Warriors subdue Riverdale Ridge in the round of 16

BY JONATHAN MANESS SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

BRIGHTON – e No.

4-seeded Eagle Ridge Academy Warriors held o a feisty Riverdale Ridge squad Feb. 25 to advance to the Great Eight of the Class 4A state basketball tournament.

In front of a standingroom only crowd, the Warriors used their length and athleticism to roll to a 66-51 victory over the 13th-seeded Ravens.

“(Riverdale) is a very scrappy team,” Eagle Ridge Academy’s coach, Jay Powell, said. “We had to cut out their o ensive rebounds, and our boys dug deep and played hard to get the win.

I’m proud of them.” e Warriors will face the winner of No. 5 Pagosa Springs and No. 12 Pueblo County at the Denver Coliseum at 8:30 p.m. Friday,

March 3.

ERA (20-5 overall) led from the opening tip, but it wasn’t easy as the crosstown rivals battled until the nal whistle.

“We know each other well,” Eagle Ridge’s captain Hunter Hill said. “It’s a huge win for us. ey played hard, but we wanted it more.” e Warriors’ length gave Riverdale issues, especially with Christian Seifert (6foot-8), Cameron (CJ) Seifert (6 -6) and James ‘Kyen’ Allen (6-7) patrolling in the paint.

“Length is a big strength for us,” Powell said. “it’s hard to get a shot o when they are ying at you.”

Christian Seifert made his presence known early in the game. He started the game with three points the old-fashioned way and had back-to-back blocks that led to a pair of baskets by e Warriors kept the momentum in the second quarter as Christian Seifert pushed the lead to 13 with a pair of 3-pointers.

Hill to give ERA an early 9-3 advantage.

Ryan Leopold helped Riverdale rally back. e senior hit a trey and scored on a fast-break basket to tie the game at 14. e Warriors ended the quarter on a seven-point run as Hill closed the quarter with a pair of baskets to give ERA a 21-14 advantage.

Riverdale (17-8) remained scoreless in the second until Marcus Hinh scored ve consecutive points to cut into the de cit for the Ravens. Baskets by Allen and Peyton Torres pushed the lead to 40-29 at the half. Riverdale made defensive adjustments at the half and used a pressure defense to