Aurora – In the final minutes of his team’s tournament Saturday night, coach Carl Mattei pulled out all the stops.
During a timeout, he told his group, which was deflating and hanging on to a lead by its fingernails, that the Class 5A girls basketball torch could be passed to them, if only temporarily.
His Regis Raiders dutifully took it to heart and executed down the stretch as they held off defending Colorado champion Highlands Ranch 58-52 in the 16-team Holiday Hoop Classic that included a who’s who of local teams and attracted about 3,000 fans to a tight finale.
Regis, runner-up a year ago in 4A, improved to 10-1. Highlands Ranch, which had won six straight games and suffered its first in-state loss, is 10-2.
“It was kind of fun, awesome for a Saturday night,” Mattei said. “I’m very proud of our kids to come back and beat the defending champion. You always look at Highlands Ranch for that. It’s fun, and we protected our home court. (The Falcons) have good players, and we’ll see them again.”
They will, in February in the Continental League. And if it’s anything like Saturday, buy your ticket now.
In a back-and-forth first half, the two combined for four ties and 14 lead changes that set up a stretch run that saw Regis remain in command. Highlands Ranch had numerous chances to tie or take the lead in the closing minutes, but poor shooting and turnovers haunted the Falcons.
“Absolutely,” Falcons coach Caryn Jarocki said. “We had the ball a couple of times to take the lead, but we got no shots, we had turnovers. It was the silly turnovers, but that’s how we learn. I’m sure next time we’ll be more composed.”
Mindy Nielson paced Regis with smart play, defense and 16 points. She added a couple of key assists late when the Raiders, who dress only eight players, broke the Falcons’ press.
“That’s the thing about us, we’re a real team,” Nielson said. “Highlands Ranch is a great team, but everybody stepped up for us. Anybody can do it for us.”
Highlands Ranch also experienced foul trouble, and all-state guard Jaclyn Tho- man scored only 11 points on 4-of-17 shooting along with a half-dozen turnovers.
Highlands Ranch 13 15 11 13 – 52
Regis 15 13 17 13 – 58
Highlands Ranch – Fressle 2 3-4 8, Tsukamaki 1 0-0 3, Tho- man 4 3-4 11, Ryba 3 3-4 9, Davis 1 2-2 5, Breidel 3 2-2 8, Fulps 1 0-0 2, Burke 3 0-2 6. Totals 18 13-18 52.
Regis – Williams 5 0-0 10, Rolniak 3 4-4 10, Shealy 3 1-2 7, Nielson 7 2-4 16, Winters 4-4 1-2 9, O’Dorisio 1 1-3 4, Roben 0 0-0 0, Bokenkamp 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 9-16 58.
3-pt. goals – Davis, Fresle, Tsukamaki; O’Dorisio. Total fouls – Highlands Ranch 17, Regis 13. Fouled out – Davis, Fressle. Technicals – None.
