Boulder – The edge of your seat was the most popular place to be during Thursday’s Class 5A state semifinal game between Cherry Creek and Grandview.
The Bruins were sluggish, cold and adrift in the first half before chipping away at a 16-point deficit to set up a stunning finish at the Coors Events Center.
After swapping the lead twice in the waning moments, Cherry Creek’s Taylor Rhode rattled in a jump shot from just outside the free-throw line with four seconds remaining to give the Bruins a 55-54 victory over their Centennial League rival.
It was the kind of madness you expect this time of year.
“I didn’t know how much time was left,” said Rhode, who scored nine of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. “I got the ball, I knew we had to get a shot off. I knew they weren’t going to foul me. I thought I’d be open, so I just went up and shot it.”
The Bruins won their seventh straight to improve to 21-6 and will face Mullen here at 9 p.m. Saturday. The Bruins last won a state championship in boys basketball in 1995.
Cherry Creek, which split two regular-season games with the Wolves this season, trailed 38-22 with 5:30 remaining in the third quarter and took its first lead since early in the first quarter with 1:26 remaining.
The Bruins led 53-51 with 24 seconds left before Grandview’s Jake Nielson drilled a step-back 3-pointer to put the Wolves up 54-53 with 16 seconds remaining.
Cherry Creek calmly answered, killing time at the top of the key with Grant Parker before firing the ball to Tyler Heimbrock, who kicked it back for Rhode. The 6-foot-5 senior made a quick move to his left before sinking the game-winner.
Grandview’s Brandon Gentry got a good look at a potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer, but the shot banked out. The Wolves, who got 18 points from Nielson, finished their season 20-7.
The Wolves went from doing no wrong in the first half to turning over the ball six times in the third quarter and missing three free throws in the fourth.
“We uncharacteristically didn’t make some plays when we usually do,” said Grandview coach Gary Childress, who was hospitalized this week with fluid in his lungs.
Cherry Creek limped into halftime after shooting 1-of-11 from the field in the second quarter but re-emerged with fire. Taylor Montgomery was huge in the paint, scoring 10 of his 12 points after halftime.
