March 3, 2022
Brighton Standard Blade 13
LOCAL
SPORTS Regional round is next for Eagle Ridge
BY STEVE SMITH < SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM>
FORT LUPTON -- The idea of “going with your strength” paid off for the Eagle Ridge Academy boys basketball team Feb. 24. The Warriors controlled Denver School of Science/Technology from start to finish in a 61-47 win that sent Eagle Ridge to the regional playoff round next week. “We got the ball inside,” said Christian Seifert, who stands 6 feet 7 inches tall. “We started hitting a few outside shots, but really? Just working the ball inside is what we do good. It’s what we’ve done all season. We’ve never had height like this before. It’s a big advantage.” Cameron Seifert led the Warriors with 20 points. Christian Seifert was next with 14. Isaiah Garcia and Hunter Hill added eight. Asher Sikle led the Raptors with 16 points. Jaylen Johnson and Johnson Asamonye were next with eight. “We played well on both ends of the floor,” Hill said. “We worked well as a team and came together. We played our game the whole game. There were a lot of things we could improve. But all-around, it was a solid win against a well-known program.” ERA didn’t need the outside game against the Raptors. The Warriors made just one basket from 3-point range. ERA outscored DSST-GVR 13-2 in the last five minutes of the first half to settle the issue.
“The boys played real hard. We had an advantage of taking care of the rebounds,” said ERA coach Jay Powell. “That’s a good safety net to have. Defense has been our focus this year, limiting teams’ second-chance opportunities.” Seifert was pleased with his game and his ability to do some damage under the basket. He also was pleased with the unselfish play of his team. “I know we’ve had a lot of talent,” Seifert said. “Since our freshman year, we knew one year we were going to figure this out. We knew we were going to do really well this year. We can get to the state championship.” “We thought of ourselves as one of the best teams kin the league. Now we’re proving it,” Hill said. “We’ve had some rough games. But as long as we play our style of basketball, I think we can beat any team in the state.” Powell was pleased with his team’s intensity. But he also pointed out the need to continue to play good defense. “We’re trying to get the boys ready to play at the next level, the ones that have that ambition,” Powell said. “Kids watch Steph Curry and James Harden and think all you have to do is shoot 3s and play offense. If you want to play at the next level, you have to show coach you can play defense. We played defense very well
Denver School of Science/Technology-Green Valley Ranch’s Johnson Asamonye draws a crowd of Warriors’ defenders in the forms of Cameron (CJ) Seifert, 24, and Hunter Hill, 0, during a Colorado/Confluence League district tournament semifinal in Fort PHOTO BY STEVE SMITH Lupton Feb. 24.
in the first half and held them to 14 points. If we can lock in like that., we are going to be a tough team to beat. “They have their abilities and attitudes,” Powell continued. “I love kids of this generation, the same reason they all drive us nuts. It’s funny when we were growing up, we heard our parents tell us, ‘We think we know everything.’ And now we’re in that same situation.” Eagle Ridge eventually won the district championship by beating Fort Lupton 65-49 Feb. 25.
NEXT UP Eagle Ridge Acadeny drew the eighth seed in this week’s regional platoff round and will host Platte Valley at 5 p.m. Friday, March 4. The winner plays either Highland or DSSTGreen Valley Ranch Saturday, March 5, in the round of 16. If ERA wins, the Warriors will host the March 5 game ERA’s girls team drew the 31st seed in the girls 3A regional tournament and will travel to University HIgh School for a 5:30 p.m. game March 4. The winner faces either Coal Ridge or Resurrection Christian March 5 in the round of 16.
Boys basketball: Ravens advance to Sweet 16 – barely BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
It took every bit of Anthony Chavez’s record-setting nine threepoint baskets and 29 total points and a game-winning layup from Marcus Hinh to send Riverdale Ridge’s boys
basketball team to the Sweet 16. The Ravens squandered a 10-point, first-quarter lead, rallied from a nine-point deficit in the second half and held off Thomas Jefferson 69-67 in the second round of the state 4A boys basketball tournament Feb. 26. The game was in Thornton.
In addition to Chavez’s scoring outburst, the Ravens’ Ryan Leopold scored 24 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Jathan Alston added eight. The Spartans’ top scorer was Will Perkins, who tossed in 17 points. Armon Baker, Doren Sacha and Josiah Gordon chipped in with
12 points. After Hinh’s game-winning layup, the Spartans had three chances to win the game. All three chances missed the mark. “Man. That’s once in a lifetime, SEE SWEET 16, P17
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