2A Boys Basketball: Simla Captures Second-Consecutive State Championship
By Jack Carlough
Photo: Erika James
FORT COLLINS — For the second-straight season, Simla rode the hot hand of Tatum Kocerha to state glory.
One year removed from scoring 21 points in last year’s state championship game win over Crowley County, the 6-foot-6 junior delivered an even more impressive show on Saturday with 29 points in Simla’s Class 2A boys basketball state title-clinching win over Limon.
“I’m biased, but I’ll tell you, 1(A) through 6A, he’s (Kocerha) the best player in the state,” Simla head coach David Guy said following the Cubs’ 49-39 victory. “No one affects the game like he does.”
Second-seeded Simla, which also secured the 2A girls basketball championship earlier in the evening, now owns four state titles on the boys’ side.
After entering the third quarter up 25-17, Simla maintained control over No. 9 Limon in the second half at Colorado State University’s Moby Arena in Fort Collins. Behind Kocerha, sophomore Evan Guy scored eight points and junior Logan Rayfield scored seven.
“We’re young, and I don’t think a lot of people expected us to do this,” said Kocerha, who went 13-for-20 from the field. “To prove a lot of people wrong, it feels good.”
Kocerha and Guy each gave praise to Guy for helping fuel Simla’s state championship run.
“Evan has worked on his shot so much,” Kocerha said. “He’s just knock-down from out there.”
Simla closed its season at 23-4, including three wins over Limon and a perfect 4-0 record in the Black Forest League. The Cubs’ success came on the heels of losing six seniors who saw the court last season.
“This group was doubted from the start, losing all our seniors,” Guy said. “No one really believed that we could do this except for us.”
Two years removed from winning it all in 2024, Limon wrapped its 2025-26 campaign at 18-10. Senior Keagan Mellott led the Badgers with 15 points on Saturday and Daniel Forristall followed with 12.
“Keagan, he’s just a super, super individual,” Limon head coach Dirk Pedersen said. “He’s a warrior, he battles. We ask him to do a lot out there, and he just comes to play and uses his body well.”
Limon’s run to the state tournament was highlighted by a 41-38 upset of No. 1 Sanford in the quarterfinals. Later, the Badgers beat No. 5 Golden View Classical Academy in the semifinals.
“I’m just proud of our effort. It’s been that way all year,” Pedersen said. “Our kids have come out and played hard every game. For us to be 8-8 at the end of January and still get to this game, winning 11 out of 12 in that stretch, it’s been a fun ride with these guys.”
In the boys’ third-place game, Heritage Christian took down No. 5 Golden View Classical Academy, 51-26.
Saturday, March 14 at Colorado State University in Fort Collins
Saturday, March 14 at Colorado State University in Fort Collins
