Road to Boulder filled with hurdles in Colorado boys state basketball

Existing in the Class 5A Continental League can sometimes feel like competing in a mini-state tournament two months out of the season.

That's why the Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch) boys basketball team isn't daunted headed into the start of the actual state tournament, which begins Wednesday. The Golden Eagles closed strong with victories against one-time top-ranked foes Regis Jesuit (Aurora) and ThunderRidge (Highlands Ranch) to earn the No. 2 seed in the Bill Weimar Region.

The Golden Eagles, who have advanced to the Final 4 in each of the past two seasons, are ready to try their luck again and see where the next three weeks takes them.

"You've got to be ready every night," Mountain Vista coach Bob Wood said. "We felt like we've been doing that. We got better and played some good people and we beat a lot of good teams. When you do that, you get confidence."

The squad finished in a three-way tie for second place in the Continental League, which has two No. 1 seeds (Regis Jesuit and ThunderRidge), a pair of No. 2 seeds (Mountain Vista and Legend (Parker)) and two more No. 3 seeds (Rock Canyon (Highlands Ranch) and Chaparral (Parker)) in the 48-team field.

Overland (Aurora) and Eaglecrest (Centennial) of the Centennial League are the other top two seeds in the tournament.

"We felt like the Continental League is by far the best conference in the state … and was going to get seeded very high," Wood said. "I thought the (seeding) committee did a pretty good job. I think it's a good bracket, but we'll have to see how things fall out. I think 5A is wide open."

Longmont, Golden, Holy Family (Broomfield) and Denver South nabbed the four No. 1 seeds in the 32-team Class 4A playoffs, with that tournament starting Friday.

Here is a look at the four regions in both 5A and 4A:

Class 5A

Bill Weimar Region
Top Seed: Overland
Bracket Buster: Warriors (Montbello) (Denver). The sixth-seeded Warriors have played a challenging schedule, facing some of the best the state has to offer. Montbello has victories against a No. 2 (Mountain Vista) and a No. 3 (Rock Canyon), and after a three-game losing streak, the Warriors won their final five games. Senior Malik Hart went off for 51 points Feb. 3 against Denver West.
Bracket Notes: Maybe the most dangerous team in the state right now sits in the top spot in Overland, which won its final 12 games of the regular season. Junior De'Ron Davis is averaging 17 points and 10.9 rebounds a game … Mountain Vista defeated Regis Jesuit 57-55 on a buzzer-beater from Brady Subart on Feb. 17, then took down ThunderRidge 56-45 three days later without leading scorer Ray Beresford, who injured an ankle in practice … No. 4 seed Grand Junction has three players averaging right around 14 points a game, but could have a tough second-round contest with No. 5 Northglenn. The Norse owns victories over Legend and Montbello.

Jim Baggot Region
Top Seed: Regis Jesuit
Bracket Buster: Denver East. The defending state champion is the No. 6 seed, but is a team no one will overlook. Senior Brian Carey, tied for first in the state in scoring at 25.6 points a game, and junior Jack Buckmelter are a potent 1-2 punch. Buckmelter, who transferred from 3A Colorado Academy, has averaged 14.6 points a game in his 11 games.
Bracket Notes: Arguably the toughest bracket in the state, the region also includes No. 3 Rock Canyon and No. 4 Cherokee Trail (Aurora), which won't be easy outs … Second-seeded Rangeview (Aurora) won its final 12 games of the regular season, behind three players averaging roughly 13 points a game … Cherokee Trail played two of the four No. 1 seeds in the final three games, defeating Eaglecrest in overtime … Regis Jesuit put 100 points on the scoreboard against Chaparral on Feb. 13, one game after scoring only 36 in a loss to ThunderRidge.

Ray C. Ball Region
Top Seed: Eaglecrest
Bracket Buster: Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins). The state runner-up a year ago, Fossil Ridge has been rolling as of late. Since a four-point loss to Regis on Jan. 17, the SaberCats won nine of their final 10 games. Of their four in-state losses, all came by four points or less, and senior Ryan Quaid is averaging 17 points and 11.6 rebounds a night.
Bracket Notes: Eaglecrest finished second to Overland in the Centennial League, but split the season series with the Trailblazers. Sophomore Colbey Ross (17 ppg) and senior Blend Avdili (16.5 ppg, 7.2 rebounds) lead the charge, but the Raptors have four players scoring in doubles figures … Arvada West senior Thomas Neff was good for fourth in 5A in scoring this season at 21.3 points per game … No. 2 Legend won seven of its final eight, and its top six scorers are all juniors … After a four-game losing streak midway through the season, No. 3 George Washington (Denver) ran the table to win the Denver Prep League title.

