Class 3A
Faith Christian 57, Aspen 47
FORT COLLINS — Faith Christian captured its their third straight title, defeating previously unbeaten Aspen.
The Eagles (26-1), whose only loss was a forfeit to Denver Christian for suiting and playing 13 players, came out and attacked the vaunted 1-3-1 zone of the Skiers.
Trailing by a dozen at the half, the Skiers made made their run to close out the third quarter and drew within 39-35.
But as quickly as Aspen’s momentum came, it left. Faith Christian started the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run that featured back-to-back three-point plays from Deron Rindels and Derek McCartney.
Aspen’s leading scorer, Andrew Papenfus, who battled foul trouble along with all-state guard Matthew Holmes, finished with a team-high 13 points.
Joel Hegarty led the Eagles with 18 points, Rindels added 12.
Class 2A
Holyoke 55, Ignacio 38
PUEBLO — All season, the Holyoke boys basketball basketball team flew under the radar.
Saturday night, the Dragons were in the spotlight.
Kyle Carper poured in a game-high 19 points as Holyoke sped away from Ignacio 55-38 to capture the state championship at Colorado State University-Pueblo’s Massari Arena.
The Dragons capped their magical season with a 25-2 record. The outcome Saturday was even more special since Holyoke lost 42-39 to the Colorado Springs School in last year’s finals. This was Holyoke’s first boys state basketball title since 1984, when it also captured the 2A crown. Ignacio, the top seed, ended its season with a 21-3 record.
Class 1A
Caliche 67, Otis 55
PUEBLO — The Caliche Buffaloes turned Saturday’s state championship game into a track meet, running away from Otis in the second half to claim the title.
Otis coach Ken Bretz said before the game that his team would be in a lot of trouble if the game was played in a dead sprint.
That was indeed the case.
The two Caliche seniors, Dalton Schuppe and Corey Stumpf, and junior Aaron Stieb finished with 17 points apiece.
Otis’ 6-foot-7, 290-pound Lance Pickett kept the Bulldogs in the contest by scoring a game-best 23 points.
