AURORA — And then there was one unbeaten boys basketball team in the state of Colorado.
Ralston Valley not only knocked the Cherokee Trail Cougars off their perfect pedestal, it escorted them out of the Class 4A state tournament with a 63-43 rout Saturday in a Great 8 game.
The win by Ralston Valley (21-5) set up a rematch of last year’s 4A championship game against Abraham Lincoln on Thursday at the Coors Events Center in Boulder.
“This is exactly where we want to be at this point,” said Ralston Valley coach Mitch Conrad, whose team lost a regular-season game to the Lancers in January. “When the bracket came out, we saw that was a possibility, and of course we’d like to get a shot at some of those teams that got us early in the season, and it may happen.”
Cherokee Trail (25-1), which along with Class 1A’s Hi-Plains had the only unbeaten records in the state entering play on Saturday, stayed with the Mustangs for a quarter but watched its hopes of advancing fall apart in the second.
Ralston Valley, which shot 60.9 percent (14-for-23) in the first half, went on an 11-2 run to start the period to build a 27-14 lead.
It got worse for Cherokee Trail in the third quarter. The Cougars were unable to solve the Mustangs’ sagging zone defense and went the first six-plus minutes without a point. They didn’t make a field goal until the start of the fourth quarter.
“We wanted to sag off a little bit and make them shoot it over us and keep them from penetrating,” said Ralston Valley senior Pierce Hornung. “They are a very athletic team and very talented.”
Said Cherokee Trail coach Brad Dorais: “They’re big and they’re strong and athletic, good basketball players, disciplined and well-coached. They are all those things, and tonight we weren’t.”
Hornung, the catalyst of the Mustangs’ balanced offense, finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Brandon Ribble, a 6-foot-6 forward, also scored 15 points, and guard Taylor Gillach led all scorers with 16.
Cyrus Durham scored a team-high 13 points for the Cougars, and sophomore Austin Evans scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half.
Ralston Valley 16 18 15 14 — 63
Cherokee Trail 12 11 6 14 — 43
Ralston Valley — Gillach 5 3-4 16, Murphy 1 1-2 4, P. Hornung 6 3-3 15, B. Hornung 3 0-0 6, Ribble 7 0-0 15, DeWitt 0 0-0 0, Allen 0 0-0 0, Felton 0 0-0 0, Flageolle 1 2-4 4, Heller 0 0-0 0, June 1 0-0 3, Kellogg 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 9-13 63.
Cherokee Trail — Adams 0 2-2 2, Green 0 0-0 0, Durham 3 7-10 13, Banks 0 5-5 5, Evans 5 0-0 12, Gregory 0 0-0 0, Gillis 0 0-0 0, Gregory-McGhee 1 0-0 2, Smith 1 0-0 3, Knight 1 4-4 6, Williams 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 18-21 43.
3-point goals — Gillach 3, Murphy, Ribble, June; Evans 2, Smith. Total fouls — Ralston Valley 14, Cherokee Trail 17. Fouled out — None. Technical — Durham.
Jon E. Yunt: 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com
