PUEBLO — All eyes were on the Class 4A’s top-ranked Pueblo South on Friday night.
The Colts didn’t disappoint.
Kivon Cartwright scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, guiding South past Cheyenne Mountain 68-49 in a Sweet 16 game before a capacity crowd of 4,000 at Massari Arena.
“I came out strong and I wasn’t going to be denied,” said the 6-foot-4 Cartwright, who had eight offensive rebounds.
South, which kept its perfect record intact at 25-0, advances to the Great 8. The Colts tangle with Mitchell at 6 p.m. today at Massari Arena. Mitchell clipped Broomfield 49-46 in overtime Friday night. Cheyenne Mountain finished its season at 17-9.
“Kivon was a man all night,” veteran South coach Dave Lockett said. “The nice thing about this team is that we have someone else step up and play well when we’re flat. Kivon did that.”
The Colts set the tone in the first quarter, racing out to a 23-11 lead. Tyrell Williams led the stampede, scoring 12 of his game-high 18 points.
The Indians countered with a 9-0 run to get within 33-23 at the half. Robbie Belveal kept the Indians close, with 14 of his 16 points in the first half.
Williams stretched South’s lead to 54-39 with a jumper with 5:19 remaining. The Indians countered, cutting the deficit to 56-45 with Geoff Pippus’ 3-pointer with 4:04 left.
The Colts secured the win with a game-ending 12-4 surge.
Greeley West 63, Falcon 48
Reed Miller scored a game- high 20 points, powering Greeley West to a 63-48 victory over Falcon in a Sweet 16 game at Massari Arena.
Greeley West (21-5) moves on to the Great 8 to collide with fellow Northern League foe Sterling (20-5) at 4:15 p.m. today at the ThunderDome. The Spartans defeated Sterling in the only meeting between the teams earlier this season. Falcon ended its season at 17-8.
“We were fortunate to be here, but this also is what we expected to do,” Greeley West coach Bill Whitehead said.
The Spartans drained eight treys, including three each from Sean Blackmer and Alex Mendibles.
Falcon’s Adam Link had 17 points.
Sierra 64, Pueblo West 55
Jamil Cooks scored 16 points, leading Sierra to victory over Pueblo West on Friday at Massari Arena.
The Stallions beat the Cyclones despite making only 18- of-45 free throws, including missing 18 in the fourth quarter.
“We shoot free throws all the time in practice, and I don’t know what the deal was,” said Cooks, who was 4-for-8 at the line. “I just think we were not used to this type of atmosphere. But we won, and that’s the most important thing.”
Sierra (20-5) advances to the Great 8 at 4:15 p.m. today at Massari Arena against Longmont, which beat Golden late Friday night.
