Sorry, Cinderella. You'll have to sit this one out.
As the Class 5A state boys basketball tournament heads into Friday's Final Four at the Colorado Events Center, the bracket's quartet of No. 1 seeds are the clubs still left standing.
Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch),
Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins),
Denver East and
Overland (Aurora) each earned a top
Denver East's Dominique Collier, right, scored 32
points in the quarterfinals to lead the Angels back
to the Class 5A Final Four.
File photo by Derek Regensburger
seed after stellar regular seasons, and they proved worthy of those spots by making their way through the field and to the CU campus, avoiding any potential upset along the way.
It wasn't exactly chalk, but it came pretty darn close.
Fossil Ridge is in the semifinals for the first time in school history, taking a perfect 26-0 mark into the semifinals.
"We're in uncharted territory," Fossil Ridge coach Matt Johannsen said. "The only thing we can do is keep doing what we do. That's been our motto all year, 'Do what we do'."
The SaberCats were impressive in knocking out third-seeded Arapahoe (Centennial) 68-58 in Friday's quarterfinals, building a 20-point lead over the Warriors at one point in the fourth quarter.
Evan Smith and
Alex Semadeni each scored 18 points as the SaberCats turned a close game at halftime into a blowout.
Fossil Ridge's opponent in the semifinals, Mountain Vista (25-1), had a much tougher time in its quarterfinal game, needing clutch free throws from senior
Jake Pemberton with less than 10 seconds to play to pull out a 65-61 victory over defending state champion Eaglecrest (Aurora).
Pemberton, who was a perfect 6-for-6 from the line, hit his final two to break a tie game after being fouled with 7.6 seconds remaining. He finished with 15 points;
Brady Subart led the team with 16 points as the Golden Eagles had five players score in double figures.
Pemberton said Fossil Ridge will present a huge challenge, as both teams' strengths will clash on the courts.
"(I heard) that they don't make mistakes. They're a really fundamental team," Pemberton said. "All we do is try to get the other team to make mistakes. I think our defense against their offense is going to be a huge battle."
Denver East (22-4) was the preseason No. 1 and the Angels didn't disappoint, not dropping an in-state contest all season.
And East's
Dominique Collier, generally considered the top player in the state, didn't disappoint in the quarterfinals, either, scoring 32 points, including an incredible 26 straight for his team during one stretch. The Angels rolled past Highlands Ranch 64-44 to advance. Collier, who will play his college ball at the University of Colorado, was held scoreless in the first quarter by the Falcons before erupting for 15 in the second and the Angels' first 11 of the second half.
While Collier may be the best player in the state this year, that title might fall to one of his opponents -- Overland sophomore
De'Ron Davis -- next year. Davis, a 6-foot-10 low-post force, scored 14 points and grabbed 21 rebounds to lead the Trailblazers (20-6) to a 64-47 victory over city rival Rangeview.
Ryan Swan scored 18 to pace Overland, and Davis added three blocks for the 'Blazers, who are in the semifinals for the first time since 1990.
MaxPreps Colorado Class 5A state tournament bracket
