Arapahoe, Chaparral will square off for Class 5A championship

BOULDER - The Arapahoe (Centennial) boys basketball team could have wondered "What if?" after leading scorer Tim Haas went down late in the season. Now, the Warriors definitely are thinking, "Why not?"

Arapahoe continued its run to a Class 5A state title with an efficient 66-41 victory against Rangeview (Aurora) in the semifinals Thursday at the Coors Events Center before a four-game crowd of 8,088. The Warriors (25-2), a year after losing in the Final Four, will be after their first championship Saturday. They last played in the title game in 1995.

This one marked the seventh game Arapahoe played without its senior leader, but as has been the case since Haas was injured with three games left in the regular season, a host of Warriors took turns responding to the challenge.

Senior Zach Kocur scored a game-best 22 points, while fellow senior Shane Jensen added 19. Jensen also posted seven rebounds, four assists and four blocks.

Arapahoe really never was threatened as it bolted to a double-digit lead in the first quarter and a 32-23 advantage at halftime. A 14-0 run in the third quarter settled matters. It was the Warriors' second win this season against Rangeview (22-5), as they also handled the Raiders 76-50 on Dec. 8.

"A lot of people have ruled us out after Tim got hurt. It definitely is more fuel for the fire, I guess, for all the people who doubted us," said Kocur, who hit the game-winning layup in the quarterfinals. "Even though he can't play, he still helps us a lot, seeing a lot of things (on the bench) that we don't see."

Rangeview, a No. 4 seed in the brackets, was in the Final Four for the first time since 1993. Jeremiah Paige was the only Raiders player to score in double figures with 10 points.

Chaparral (Parker) 54, Highlands Ranch 50
Chaparral’s Cory Calvert is one cool customer. After the Wolverines dispatched Continental League rival Highlands Ranch to advance to the state championship game for the first time, the senior looked like he had barely broken a sweat.

Calvert, who is headed to play at BYU next season, scored a game-best 25 points, with many of those coming down the stretch for the Wolverines (24-3). Calvert hit six consecutive free throws in the final 43 seconds – all 1-on-1 situations – to help Chaparral hold on.  He also hit a half-court, 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter that charged Chaparral for its fourth-quarter surge.

“I have been struggling a little bit from the line this year, so it was nice to get them tonight,” said Calvert, a 77 percent free-throw shooter during the season. “I just knocked them down when it counted.”

The offensive load fell squarely on Calvert early, as he scored 14 of the Wolverines’ 20 first-half points.  Fellow Division I signee Josh Adams (Wyoming) went 1-for-8 from the field in the first two quarters, and his basket didn’t come until a little more than 3 minutes remained in the half.

Still, it was Adams who gave Chaparral its first lead since early in the first quarter when he drilled a 3-pointer with 6:35 left in the fourth quarter to make it 42-41. The Wolverines never trailed again, as they also received two key baskets from Brandon Malone to help finish off the Falcons (23-4). Reece Elliot added 10 points for Chaparral.  

Adams, who scored 30 points in the quarterfinals, finished with eight points and shot only 3-for-14 from the field.

“We work off each other,” said Calvert, who also had six rebounds and four assists. “We know when one of us is off the other one picks it up.”

Highlands Ranch, which lost to Chaparral 63-53 during the regular season, lost in the semifinals for the second consecutive year.  University of Denver-bound Austin Haldorson finished with a team-best 23 points and seven rebounds.