It’s hard to slow down the Sierra Stallions. And sometimes, that isn’t a good thing.
The Stallions ran up and down Ranum’s gym Wednesday night in the first round of the Class 4A boys state tournament, producing 25 baskets and 26 turnovers, all for one very important upset.
Young, athletic, deep and unpredictable, the ninth-seeded Stallions rallied to outscore the No. 8 Raiders 26-5 in the fourth quarter en route to a 64-48 victory to set up a shot Saturday against Broomfield, top-seeded in the region.
Senior forward Jeremy Snead scored 10 of his team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed nine rebounds as the Stallions (8-15) outrebounded the Raiders 46-18. The Stallions blew a 13-point lead in the second quarter and trailed 43-38 entering the fourth quarter before blitzing the Raiders (15-9) with a quick 12-0 run.
“The seniors like to fire up the young ones,” said Sierra’s other senior, Walter Carney. “They like to follow, and they don’t try to take over and lead.”
Carney had 13 rebounds and 10 points, and DJ Dickson had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Stallions, who blew an 18-point advantage last week against rival Harrison.
Sierra, which has two state titles since 1997, had 23 turnovers through three quarters Wednesday but regrouped through its defense, limiting the Raiders to 2-of-20 shooting in the fourth quarter.
“Turnovers kept us out of the game and then we had to come back with our ‘D,”‘ Snead said. “We kind of slowed it down and that helped us out on the offense.”
Ranum did everything right to rally in the third. The Raiders forced nine turnovers, made 6-of-11 shots and held the Stallions to 2-of-11 shooting.
But things soured quickly.
“It was the back-to-back, offensive-board putbacks,” Raiders coach Chris Robson said. “That took us a little out. Then we had two straight turnovers, and it snowballed.”
Nick Reeves scored all 16 of his points in the second half to lead the Raiders, who hadn’t lost to a 4A team since Jan. 17.
Sierra 13 17 8 26 – 64
Ranum 9 16 18 5 – 48
Sierra – A. Williams 1 0-2 2, Carney 2 6-6 10, K. Williams 1 0-0 2, Phipps 3 0-0 6, Dickson 5 1-2 11, Snead 8 3-7 19, Fielder 3 0-1 7, Branch 0 2-2 2, Brown 1 0-0 2, Fountain 0 0-0 0, Sterling 1 1-2 3, Pyos 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 13-22 64.
Ranum – Hughes 0 4-4 4, Garcia 2 0-0 6, Lucero 1 0-0 2, Reeves 6 3-4 16, Edwards 4 3-3 11, Daniels 2 1-2 5, Elicerio 0 0-0 0, Wulff 0 0-0 0, Johnson 0 2-2 2, Crespin 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 13-15 48.
3-pt. goals – Fielder; Garcia 2, Reeves. Total fouls – Sierra 15, Ranum 19. Fouled out – Hughes. Technicals – None.
