Pueblo – On a change of possession near the start of the fourth quarter, Evangelical Christian center Rob Lewis’ smile was as wide as the lead his team had built, mainly on the strength of his broad shoulders.
And why not?
The fourth quarter was an afterthought. The top-seeded Pioneers crushed in the quarter and ran the final minutes off in a 70-43 win over defending champion Jefferson Academy on Thursday at the State Fair Events Center. Evangelical Christian (21-3) moves on to face Grand Valley in a 7 p.m. game today.
Lewis was at the center of it all, affecting the game on both ends of the court. The 6-foot-7 senior finished with a game-high 30 points and was a monster on glass.
“The thing about Rob is he’s put on 40 pounds since last year,” ECA coach Don Bost said. “He’s not going to get pushed around like last year, and he does it all. …He’s, in my mind, a D-1 prospect. He gets big blocks, big boards. He’s tough to handle. I’m glad I get to coach him and not coach against him.”
A constantly changing defense between man-to-man and zone aided Evangelical Christian’s cause, forcing Jefferson Academy (17-7) to turn the ball over numerous times and forcing missed shots.
“We knew that they had a core of two or three players that if we took them out of the game or limited their scoring and make the rest of the players beat us that we’d have a real good chance of winning,” Lewis said.
Jefferson Academy, which beat Evangelical Christian in last year’s state semifinals, was led by Kenny Yockey’s 18 points.
“You’ve got to give credit to ECA,” Jefferson Academy coach Mark Sharpley said. “It seemed like they came out with a little bit of fire.”
Jefferson Academy 11 12 11 9 – 43
Evangelical Christian 18 10 20 22 – 70
Jefferson Academy – Desjarlais 1 0-0 2, Swanson 4 1-2 10, Pachner 1 0-0 3, Yockey 8 2-2 18, Staudt 1 0-0 2, Holocher 3 2-2 8. Totals 18 5-6 43.
Evangelical Christian – Ragsdale 3 1-2 9, Hurd 4 1-2 9, Conrad 2 2-4 6, Mann 1 0-2 2, Crews 1 1-2 3, Huscher 2 6-9 11, Lewis 10 9-10 30. Totals 23 20-31 70.
3-pt. goals – Swanson, Pachner; Ragsdale 2, Huscher, Lewis. Total fouls – Jefferson Academy 19, Evangelical Christian 15. Fouled out – Conrad. Technicals – None.
GRAND VALLEY 81, CRIPPLE CREEK-VICTOR 72: Sam McKinley scored 27 points and Grand Valley hit 14 3-pointers to slip past Cripple Creek-Victor (21-3).
Colton Cowan added 18 points – 10 in the second quarter – as the Cardinals rallied from a 17-9 first-quarter deficit to advance to face Evangelical Christian in today’s semifinal round.
Grand Valley (20-4) overcame a strong effort from Cripple Creek’s Taylor Morgan, who scored 24 of his game-high 29 points in the second half.
Grand Valley 9 26 25 21 – 81
Cripple Creek-Victor 17 13 21 21 – 72
Grand Valley – McKinley 9 3-3 27, Jensen 3 1-2 9, Belden 4 2-3 11, Cowan 7 0-0 18, Manzanares 1 0-0 3, Gallegos 0 2-2 2, Braby 3 5-6 11. Totals 27 13-16 81.
Cripple Creek-Victor – Staley 4 3-4 11, DiCamillo 6 2-3 14, Zuercher 3 0-0 8, Morgan 12 1-1 29, Shea 4 1-2 10. Totals 29 7-10 72.
3-pt. goals – McKinley 6, Cowan 4, Jensen 2, Belden, Manzanares; Morgan 4, Zuercher 2, Shea. Fouled out – Jensen; DiCamillo. Technicals – None.
BURLINGTON 77, MEEKER 56: Cassidy Halligan (21 points) and Nat David (20) combined to lead the offense as Burlington blew open a close game.
David hit three 3-pointers, and Preston Penny added two baskets from long range as the Cougars improved their record to 21-3.
Marcus Kindall led Meeker (19-4) with 14 points and Chantry Ross added 13.
Burlington 20 14 25 18 – 77
Meeker 17 9 11 19 – 56
Burlington – David 7 3-4 20, Weber 2 0-0 4, Penny 3 1-1 9, Graff 1 0-0 2, Halligan 6 9-10 21, Queen 5 4-4 14, Queen 1 0-0 2, Hines 1 3-4 5. Totals 26 20-23 77.
Meeker – Ziegler 1 0-0 2, Crowe 2 0-0 4, Jacob 0 0-2 0, Dunbar 3 2-2 9, Villalpando 3 0-0 6, Kindall 5 4-6 14, Matrisciano 1 0-2 2, Ross 6 0-0 13, Mills 2 2-2 6. Totals 23 8-14 56.
3-pt. goals – David 3, Penny 2; Dunbar, Ross. Total fouls – Burlington 16; Meeker 19. Fouled out – Dunbar, Mills. Technicals – None.
SANFORD 65, WRAY 48: Dillon Larsen scored 28 points, including a 9-for-9 performance from the free-throw line and three 3-pointers for Sanford.
Sanford (22-2), 2A state champion in 2003, followed a 25-11 edge after the first quarter with three points in the second for a 28-22 halftime lead.
Wray 11 11 10 16 – 48
Sanford 25 3 16 21 – 65
Wray – Hochevar 4 0-1 10, Orr 1 4-4 7, Blecha 2 3-4 9, Fecht 2 0-0 5, Kerbs 5 0-0 10, Reinick 2 0-0 4, Fruhwirth 1 1-3 3. Totals 17 8-12 48.
Sanford – T. Larsen 1 1-3 4, D. Larsen 8 9-9 28, Crowther 3 2-3 8, Reynolds 3 2-2 8, Morten-
sen 2 3-4 7, Caldon 3 3-3 9, Martinez 0 1-2 1. Totals 20 21-26 65.
3-pt. goals – Hochevar 2, Blecha 2, Orr, Fecht; D.Larsen 3, T. Larsen. Total fouls – Wray 23; Sanford 15. Fouled out – Kerbs. Technicals – None.
SCHEDULE
THURSDAY
At State Fair Events Center
Evangelical Christian 70, Jefferson Academy 43
Grand Valley 81, Cripple Creek-Victor 72
Burlington 77, Meeker 56
Sanford 65, Wray 48
TODAY
Final Four: (1) Evangelical Christian (21-3) vs. (5) Grand Valley (20-4) 4 p.m.
(6) Burlington (20-3) vs. (2) Sanford (22-2), 7 p.m.
SATURDAY
Third place: 2 p.m.
Championship game: 5:15 p.m.
