4A boys basketball Great 8 roundup: No. 1 Pueblo South fends off Valor Christian
(1) Pueblo South 59, (9) Valor Christian 50
Pueblo South raced out to a 11-2 lead in the first quarter, and also went up 27-19 in the second, before holding off the defending Class 4A champions.
Valor Christian tied the game at various points in the third and fourth quarters, including 48-48 late, but Pueblo South closed the game on an 11-2 run.
What’s more: Pueblo South did that without star Marcell Barbee, who fouled out early in the fourth quarter.
Jeremy Cody led the Colts with 20 points and eight rebounds. Barbee had 16 points, and David Caporicci added 11.
Valor Christian was led by Jeremy Randle’s 15 points, and Roger Rosengarten had 10 for the Eagles.
The win means the Colts will play Longmont in next week’s Final 4.
(6) Pueblo West 57, (14) Ponderosa 48
Ponderosa twice pulled within a point of Pueblo West in the fourth quarter, but the Cyclones pulled away late to secure the Great 8 win.
Pueblo West led 39-34 going into the fourth quarter, only to see Ponderosa cut their lead to 44-43 and 46-45 midway through the final frame.
At that point, Pueblo West went on a 10-0 run to make it 56-45 late in the quarter.
Ponderosa had led 17-10 at one point in the first quarter.
(5) Longmont 62, (4) Falcon 54
It was a game that featured 10 ties or lead changes in the first half, but Longmont was able to pull away in the second half to move to the Final 4.
The Trojans rallied from down 18-11 to take a 26-24 halftime lead. That lead expanded to 40-34 after the third quarter, and Falcon would not get closer than four points in that final frame.
(2) Lewis-Palmer 70, (10) Widefield 67
Widefield trailed by as many as 10 in the third quarter, but pulled to within four heading into the final eight minutes.
Lewis-Palmer regained a seven-point lead, but the Gladiators went on a 8-1 run to tie the game 67-67 with under a minute remaining.
With a trip to the Final 4 on the line, it was Matthew Ragsdale who buried the 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Rangers will face Pueblo West in the 4A semifinals on Friday as they look to win their first state title since 2013.
