Team effort guides No. 1 Lewis-Palmer over No. 16 Falcon in 4A boys basketball Sweet 16

MONUMENT – There two main factors that Lewis-Palmer emphasized heading into Wednesday’s Class 4A boys basketball Sweet 16 showdown with Falcon. First, they knew that Falcon’s Mason Black was going to get his shots and score his points. They simply didn’t want him to cause as much damage as he’s accustomed to in 32 minutes.

The second was handling the pressure defense that the Falcons were sure to throw the Rangers’ way. In the first five minutes of the game, the Rangers had gotten the better of the pressure and Cam Lowe spent the better part of the night holding Black below his average of 24 points per game.

The combination of those two factors led the Rangers to an 89-58 win to advance to the Great 8 on Saturday where they’ll face Longmont.

“He got his 21,” coach Bill Benton said. “But I think it speaks a lot that four, almost five guys in double digits, that’s what makes us dangerous.”

Much in the same way everyone knows Black will find a way to get his points, the Rangers (24-1 overall) are always confident that Cam Lowe will play a major role for them offensively. That was certainly the case as he ended the night with a game-high 26 points, but they don’t come as easily if Cohen Edmondson doesn’t find his groove early.

The sophomore knocked down the first basket of the game, a 3-pointer from the wing and scored 10 of his 19 points in the first quarter. Elli Robinson scored all 10 of his points in the first half so with others finding a way to put points on the board, the Falcons (19-6) had to adjust defensively.

“It takes a lot of pressure off,” Edmondson said. “My goal coming in, they were going to try and stop Cam, Brady (Jones) and Eli, so I had to attack. I score, it’s going to open them up.”

That’s exactly what happened. Lowe buried four 3-pointers on the night, one in each quarter and still had no issue working for tough points at the basket.

Jones set up camp in his usual spot on the block and scored a quiet 20 points, 14 of which came in the second half. And it was all that much more vital considering Falcon’s best offensive weapon was struggling to score in the second and third quarters.

“I don’t know if that was the key to our game plan,” Lowe said. “It’s obviously an element to who they are as a basketball team. We just had a good mindset and focus.”

The Rangers will welcome Longmont to their gym on Saturday. The two programs meeting in the playoffs have been a frequent occurrence in recent years. They played each other in the state championship in 2018 and 2019 with each team getting a win. But none of that matters come Saturday.

“These kids were in the program but not in that game,” Benton said. “They know the rivalry we’ve had with Longmont. But Longmont is a different team than when we last played them.”

And really, the Rangers feel that the opponent doesn’t matter. The goal each game is the same and that’s to battle through 32 minutes, get a win and advance to the next round. A 31-point win over a good Falcon team in the Round of 16 is something they want everyone to pay attention to.

“We want to send a statement every game,” Lowe said. “Every game we just come out and play our best basketball and that statement shows on the scoreboard.”

They’ll hope it shows again when they face the Trojans on Saturday.