Survive and advance for Eagle Ridge

free throws at the end of the game. We just played as a team, and that’s always going to help us win.”

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

DENVER – Some words came to the mind of Eagle Ridge Academy players and coaches on the oor of the Denver Coliseum March 3.

Words like “ragged,” “rugged” and “ugly.” e other words that came to mind were the most important .. a win, regardless of what it looked like. e second half, we had ve,” ERA coach Jay Powell said. “We knew at the beginning they were going to play at a pace that was going to speed us up. We needed to calm down.”

Eagle Ridge moved into the seminals of the state 4A boys basketball tournament by beating Pueblo Central 63-57. e win sets up a contest against 17th-seeed Holy Family at 12:45 p.m. ursday, March 9, at the Coliseum.

“ e rst half, we had 14 turnovers.

“It was a fast-paced game,” said Peyton Torres, who scored nine points.

“We needed to slow down a little bit. We got them out of their zone. We were able to throw good passes across the court, not lob passes. We had to throw hard. ey were extremely fast. We broke the press the correct way.” quarter. It was ugly, yeah,” said Christian Seifert, who nished with 13 points. “We have to keep shooting. We have to defend. We have to do the little things. e shots never started to fall, but we kept ourselves in it.” e Wildcats made the semi nal round of the state tournament last year. eir top scorer was Xavier Davis, who poured in 26 points. Ozzy Vigil eir top scorer was Hunter Hill. He scored 26 points despite missing some time in the fourth quarter because of a tailbone injury.

Eagle Ridge advanced to the elite 8 of the state 3A tournament last year. is is the Warriors’ rst year in class 4A.

“I’m ne,” Hill said after the game. “ e win makes it feel amazing. We got to the basket. We knocked down our

Another thing that helped the Warriors’ cause was converting those free throws. As Pueblo Central committed foul after foul to extend the game, the Wildcats were making 3-pointers –one from Ozzy Vigi and two from Xavier Davis. e rally cut a 10-point Warriors’ lead to four points in the span of a minute. ERA made ve of eight from the free-throw line in the last minutes, and Peyton Torres sealed the outcome with a layup o a turnover.

“We knocked down free throws in crucial minutes,” Powell said. “We had high IQ plays at the end. Isaiah (sophomore Isaiah Garcia, who scored a key basket early in the fourth quarter) came in and helped us out.

All the boys played strong, especially in the second half. We just had to settle down.”

Even though the win wasn’t aesthetically pleasing, Powell said it will help for the match against Holy Family.

“It helps show the boys they have to dig deep,” Powell said. “ ey have to ght. ey have to go out there and take it.”

“As long as we got the win, that’s all that matters,” Hill said.

“Our defense was really good,” Seifert said. “We’ve got some long guys, some athletic guys. If we lock in on defense, there’s no team that should be able to beat us.”

Thu 3/09

Wonderful Waterfowl

@ 9am / Free

Bird Conservancy's Environmental Learn‐ing Center, 14500 Lark Bunting Lane, Brighton. 303-659-4348 ext. 53

Sat 3/11

Family Fun Friday- Bingo

@ 1am

Mar 11th - Mar 10th

Bison Ridge Recreation Center, 13905 E. 112th Avenue, Commerce City. 303-2893760

Sun 3/12

Fiddler On The Roof @ 7:30pm

CHSAA 4A/5A Basketball Final 4 2023

@ 11am

Denver Coliseum, 4600 Humboldt Street, Denver

Colorado Avalanche vs. Los Angeles Kings @ 7pm / $45-$999

Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle, Denver

SOAR Social @ 11:30pm

Bison Ridge Recreation Center, 13905 E. 112th Avenue, Commerce City. 303-2893760

Fri 3/10

Erin Go Bragh 7.77k @ 9:30am / $33

10600 Westminster Blvd, Prome‐nade Terrace, Westminster

Grape Pruning Workshop @ 10am 9490 Co Rd 25, Fort Lupton, CO 80621, USA, Brighton

Jurassic Quest 3/10 @ 12pm Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th Street, Denver Crafty Corner (3/10) @ 5pm Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760

Harlem Globetrotters @ 2pm 1STBANK Center, 11450 Broom‐�eld Lane, Broom�eld

Cooking with a Cop @ 4pm Bison Ridge Recreation Center, 13905 E. 112th Avenue, Commerce City. 303-2893760

Colorado Avalanche vs. Arizona Coyotes @ 4pm / $84-$999 Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle, Denver

Colorado Mammoth vs. Calgary Roughnecks @ 7pm / $20-$999

Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle, Denver

The Lumber Baron Afternoon Tea (3/10) @ 7:15pm

Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760

WarCrown @ 7:30pm

Trailside Saloon, 10360 Colorado Blvd, Thornton

Teague Starbuck @ 9pm Elevate Grill & Bar, 2831 W 120th Ave #200, Westminster

Denver Nuggets vs. Brooklyn Nets

@ 1:30pm / $45-$3970

Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle, Denver

Mon 3/13

Cooking Cultures- Mar @ 4pm Mar 13th - Mar 27th

Bison Ridge Recreation Center, 13905 E. 112th Avenue, Commerce City. 303-2893760

100 Things to Do Before You're 12 @ 4pm Bison Ridge Recreation Center, 13905 E. 112th Avenue, Commerce City. 303-2893760

Tue 3/14

Century Casino @ 2:15pm Fort Lupton Recreation & Parks De‐partment, 203 S Harrison, Fort Lupton. 303-857-4200

Fiske Planetarium/Laser Elton John @ 3:45pm

Fort Lupton Recreation & Parks De‐partment, 203 S Harrison, Fort Lupton. 303-857-4200

St. Patrick's Day Celebration

Luncheon (3/14) @ 6pm Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760

Face Vocal Band @ 7:30pm

Nissi's Entertainment Venue & Event Cen‐ter, 1455 Coal Creek Dr unit t, Lafayette

Wed 3/15

Buell Theatre, 1031 13th St., Den‐ver Medicare 101 Class (3/15) @ 3pm Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760

Coffee with Youth & Teen Services (3/15) @ 3pm Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760

DJ school with DJ Spexx @ 3:45pm Anythink York Street, 8990 York Street, Thornton. jseelig@anythin klibraries.org, 303-405-3234

Boost Your Mood With Food and Fitness (3/15) @ 5pm Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760

Jane Goodall @ 7pm Bellco Theatre, 1100 Stout Street, Denver

Maker Space- March @ 11pm Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760