Aurora – Mountain Vista’s late scoring spree gave the Golden Eagles a victory in their first playoff appearance.
The Eagles watched a double-figure lead evaporate as Lewis-Palmer started pouring in 3-pointers in the third quarter Wednesday night, but Mountain Vista turned it on when it counted most for a 49-46 victory in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs Glenn Wilson Region at Aurora Central.
Brothers Kyle and Cass Behrens scored 14 points apiece for ninth-seeded Mountain Vista (14-10). The school from Highlands Ranch will face undefeated Aurora Central on Friday night.
Arza Hammond led eighth- seeded Lewis-Palmer (14-9) with 14 points, and Colin Stingley came off the bench for 13.
The Eagles jumped out to an 11-2 lead, and they stretched that to 27-17 with the first basket of the third quarter. But that would be the last Mountain Vista basket of the quarter as Lewis-Palmer went on an 18-0 tear, with five players going 6-for-6 from beyond the 3-point line.
Cory Hoogenboom was the last Ranger to hit from long range, and his basket at the buzzer put Lewis-Palmer up 35-27.
That did not faze at least one Mountain Vista player.
“No worries. … They were going to go cold sometime,” Kyle Behrens said.
Kyle Behrens gave the Eagles another lead with a spinning move in the paint, making the score 38-37 midway through the fourth quarter. The lead changed hands down the stretch, but a layup by Ryan Dore put Mountain Vista up 45-41 with less than a minute to play.
Hammond hit three free throws for the Rangers with 41.8 seconds left to make it a one-point game. Cass Behrens was fouled quickly and missed the front end of a one-and-one, but his brother was there with a rebound to save the day.
“We stay in the game. We don’t give up, ever,” Kyle Behrens said.
Mountain Vista 13 12 2 22 – 49
Lewis-Palmer 8 9 18 11 – 46
Mountain Vista – Dore 3 2-2 8, C. Behrens 5 3-7 14, K. Behrens 5 4-4 14, Zamora 1 2-2 5, Taylor 1 0-0 2, Munsterman 1 1-2 4, Schlitt 0 0-0 0, Rasel 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 12-17 49.
Lewis-Palmer – Ross 3 0-0 9, A. Hammond 4 4-5 14, Caparelli 2 2-3 7, Adams 0 0-0 0, Haeffele 1 0-0 3, Stingley 5 2-5 13, E. Hammond 0 0-0 0, Helwege 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 8-13 46.
3-point goals – C. Behrens, Zamora, Munsterman; Ross 3, A. Hammond 2, Caparelli, Haeffele, Stingley. Total fouls – Mountain Vista 15; Lewis-Palmer 15. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
BEAR CREEK 53, LOVELAND 48
Fifth-seeded Bear Creek had its hands full with Loveland, the 12th seed, going to the wire for a victory in the second game at Aurora Central.
Loveland (7-15) led 2-0 but trailed the rest of the way. Still, a 3-pointer by Preston Biermann with 22 seconds to play made it a one-point game, 49-48.
Bear Creek’s Aromous Robinson hit both of his free throws after Biermann’s clutch basket, and Cameron Ross stole the Indians’ inbound pass to secure the victory.
“A win is a win, and we got away with it,” Robinson said.
Robinson led Bear Creek (18-6) with 14 points, and 6-foot-7 David Nelson added 13. Loveland’s Collin Klein scored a game-high 28 points.
Bear Creek, which lost in the first round of the playoffs last season, will take on Arapahoe on Friday.
Loveland 9 10 12 17 – 48
Bear Creek 12 12 10 19 – 53
Loveland – Biermann 4 0-0 9, Foster 0 0-0 0, Klein 9 9-14 28, Ruiter 1 0-0 3, Tempel 0 0-0 0, Miller 1 0-0 3, Knight 0 2-2 2, Roundy 0 0-0 0, Bottoms 0 0-0 0, Clem 1 1-1 3. Totals 16 12-17 48.
Bear Creek – Adams 2 0-1 6, Runkle 2 0-0 6, Nelson 5 3-4 13, Robinson 3 8-10 14, Englund 0 0-0 0, Ross 0 2-3 2, Wolfe 2 0-0 4, Spitzlberger 3 1-2 8, Cordry 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 14-20 53.
3-point goals – Biermann, Klein, Ruiter, Miller; Adams 2, Runkle 2, Spitzlberger. Total fouls – Loveland 21; Bear Creek 14. Fouled out – Tempel. Technicals – None.
