For most of the first half Thursday night, everything the Pueblo East Eagles shot was as golden as their jerseys.
Then the golden boy of Class 4A took over.
Centaurus senior Devon Beitzel scored 22 of his 32 points in the second half as the No. 2 Warriors overcame a 13-point deficit to advance to the Great 8 of the state tournament with a stirring 74-66 victory.
The top scorer in 4A, Beitzel shrugged off an average start at Metro State for a superb finish. He hurdled chairs to save the ball, passed, forced three steals, drilled outside shots and finished a handful of twisting layups to set up a 6 p.m. game Saturday against top-seeded Broomfield.
Beitzel’s teammates fed off his exuberance and carried the Warriors (19-6) in the second quarter. Dillon Sanders scored 12 points and Andy Harvey had 15, including a 3-pointer to start the third quarter that gave the Warriors their first lead of the game.
“It was a great team win,” Beitzel said. “People stepped up when they needed to.”
The surprising Eagles (15-10) shot the lights out in the first quarter and led 17-4 on a 3-pointer by Kristofer Spradley, who finished with a team-high 22 points. Four of Pueblo East’s starters scored in double figures, but they got zero points from forward Zach Secora and just one point from their bench.
Eagles coach Dave Ryder said he hoped forcing the Warriors’ role players to win the game would be enough.
“We rolled the dice and they stepped up,” Ryder said.
Pueblo East 23 11 11 21 – 66
Centaurus 13 17 22 22 – 74
Pueblo East – Spradley 8 1-3 22, Carbajal 5 0-1 14, Bue 5 2-3 12, Sanchez 5 5-6 17, Secora 0 0-0 0, Esquibel 0 0-0 0, Gonzales 0 1-2 1, Sandoval 0 0-0 0, Severance 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 9-15 66.
Centaurus – Beitzel 12 7-9 32, Sanders 3 5-6 12, Wildeman 0 4-4 4, Harvey 6 1-2 15, Armstrong 2 0-0 4, Louth 1 0-2 3, Rubeck 2 0-3 4, Hansen 0 0-0 0, Cagley 0 0-0 0, Jordan 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 17-26 74.
3-point goals – Spradley 5, Carbajal 4, Sanchez 2; Harvey 2, Beitzel, Louth, Sanders. Total fouls – Pueblo East 20, Centaurus 16. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
BROOMFIELD 73, SILVER CREEK 61: Adam Nigon shot Silver Creek out of its zone defense in the first quarter to give the top-seeded Eagles a lead they would not relinquish against their Northern League rival.
Nigon scored 10 of his 24 points in the first quarter and Broomfield (19-6) was methodical down the stretch to win for the 14th time in 15 games.
“The 2-3 zone really allows good shooting teams to really show what they can do,” Nigon said.
Senior Geoff Tice scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half, Alex Hanson had 12 and Kyle Kaiser scored 10 for the Eagles.
“We answered every run they had. I thought our kids played with a lot of heart and energy,” Eagles coach Kevin Boley said.
The Longmont-based Raptors (19-7) have yet to beat their neighbors. Senior guard Kendall Banning led the Raptors with 23 points and 6-foot-7 senior Nick Hagan had 12.
Silver Creek 9 12 15 25 – 61
Broomfield 19 9 24 21 – 73
Silver Creek – An. Ryan 4 0-1 8, Banning 7 8-10 23, Kramer 3 1-2 8, Al. Ryan 2 0-0 5, Hagan 6 0-0 12, Hickman 1 0-0 3, Monteil 1 0-0 2, Rakowski 0 0-0 0, Hess 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 9-13 61.
Broomfield – Tice 6 8-10 20, Kaiser 3 2-2 10, Nigon 7 7-10 24, Hanson 5 2-5 12, Keefe 1 2-2 4, Fankell 0 0-0 0, Barthule 1 0-0 3, McBride 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 21-29 73.
3-point goals – Banning, Hickman, Kramer, Al. Ryan; Nigon 3, Kaiser 2, Barthule. Total fouls – Silver Creek 25, Broomfield 12. Fouled out – Hagan, Al. Ryan. Technicals – None.
