BOULDER — Colorado’s first high school Hoops DeVille was held in 1922. I haven’t seen quite all of the state tournament championship games, but I’ve never seen two — back-to-back, end-to-end — quite as mind-tingling and spine-bending, bizarre and dramatic, as the 4A and 5A title games Saturday night.
Sierra’s 4A overtime victory over Pueblo East became an instantaneous classic. Then Regis Jesuit and Fairview of Boulder did the 5A light fandango into OT, with Regis finally, finally prevailing.
!! — two overtimers and all-timers.
In the opening 3:38 of the opening game, the favored team — which had won eight games this season by 29 or more points (and by 63 once) — could have been characterized as Sierra Missed.
Then, Fountain turned on.
Suddenly, and fortunately, Sierra started playing like its real nickname — Stallions.
Senior Jahmall Fountain cascaded over, through and around the Pueblo East Eagles for the Stallions’ first 10 points, and a 2-0 deficit was transformed into a 15-4 advantage at the end of the first quarter at the Coors Events Center.
But Pueblo East didn’t come to Boulder to collapse and crumple. “People were telling me we would blow them out,” Sierra coach Otis Johnson said. “And I told people they won 25 games for a reason. That’s a great basketball team that took us right to the finish. Our team is pretty great too.”
Fountain didn’t score another point until one minute remained in the fourth quarter, and he nailed a trey to put the Stallions up by three. He wound up with 20 points overall — 10 early, 10 late (eight in OT).
The Stallions have taken state in Johnson’s first two seasons at Sierra, and, almost as important, they can claim continued Southern Colorado supremacy. The Stallions beat Pueblo South in the 2009 final. Who’s got next — Pueblo West?
The Eagles left the court with tears in eyes, but heads held high.
They rallied in regulation for a tie at 48.
These teams, with their ebbs and their flows, their Kamryn Williams and their Jordan Gregory, their nip and their tuck, were back and forth in overtime, and a Pueblo East 3-pointer with 16.8 seconds showing made it 58-56 Sierra. The Eagles pushed on; the Stallions held on.
“Nobody thought we could win, but we took them to overtime and had a chance. But it’s still very tough to accept,” said the Eagles’ Gregory, who scored 19.
The Stallions and the Eagles got game. It was Pueblo vs. Colorado Springs. It was a Pueblo East team that hadn’t won a state championship in any sport in 31 years against the defending state champions. It was a team with seven underclassmen against a Sierra team with eight seniors. It was an Eagles team that had lost only one game before Saturday against a Stallions team that dropped two early, then never faltered again.
Pueblo East’s last, and only, state championship team was in girls cross country in 1978. But there was hope for hoops this season with these smart, sharp shooters.
Talk about STUDENT-athletes.
The statistic that counts the most at Pueblo East is that the basketball players have a combined 3.97 grade-point average. Gregory’s scoring average on the court is 18.9, in the classroom 4.2. Eight of the players are enrolled in the prestigious International Baccalaureate scholastic program.
Senior Mitch Secora, at 6-feet-7, may be the tallest student body president in the state. Eric Kochenberger, at 6-4, is his vice president. And their junior star — Rare Jordan — has a famous name and genuine game.
Sierra High School is located 40 miles of Interstate 25 from Pueblo East. They hadn’t played each other before Saturday night, but the Stallions, with a furious comeback in 2009, defeated Pueblo South in the 4A finale.
Sierra’s no slouch on the court or in the classroom. Leading scorer, silky-smooth Kamryn Williams, is headed next year to the nearby Air Force Academy, and there are at least three other Stallions who could be horses in college basketball.
The Stallions were experienced and favored.
The Eagles had an outside shot, literally.
The Eagles would have to make their jumpers against the Stallions’ stronger rebounders, trapping defense and fast-acting offense.
And all of it came to pass. Sierra’s triumph wasn’t assured until Fountain made two free throws with 16.8 seconds to go in the extra period.
In the night- and tournament cap, Fairview scorched to a 13-0 lead over the 2009 champs. But at the end of the third quarter, the Knights and the Raiders were tied. When Regis Jesuit had a nine-point lead as time was evaporating in the fourth quarter, it looked over. Not yet, schoolboys and girls. Fairview outscored Regis Jesuit 10-1 down the stretch.
OT2.
The Raiders streamed ahead by nine again — behind “Pal” Joey Ptasinski (24 points overall), but the Knights couldn’t reply again.
Timeless times two, to be remembered for another 89 years.
Woody Paige: 303-954-1095 or wpaige@denverpost.com
