Douglas County boys basketball takes OT win over Ralston Valley

ARVADA — Douglas County boys basketball got some early-season revenge on Ralston Valley in a rematch from last week.

The Huskies suffered a 10-point loss to the Class 6A preseason No. 8-ranked Mustangs on Nov. 29. Douglas County fought back from a 18-point deficit Tuesday night on Ralston Valley’s home court to steal a 77-74 overtime victory on the first night of the Ralston Roundup Classic. 

“It’s huge for us,” Douglas County senior Reilly Guerra said. “We have two players missing so we are just trying our best right now.”

Ralston Valley (2-2 record) seemed in control with a 44-26 lead midway through the third quarter. However, the Huskies (3-1) went on an 11-0 run to end the third quarter to cut Ralston Valley’s lead to 47-43.

Guerra and sophomore London Moore burned the normally stingy Mustang defense. Guerra finished with a game-high 29 points, including going 5-for-6 from the free-throw line during the 4-minute overtime period. Moore drained three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter on his way to 25 points.

“We were just moving the ball and finding the open man,” Guerra said about him and Moore combining for 54 points. “

Junior Roman Saiz nailed a huge 3-pointer early in overtime to keep the momentum on the Huskies’ side. Douglas County made 10 3-pointers on the night after having only four made 3-pointers last week against Ralston Valley.

“Defensively we wanted to kind of pack it in,” Ralston Valley coach Chris Braketa said. “Coming in they (Huskies) weren’t a great shooting team, but they shot lights out tonight, especially in that second half.”

Ralston Valley had one final chance to send the game into double-overtime, but senior Mason Trebilcock’s 3-pointer hit off the front of the rim as the buzzer sounded.

“We’ve had two games like this now,” Coach Braketa said referring the Mustangs’ 68-66 loss to Mountain Vista last week where the Mustangs couldn’t hold on to a double-digit lead in the second half. “It is really good for our young kids. Without Tanner and Jackson right now it’s a lot on them. It’s good experience for them.”

Junior Tanner Braketa — two-time Jeffco League MVP — and senior guard Jackson Hansen didn’t play in the loss. Tanner Braketa is recovering from knee surgery from over the summer. He said before the game he is planning on making his season debut on Jan. 3 after Winter Break. 

Hansen had another stellar football season as one of the top receivers in the state with 91 catches for over 1,000 yards.

“It will be great to have them both back,” said Coach Braketa of his oldest son and Hansen. “Jackson might be back on Thursday. We’ll see.”

Sophomore Caiden Braketa led the Mustangs with a team-high 21 points and five assists before fouling out in the final seconds. Junior Jayce Bahl (15 points) and sophomore Frank Psaute (13 points) had solid games for the young Mustangs that only had four seniors on the squad this season.

Ralston Valley gets back on the court to face Legacy (2-2) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Ralston Valley High School. The Lightning lost to Cherry Creek 51-46 in the opener Tuesday night. Douglas County faces Cherry Creek (2-0) at 5:30 p.m. Thursday during the second day of the annual tournament.