GOLDEN — Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. ThunderRidge’s boys basketball team found that out Wednesday night.
The top-seeded team in the R.W. Truscott Region of the Class 5A state tournament avoided an upset not once, but twice against feisty Fairview before pulling out a 55-51, double-overtime victory at Colorado Mines’ Lockridge Arena.
ThunderRidge (22-3), in the Great 8 for the eighth time in nine seasons, will meet third-seeded George Washington, a 51-46 winner over second-seeded Boulder, on Friday at the Denver Coliseum.
“We’re playing a little tight. I’d like for us to loosen up,” ThunderRidge coach Joe Ortiz said. “Truthfully, we have to recover. Playing Friday will not be easy.”
Wednesday’s game wasn’t a walk in the park, either.
“Our kids played awfully hard tonight,” Fairview coach Frank Lee said. “They (ThunderRidge) didn’t get a lot of open looks. They executed very well. They’re very well- coached.”
Austin Foote’s jumper from the free-throw line with 2:21 left in regulation tied the game at 41. After three timeouts — two by ThunderRidge — in the closing minutes, neither team was able to break the deadlock, and the game went to overtime.
In the first extra session, fifth-seeded Fairview (15-11) never trailed, leading by three after Zack Shockley’s only two free throws of the game gave the Knights a 47-44 lead with seven seconds left. But after a Fairview timeout, the Grizzlies went the length of the floor and tied the game on Zach Tiedgen’s third 3-pointer of the game as time expired.
“Zach can hit that shot. I’ll take that look in every situation, every time,” Ortiz said.
Tiedgen scored a game-high 18 points. Justin Becker added 11 and Dave Arnold 10 for ThunderRidge.
Regis 87, Grand Junction 73.
Earlier this season, Regis beat Grand Junction in the Cherry Creek tournament. On Wednesday night, the Raiders proved it wasn’t a fluke.
Behind 22 points from Steve Wylie and 21 from Bud Thomas, eighth-seeded Regis continued its postseason turnaround with an 87-73 win over fourth-seeded Grand Junction in the 5A John Casey Region game at Lockridge Arena.
Regis (19-7), which started the season 12-1 before a late-season stumble, will play Palmer, a 63-62 winner over Aurora Central, in Friday’s Elite 8 at the Denver Coliseum. It will be the Raiders’ first appearance in the Elite 8 since 1998.
Regis, coming off a 57-52 upset of top-seeded Poudre in the second round, took control in the second quarter and led 38-33 at halftime.
