “motor” that makes Sierra go while Tevion Thompson leads scoring at 16 points per game. Longmont? One of the top 2016 juniors in Justian Jessup leads Longmont with 17 points a game and is a “stat stuffin” staple of Ball Fever each week.
Well, March 9, 2015, has arrived our Ball Fever brethren! The Fever Crew can’t tell you any more confidently now — just as it was in November — who will walk away with the Gold Ball next Saturday.
“Wide Open” was our theme from the outset and these eight squads won’t let us down in creating more memories in this time of extreme parity in Colorado hoops! US-36 West here we come!
