Kayle Knuckles didn’t play his first organized basketball game until ninth grade.
In the hyper-competitive world of youth basketball, he was like a 65-year-old who had waited until retirement to learn how to drive.
He may have had a late start, but the 6-foot-6 senior forward for Valor Christian ended his career in grand fashion, scoring a career-high 32 points to lead the Eagles to a 68-55 win over Lewis-Palmer in the 4A state title game at the Denver Coliseum.
“It’s been a pretty cool journey,” Knuckles said. “I couldn’t have imagined this. But I wouldn’t take any of it back.”
Excellence is more of an expectation than a goal at Valor Christian. The school entered the weekend having captured 22 state titles in the 10 short years since it opened.
The boys basketball team, though, had been left out of the championship party, dealt crushing defeats in title games in 2013 and 2016.
Now, the Eagles fit in with their trophy-collecting peers just fine.
“This is my dream come true,” said Valor Christian senior Jalen Sanders, who finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists. “It feels better than I thought it would. I’m so proud of my teammates and coaches.”
Troy Pachner was making his second trip to the title game in as many seasons as Valor’s coach, and his impressive résumé now includes a second career state championship. Pachner was hired by Valor from D’Evelyn, and his old school provided a wake-up call for the Eagles on Jan. 11. D’Evelyn beat Valor by double digits that night — Pachner’s birthday, ironically — and the Eagles went back to the drawing board.
Over the next two months, Valor went 16-0.
“It was a great reminder that, ‘Hey, if we don’t show up and play we can be beat like anyone else, ‘” Pachner said.
Lewis-Palmer was an impressive story in the tournament, motoring out of Monument into the title game on a 19-game winning streak as the No. 6 seed. The Rangers used an 18-9 run to trim a 13-point deficit to 34-30 midway through the third quarter.
That was as close as they would get. Knuckles nailed a 3-pointer and then completed an old-fashioned three-point play on Valor’s next two possessions to quickly push the lead back to double-digits.
Senior point guard Keisan Crosby was masterful running the offense, tallying 12 points, six rebounds and six assists as he routinely broke down the defense to find his forwards.
Sophomore Joel Scott led Lewis-Palmer with 15 points.
But it was Valor’s day. The Eagles had excellence to complete.
“This whole group,” Pachner said, “truly deserves it.”
Lewis-Palmer 8 13 13 21 — 55
Valor Christian 15 12 17 24 — 68
Lewis-Palmer — Scott 5 4-4 15, Nehme 0 0-0 0, Burkett 3 0-0 8, Carter 0 0-0 0, Baca 0 0-0 0, Ragsdale 0 0-0 0, Choban 0 0-0 0, Corkill 1 0-0 2, Battisstelli 5 2-2 12, Blomberg 4 2-2 13, Cook 2 1-2 5, Young 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 9-10 55.
Valor Christian — Knuckles 13 4-6 32, Sanders 8 2-2 18, Crosby 3 6-8 12, D. McCaffrey 2 2-4 6, Remus 0 0-0 0, Shane 0 0-0 0, Ka. Michael 0 0-1 0, Wilson 0 0-0 0, L. McCaffrey 0 0-0 0, Randle 0 0-0 0, Ky. Michael 0 0-0 0, Foley 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 14-21 68.
3-pt. goals — Blomberg 3, Burkett 2, Scott; Knuckles 2. Fouled out — Blomberg.
All-Tournament Team
Kayle Knuckles, Sr., Valor Christian (MVP)
Jalen Sanders, Sr., Valor Christian
Keisan Crosby, Sr., Valor Christian
Joel Scott, So., Lewis-Palmer
Angelo Battisstelli, Sr., Lewis-Palmer
