Arvada – The Bill Weimar Region of the Class 4A state tournament might as well have been a microwave.
Loaded with three teams that could have made good arguments for a No. 1 seed, the bracket got crowded down the stretch and came to an explosive head Saturday.
In Ralston Valley’s case, the top-seeded Mustangs were relieved it all unfolded on their home floor, as they rebuffed numerous runs from No. 2 Pueblo South to advance to the Final Four with a 57-47 victory.
The Mustangs (23-3) never trailed and never let the Colts (23-3) even get the satisfaction of tying the game, despite numerous turnovers in the second half and poor shooting from 3-point range.
Ralston Valley cleaned up well inside, where brothers Pierce and Brock Hornung formed a physical presence the Mustangs lacked on the perimeter trying to match up against Colts guards Niko Marinucci and Kameron Wilhite.
Pierce had a game-high 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Brock added six points, six rebounds and two blocked shots before becoming the first of five players to foul out. Pierce hit 7-of-8 free throws in the fourth quarter.
“Pierce just has a knack,” Mustangs coach Mitch Conrad said of the 6-foot-3 sophomore. “He understands the angles of the ball coming off the rim better than anybody. I can’t say enough about him and what he does for us.”
Grant Hamilton scored 11 of his 13 points in the second quarter and Zach Johnson added 10, three of which came from the charity stripe after the Colts were hit with two technical fouls with 6:54 remaining in a three-point game.
The Colts shot 17-of-30 at the free-throw line and 2-of-17 on 3-pointers, which eventually proved too much, despite forcing the Mustangs into 11 second-half turnovers.
“We were terrible at the line,” veteran Colts coach Dave Lockett said. “You make two free throws, you miss two free throws, and you start having to start all over again. It just kind of wears on your emotions and frustrates you.”
Marinucci led the Colts with 20 points and Wilhite had 12.
Pueblo South 11 11 10 15 – 47
Ralston Valley 15 15 7 20 – 57
Pueblo South – Marinucci 6 6-15 20, Wilhite 3 6-8 12, Sorensen 3 1-2 7, Cartwright 0 0-0 0, Lockett 1 0-0 2, Dome 0 3-4 3, Zufall 1 1-1 3, Medina 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 17-30 47.
Ralston Valley – Johnson 2 5-6 10, Webber 0 0-0 0, Hamilton 6 0-1 13, P. Hornung 7 8-9 22, B. Hornung 3 0-0 6, Jones 0 0-0 0, Flageolle 0 0-0 0, June 1 4-6 6, Addison 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 17-22 57.
3-pt. goals – Marinucci 2; Hamilton, Johnson. Total fouls – Pueblo South 20, Ralston Valley 22. Fouled out – Sorensen, Lockett; Hamilton, B. Hornung, Webber. Technicals – B. Lockett, Pueblo South coach Dave Lockett.
