Everything is fun at The Show.
Smoky Hill senior Will Figures started the night with a cartwheel during introductions of the state’s best boys high school basketball players and then put the first points on the scoreboard with a layup Saturday at the Pepsi Center.
Figures scored eight of his 10 points in the first half, but the Blue team edged the White 67-65 in sudden-death overtime in the sixth year of the Nuggets-sponsored event.
Jake Nielson of Grandview scored nine points for the Blue team and was named MVP. Aurora Central’s Stephen Franklin led all scorers with 15 points.
There were more smiles and laughs than oohs and aahs, and even an errant shot was worth a joke. When Franklin followed a miss by Rocky Mountain’s Jacob Houghton, White coach Bruce Dick of Rocky Mountain turned to the Fort Collins fans sitting behind him and said, “Nice assist, Jake.” Later, when fans started a lighthearted chant calling for ThunderRidge senior Matt Bouldin, The Denver Post boys player of the year headed for Gonzaga, Dick said, “I want him, too.”
A sprained ankle forced Bouldin to watch from the bench in street clothes.
On the court, the White jumped ahead 9-0 and led until Pawnee’s Brent Cass completed a three-point play to tie the score 24-24 with three minutes to play in the first half. Figures drew gasps from the crowd with a stop-and-start, spinning floater to take the lead back, and the White went into halftime leading 31-30.
The intensity picked up in the second half, and the Blue took its first lead of the game on a 3-pointer from Arapahoe’s Levi Knutson. East’s Donell Wells followed with another Blue 3-pointer.
Nielson hit a 3-pointer with 40 seconds to play to tie the score 65-65, and the White took possession after a jump ball with 4.5 seconds left. Houghton’s shot hit the front of the rim, creating overtime.
In overtime, Blue coach Porter Cutrell of Mullen took advantage of the height of Thomas Jefferson’s Pierre Allen, who tipped the ball to Nate Rohnert of Chaparral. Rohnert charged to the basket, looked to dish to Mullen’s Ray Hall, but hit the shot himself to win the game.
Blue 30 35 2 – 67
White 31 34 0 – 65
Blue – Devon Beitzel (Centaurus) 3 0-0 7, Jake Nielson (Grandview) 4 0-0 9, Nate Rohnert (Chaparral) 3 0-0 6, Pierre Allen (Thomas Jefferson) 2 1-2 5, Ray Hall (Mullen) 4 4-4 12, Tyson Liggett (Limon) 1 0-0 2, Donell Wells (East) 2 0-0 5, Brent Cass (Pawnee) 2 2-5 6, Dallas Elmore (Poudre) 4 0-0 8, Levi Knutson (Arapahoe) 3 0-0 7. Totals 28 7-11 67.
White – Will Figures (Smoky Hill) 5 0-0 10, Jacob Houghton (Rocky Mountain) 1 0-0 3, Stephen Franklin (Aurora Central) 6 3-3 15, Elgin Fitzgerald (Palmer) 3 0-2 6, Sam Phippen (Durango) 2 0-0 4, Trevor Oliver (Gateway) 3 0-0 6, Curtis Ashe (Sierra) 3 1-2 8, Robby Pride (Kent Denver) 4 0-0 8, Grant Parker (Cherry Creek) 2 1-2 5. Totals 29 5-9 65.
3-point goals – Wells, Nielson, Beitzel, Knutson; Ashe, Houghton. Total fouls – Blue 8; White 14. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
