1A boys Final 4 roundup: Holly and Fleming set to battle for basketball title
LOVELAND — Casey Fletcher got in foul trouble. In fact, he didn’t even attempt a field goal until the final two minutes, but the Holly junior came through with a critical tiebreaking basket with 1:34 on the clock, giving the Wildcats a 36-34 lead in the 1A Final 4 at the Budweiser Events Center. His teammates did the rest in pushing Holly past Jim Elliot Christian 41-37 and into the state finals for the first time since 1951.
After Holly (22-3) jumped on the Warriors 11-5 in the first quarter, Jim Elliot (22-3) muscled back in taking a 23-20 lead. Then, the Warriors kicked off the third quarter in style, taking a 32-22 lead over the No. 2 seeded Wildcats. Jim Elliot’s work on the glass with the Bogner brothers, Connor and Matt, and the team’s defensive ability in mostly smothering Holly’s explosive guards, allowed them to control the game in stretches.
“They were in our face the whole night and they rebound,” Holly coach Dusty Heck said. “That is a hard rebounding team. We knew coming in that we had to box out and we struggled with it. That was the toughest game, rebounding-wise, that we’ve had all year.”
Jim Elliot continued to apply heavy defensive pressure on the Wildcats, forcing Holly out of rhythm, and the Warriors took a 34-27 lead with six minutes remaining. That’s when the tide turned as those explosive Holly guards, Yaniel Vidal (10 points), Bryan Ortiz (12), and Sigi Avalos (8), finally got on track as they erupted for a 14-3 final run to seal the semifinals victory.
“I’ve got Yaniel and Sigi,” Heck said. “They are sophomores and they don’t play like sophomores. Bryan has been playing with a torn ACL, MCL all year. The heart that kid has showed, wow. I truly believe Holly has three of the best guards in 1A.”
“Our guards have the best handles and they all can shoot,” Fletcher raved.
Of course, the trio got help from Fletcher as well as he corralled a blocked shot, then layed it in to give Holly the late lead.
“He doesn’t shoot much for us, but it seems like when he does shoot it’s usually at a big point of the game,” Heck said of the timely basket. “It was a great, great team effort. Every single one of them believed. Even when we were still down they were saying, ‘we’ve got this, we’ve got this.”
Holly not only got the win, but now they get a crack at winning a state championship in boys basketball for the first time since 1951, when they beat Sanford 42-38 in the smallest classification at the time, the B division. The Wildcats will face Fleming at 7 p.m. on Saturday in Holly’s second state finals ever.
Connor Bogner led Jim Elliot with 13 points in defeat. Tanner Smith had 11.
(5) Fleming 55 (1) Sangre de Cristo 52
The Wildcats ruined the Thunderbirds’ perfect season using clutch free throws down the stretch to pull out an exciting Final 4 showdown victory.
Fleming (19-4) trailed 30-22 at the break, but made a few more plays down the stretch during a tense final few minutes as the teams traded constant leads.
The Wildcats were led by Jaxon King, a sophomore guard who scored 16 points. Darian Wilening had 15. Fleming will be making their first ever appearance in the boys basketball state finals. They only have one senior on the team.