Chauncey Billups Region
Top Seed: ThunderRidge
Bracket Buster: Monarch (Louisville). The Coyotes won 20 games but finished third in the Front Range League. The team beat a No. 2 seed in 5A (Fort Collins) and 4A (Sierra), and while Monarch averages only 45.2 points per game, the team allowed only three teams to top the 50-point mark this season.
Bracket Notes: Five of the top 10 scorers in 5A this season are in the Billups Region: Lakewood's Kolton Peterson (23.7 ppg), Michael Sparks (21.5) and Jose Arenas (20) of Lincoln (Denver), Horizon (Thornton) ace Michael Skinner (19.7) and Andrew Romero III (19.5) of Mountain Range (Westminster) … Rampart (Colorado Springs) standout Donovan Oldham is no slouch at 17 points per game, helping the Rams claim the Colorado Springs Metro title … Third-seeded Chaparral beat ThunderRidge by 24 points on Feb. 17 behind 32 points from senior Chris Moody (17.7 ppg).

Class 4A

Maceo Brodnax Region
Top Seed: Longmont
Bracket Buster: Windsor. The No. 5 seed in the eight-team region, Windsor closed out a 17-win regular season by taking down Holy Family 68-61. The Wizards have four players who average at least 10 points a game, and junior Noah Baldwin (10.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.0) assists can do a little of everything.
Bracket Notes: Balance is the name of the game for teams in the region, with the top seeds all featuring multiple players who can beat opponents … Longmont juniors Justinian Jessup (17.6 ppg) and Kevin Mitchell (14.1) were consistent all year, helping the Trojans to a 23-0 regular-season mark … Second-seeded Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) is playing as well as anyone with eight consecutive victories, including ones over a No. 1 seed (Golden) and a No. 3 (D'Evelyn); four players average at least nine points a game for the Eagles.

Mark Randall Region
Top Seed: Holy Family
Bracket Buster: Pueblo South. The fourth-seeded Colts are the epitome of balance, with five players averaging at least 10 points a game. Pueblo South won its final six games of the season, including victories against playoff teams in Pueblo Central and Pueblo West to create a three-way in the South Central League standings.
Bracket Notes: Holy Family, the defending state champion in 3A, moved up a classification and didn't skip a beat. The Tigers went 19-4 behind junior Chris Helbig (17.5 ppg) and senior Luke Golter (16.7) to win the Tri-Valley … No. 2 Sierra (Colorado Springs) lost three of its first five games, only to close with 18 consecutive victories … Elizabeth senior Jake Gavitt (21.5 ppg) and Wheat Ridge senior Vedin Kozic (19.1) finished in the top six in 4A in scoring.

Richard Tate Region
Top Seed: Golden
Bracket Buster: Thomas Jefferson (Denver). The Spartans' 12-11 record is deceiving – playing in the 5A/4A Denver Prep League, seven of the team's losses came to 5A playoff teams, and two more were to a 4A No. 1 seed in Denver South. Senior Josh McNair is a force on both ends of the floor, averaging 17.5 points and 9.1 rebounds.
Bracket Notes: Third-seeded Pueblo Central can light it up on the scoreboard behind juniors Michael Ranson (25.6 ppg, tied for first in the state overall) and Kobi Betts (19.8 ppg) … Niwot has a victory over Holy Family to its credit and played Longmont twice this season … No. 2 Air Academy (US Air Force Academy) closed with nine victories in a row, topping a pair of top-four seeds along the way. Senior David Louthan leads three players who average at least 12 points a game with 17 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 4.0 steals a game … Golden's lone in-state loss came to Valor Christian. Three players average at least 10 points a game.

Guy Gibbs Region
Top Seed: Denver South
Bracket Buster: Lewis-Palmer (Monument). The Rangers won 13 of their final 15, and junior Jonathan Scott has been a tough matchup at 19.3 points per game.
Bracket Notes: Like Thomas Jefferson, top-seeded Denver South played a 5A-heavy schedule and the Rebels closed the season with a victory defending 5A champ Denver East. Senior Charles Gavin was second in the state overall in rebounding with 14.7 boards a night, and senior Devante Loggins leads the state with 10.8 assists a game … Pueblo West sophomore David Simental is one of the state's top young scorers, going for 18.7 points a game … Playing in his final state tournament, D'Evelyn (Denver) senior Grant Witherspoon is averaging 19.9 points … Fort Morgan senior Eric Kembel scored at least 20 points in seven games this season.