BOULDER — For the record, Bud Thomas didn’t call “bank.”
“No,” the Regis junior said, smiling, “but I’ll take it, definitely.”
Thomas made a one-handed 3-pointer from the top of the key that banked in to beat the buzzer Thursday night and send Regis’ game against ThunderRidge into overtime. From there it was all Raiders, as they blitzed the Grizzlies en route to a stunning 71-61 victory in the Class 5A final four at the Coors Events Center.
“I threw it up and it was on target the whole way,” said Thomas, who scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. “It was a long shot. It seemed like it took forever to get there.”
Credit sophomore Michael Clark with stealing the ball from Grizzlies standout Dave Arnold with five seconds left in regulation, circling midcourt and finding Thomas.
“The ball had to go in,” Clark said.
And credit Regis coaching icon Ken Shaw, who said “there wasn’t much hope there at the end,” for prepping the Raiders (25-2) for the scenario.
“We do a drill in the playoffs we call ‘bomb shot,’ ” said Shaw, who is taking his fourth school to a final. “We did that yesterday, so it was a stroke of genius on my part that we did the bomb-shot drill and actually drew on one to get it.”
Regis will play for its first boys hoops title Saturday at 8 p.m. Regis’ girls plays for its first title tonight.
Regis 15 12 13 14 17 — 71
ThunderRidge 18 9 9 18 7 — 61
ThunderRidge — Jimenez 2 0-0 4, Day 8 1-2 18, Noser 4 1-2 10, Heikkila 2 2-2 6, D. Arnold 8 2-5 21, Waner 0 2-2 2, Ernst 0 0-0 0, Grace 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 8-13 61.
Regis — Ptasinski 5 6-6 17, Cobb 1 0-0 2, Demps 3 10-11 17, Thomas 9 2-3 23, Dyer 2 3-3 7, Clark 1 0-0 3, Winters 1 0-1 2. Totals 22 21-24 71.
3-point goals — D. Arnold 3, Day, Noser; Thomas 3, Ptasinski, Clark, Demps. Total fouls — ThunderRidge 18, Regis 17. Fouled out — Jimenez. Technicals — None.
