2A boys basketball Great 8 roundup: Holyoke rallies to beat Ignacio in OT

PUEBLO — This game needed a hero and Jesus Loya delivered.

The senior made a free throw with 16.8 seconds left to vault Holyoke to a 61-60 overtime decision over Ignacio in a Class 2A quarterfinal game at Colorado State University-Pueblo’s Massari Arena.

“I’m just super proud of the way they competed all night,” Holyoke coach Scott Dille said. “They just stuck together through thick and then. We didn’t start real well, but I guess it didn’t matter.”

Holyoke improved to 22-3 and advances to play Sanford, the same the two-time defending state champs. The Bobcats dropped to 21-3.

Holyoke trailed 17-2 late in the first quarter, and then late in the fourth the Dragons were also struggling.

Ignacio went to spread offense to run the clock and it worked as the Bobcats took a 51-43 lead with 2:47 left in the fourth quarter after Kruz Pardo’s free throw.

Holyoke came charging back and Gunnar Kroeger made a trey the Dragons were only down 52-48 with 1:34 left. Pardo drained two free throws with 65 seconds remaining to put the Bobcats up 54-50, but Holyoke’s Alex Strauss answered with a 3-point play and then Kroeger made a long-distance trey with 31 seconds showing to tie the game at 54-54.

In overtime, the game remained tied at 56-56 at the 3:11 mark. Igancio’s Nicholas Herrera’s inside bucket gave the Bobcats a 58-56 lead, but Holyoke answered to tie the game at 58-58 with 1:52 left. The deadlock remained at 60-60, until Holyoke’s Loya went to the free throw line with 16.8 ticks left.

Loya missed his first attempt, but made his second giving the Dragons the 61-60 lead. On the ensuing possession, Ignacio’s Wyatt Hayes drove to the hoop, but was called for a charge at the 5.9-second mark.

Hoyoke’s Alex Strauss was fouled immediately, but missed the front end of his one-on-one attempt.

Loya came to the rescue again, stealing the ball and the time ran out giving the Dragons the improbable win.

“I was glad my guys had the confidence to take shots at the end of the game and make them,” Dille said.

In the third quarter, the Bobcats stretched their lead when Anthony Manzanares scored five consecutive points, giving his team a 45-32 at the end of the third quarter.

Holyoke’s Jesus Loya drained a trey and Austin Herman put in a follow shot and Loya added an inside bucket to get the Dragons within 49-41 with 5:05 left in the fourth.

(2) Resurrection Christian 69, (7) Rye 52

The mission is simple.

Resurrection Christian’s boys basketball team wants to win a Class 2A state title.

The Cougars took one step toward reaching that goal by ousting Rye 69-52 in a Class 2A quarterfinal game at Colorado State University-Pueblo’s Massari Arena.

“I thought we played excellent the first half,” said Resurrection coach Bruce Dick, who team lead 40-21 at half. “We gave up a few transition points to them, but we didn’t turn the ball over. That was a key to a great start. We got a little sloppy the fourth quarter. We tried doing things in one pass instead of working some offense and it kind of bit us a little bit, but we answered the call. I thought we played hard.”

The Cougars, who were a Class 2A runner-up to Sanford a year ago, ran their record to 24-0. The Cougars will face Sedgwick County (23-1) at 5:30 p.m. today in the semifinals. Rye dropped to 21-4.

“We have not played Sedgwick County and they are a good fast team,” Dick said. “They like to get up and down the floor. We’ve talked about getting back to the state title game for 12 months now and we want to learn (from last year) and hopefully we will get another opportunity this year.”

Tanner Ervin scored 29 points, including five 3-pointers, and Luke Fick added 17 as the Cougars sped past the T-Bolts.

Rye’s Connor Hale tried to keep the Thunderbolts in the game as he had 30 points – 17 in the fourth quarter. He converted an old-fashion 3-point play with 2:14 left to get Rye within 61-51, but the Thunderbolts could get no closer.

(1) Sanford 82, (8) Ellicott 62

The two-time defending state champion Indians survived an early scare and regrouped to capture the 20-point victory.

Sanford improved to 25-0 on the season and dating back to the middle of the 2013-2014 season the Indians have won 71 games in a row. Ellicott fell to 18-5 on the season.

Miles Caldon fueled Sanford with 25 points, and made 8-of-11 free throws. Caldon wasn’t the only player providing offensive power as Chamce Canty (15), Griffin Peterson (11) and Austin Chavez (10) all scored in double-figures.

Top-seeded Sanford looked anything but in the first quarter as the Indians were trailing 11-1 in the early going.

That wasn’t a sign of things to come. The Indians stayed calm and found a way to win.

“I thought our kids played well,” veteran Sanford coach Rhett Larsen said. “That team came out and hit some shot and they were hot. I don’t think we were flat really, I just think they were sharp. I was real proud of our guys how they have fought back. I think our experience helped and we kept our composure pretty well.”

Sanford rallied and took a 34-28 lead at half and stretched things out to a 53-38 advantage with eight minutes to play. Morgan Murray had a game-high 27 points in Ellicott’s loss, including five three-pointers.

(3) Sedgwick County 72, (6) Paonia 59

Tyler Woodhams poured in 35 points leading the Cougars to a 72-59 win over the Eagles.

The Cougars (23-1) held a five-point lead at intermission and then pulled away for good in the second half, as Woodhams scored 18 of his points in the final 16 minutes.

Dagan Rienks had 28 in Paonia’s loss. The Eagles drop into the consolation bracket with a 23-2 record.

“I thought our team defense was good at times and Tyler did step up and we have some other kids who need to step up, especially on the offensive end,” said Sedgwick coach Stacy Woodhams, Tyler’s father. “It is always tough to get the first win and we got it. It was kind of ugly, but it is a win.”

The younger Woodhams made two treys and was 15-of-18 from the free throw line.