BOULDER - For the past three seasons, the Final Four has been the final destination for the
Lewis-Palmer (Monument) boys basketball team.
Three consecutive semifinal appearances ended one game short of the Class 4A championship final, each time to the eventual champion. Senior
Josh Scott has been a part of those previous three teams, and he made sure the Rangers advanced one game further this season.
The University of Colorado-bound Scott turned in a fourth-quarter performance sure to make the Buffs faithful swoon, leading Lewis-Palmer to a 70-59 victory at the Coors Events Center.
The 6-foot-10 Scott scored 16 of his 22 points in the final quarter, which included a stretch of 11 consecutive points and a run of 14 of 16 Rangers tallies. He added 10 rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
"I didn't think I played bad up until the fourth quarter, but I didn't
think I made my mark, and I wanted to affect this game," said Scott, the state's leading scorer at 29 points per game. "They always say it's not
how you start but how you end it."
It ended well for the Rangers (26-1), who will play for their second state title Saturday. (They won it all in 1994). Lewis-Palmer has won 26 in a row since a season-opening loss to Broomfield.
"When you get into the fourth quarter and you are playing for a state championship, it would be stupid not to go to him," Lewis-Palmer coach Russ McKinstry said of Scott. "But we had a lot of different guys step up and make big plays. We aren't just Josh Scott this year."
In particular,
Justin Smith came up huge for the Rangers, scoring a team-best 26 points. He hit four 3-pointers, to go along with seven rebounds and four blocks. That type of effort was needed to hold off a game
Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch team making its first appearance in the semifinals. Smith and Scott combined for 22 of Lewis-Palmer's 24 points in the fourth.
Lewis-Palmer had won its three previous playoff games by an average margin of 30 points, but the Eagles (24-3) had it to within 62-58 with 1 minute, 30 seconds remaining. Smith then hit a short jumper and followed that with a dunk coming across the baseline, before Scott blocked two shots on the next Valor Christian possession.
"We have taken it one step at a time this year," Scott said. "We will enjoy this for about 20 minutes and get ready for Saturday."
Max McCaffrey totaled 22 points and nine rebounds for Valor Christian, while teammate
Chase Foster added 20 points.
Sierra (Colorado Springs) 66, Broomfield 43
After watching his future CU teammate Josh Scott lead Lewis-Palmer to the title
game, Sierra standout Wesley Gordon did the same.
Sierra's Wesley Gordon.
File photo by Paul DiSalvo
The 6-8 Gordon turned in a well-rounded effort, to say the
least, to carry the Stallions (26-1) to their third championship game berth in
the past four years. They won it all in 2009 and 2010.
Gordon posted 19 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks to
give Sierra another shot at its Colorado Springs League rival. Lewis-Palmer
handed the Stallions their only loss of the season, 45-42 on Feb. 10.
Sierra held a 29-20 advantage at halftime, and the Stallions
blew it open by scoring the first 13 points of the third quarter. Broomfield’s
shooting woes never allowed it to make a definitive push. Deon Wilson added 18 points to Sierra's cause.
Broomfield shot just 26 percent in the first half, 28
percent (16-for-57) overall. The Eagles (25-2), who were in the semifinals for
the first time in four seasons, were led by Nick Ongarato. He finished with 12
points.
