As the lowest seed left standing in the Class 5A boys basketball state tournament, Arapahoe feels like it is playing with house money.
The No. 27 Warriors (11-14, 4-10 Centennial) upset No. 6 Doherty 65-61 on Friday in Colorado Springs, earning a Sweet 16 berth that seemed improbable earlier this month. After toppling then-No. 3 Grandview on Jan. 6 to hand the Wolves their first loss of the season, Arapahoe spiraled, losing eight consecutive league games.
But, as coach Brad Jansen explained, the Warriors kept the faith. They knew their RPI would get them into the state tournament, and from there their belief in each other—along with the return of 6-foot-7 senior center Ben Timmons from a broken foot suffered early in the season—gave them the chance to re-write their legacy.
“Since we’ve gotten Timmons back, we’ve had a new life about ourselves,” Jansen said. “The guys kept buying in, and going into Doherty—a great team in front of a great home crowd down there—we had a belief about us, and we thought that if we could do the things we could do, we could beat them.”
With Timmons attracting increased attention down low, fellow senior center Jared Johnson dropped a career-high 20 points against the Spartans while senior guard Kyle Lukasiewicz led the team with 32 points. Plus, clutch performances by junior guard Drew Hayes and senior wing Will Otten in the Warriors’ opening-round tournament 47-44 win over No. 38 Pine Creek—a game in which Arapahoe erased a five-point deficit with 1:06 to play—proved this year’s team won’t give in.
“Perseverance is what we preach,” Jansen said. “Three weeks ago when we had lost eight games in a row, and we didn’t have Timmons back, it was hard. Practice was hard. You’ve got guys that want to win but know playing in the Centennial League is as tough as it gets. They could have quit and turned it in, but I challenged Kyle and I challenged the rest of my seniors, and we got a few wins there late in the season and obviously that changed a lot.”
The culture that allows that sort of late-season turnaround to occur has been brewing for three winters now under Jansen, who took over for a prep coaching legend, Dan Snyder.
But in order to book a trip to the Denver Coliseum for Saturday’s Great 8, the Warriors will need to pull another road upset, Wednesday against No. 11 Fort Collins (21-3), who ran the table to the Front Range League title.
Arapahoe is ready.
“Fort Collins is well-coached, disciplined and physical,” Jansen said. “We played them this summer up at Northern Colorado and they took it to us, so we know this is another challenge. On our end, it’s about being prepared, getting into the film and just keeping our belief. I keep telling the guys, ‘Why not?’ We knew we were going to go to Doherty and win, and we have that feeling again.”
STATE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
BOYS
CLASS 5A
Wednesday — Sweet 16
No. 17 Vista Ridge (19-6) at No. 1 Eaglecrest (20-4) , 7 p.m.
No. 9 Denver East (17-7) at No. 8 Smoky Hill (16-8), 7 p.m.
No. 13 Mountain Vista (16-8) at No. 4 Grandview (20-4), 7 p.m.
No. 21 Far Northeast (18-7) at No. 5 Rock Canyon (21-3)
No. 15 Rampart (18-6) at No. 2 ThunderRidge (22-2), 7 p.m.
No. 10 Cherry Creek (16-8) at No. 7 Chatfield (23-1), 7 p.m.
No. 14 Chaparral (15-9) at No. 3 George Washington (22-2), 7 p.m. (Thunderdome)
No. 27 Arapahoe (11-14) at No. 11 Fort Collins (21-3), 6:30 p.m.
CLASS 4A
Wednesday — Sweet 16
No. 16 Mesa Ridge (18-6) at No. 1 Valor Christian (20-4), 7 p.m.
No. 9 Mead (20-4) at No. 10 Northridge (21-3), 6:30 p.m.
No. 13 Evergreen (19-5) at No. 4 Durango (21-4), 6 p.m.
No. 12 Golden (17-7) at No. 5 Holy Family (20-4), 6 p.m.
No. 15 Vista PEAK Prep (20-4) at No. 2 Pueblo South (18-6), 6 p.m.
No. 10 Silver Creek (21-3) at No. 7 Pueblo West (22-2), 7 p.m.
No. 14 Sand Creek (19-5) at No. 3 D’Evelyn (20-4)
No. 11 Sierra (20-4) at No. 6 Lewis-Palmer (20-4), 7 p.m.
CLASS 5A/4A
Saturday — Great 8 — Denver Coliseum
12:30, 2, 3:30 & 6:30
GIRLS
CLASS 5A
Tuesday — Sweet 16
No. 16 Castle View (16-8) at No. 1 Highlands Ranch (22-2)
No. 9 Lakewood (19-5) at No. 8 Denver East (19-5), 7 p.m.
No. 13 Pine Creek (18-6) at No. 4 Ralston Valley (23-1), 7 p.m.
No. 12 Cherry Creek (17-7) at No. 5 Fruita Momentent (22-2), 6 p.m.:
No. 15 Arapahoe (16-8) at No. 2 Grandview (23-1), 7 p.m.:
No. 7 Doherty (23-1) at No. 23 Fairview (15-10), 7 p.m.:
No. 19 Loveland (17-8) at No. 3 Horizon (21-3), 6 p.m.
No. 11 Regis Jesuit (18-6) at No. 6 Fossil Ridge (19-5), 6:30 p.m.
CLASS 4A
Tuesday — Sweet 16
No. 16 Durango (17-7) at No. 1 Pueblo South (22-2), 6 p.m.
No. 9 Golden (21-3) at No. 8 Holy Family (19-5), 6 p.m.
No. 13 Rifle (21-3) at No. 4 Air Academy (20-4), 5:30 p.m.
No. 21 The Classical Academy (20-5) at No. 5 Windsor (18-6), 6:30 p.m.
No. 15 D’Evelyn (17-7) at No. 2 Pueblo West (21-3), 7 p.m.
No. 10 Pueblo East (17-7) at No. 7 Mesa Ridge (20-4), 7 p.m.
No. 14 Palisade (21-3) at No. 3 Evergreen (21-3), 6 p.m.
No. 11 George Washington (20-3) at No. 6 Valor Christian (16-8), 7 p.m.
CLASS 5A/4A
Friday — Great 8 — Denver Coliseum
4, 5:30, 7 & 8:30
