The Mustangs named Chris Crosby, the 1996 winner of the award at Chatfield, as its next boys basketball coach. Crosby was previously the head coach at Castle View.

Crosby takes over for Roosevelt Leslie, who coached for three seasons following a five-year tenure by Hall of Fame coach Bob Caton.

From 2007-09 and 2016-22, Crosby served as an assistant coach at Mullen, and the school says his return to Lowell Boulevard “signals continuity and a renewed vision to elevate the program.”

“Coach Crosby is Denver basketball,” Mullen athletic director Melynda Brown said in a statement. “His experience, toughness, and passion for player development make him the perfect fit to lead our boys’ basketball program. He understands the grind — and he understands Mullen. We’re thrilled to welcome him home.”

At Chatfield, Crosby was a star on the Chargers’ 1996 team that fell to Denver East in an 85-80 overtime thriller in the Class 5A title game. Crosby then played at Washington State, where he was an All-Pac-10 guard. He also played professionally overseas and in the NBA Development League.

At Mullen, Crosby will be tasked with elevating a Mustangs program that has not had a winning season since 2021 and has not advanced past the second round of the playoffs since 2019. A move down to Class 5A from 6A, which started this past season, should help.

Boys basketball’s lack of recent success — the 2026 season will be the 20th anniversary of the program’s last basketball title, a 5A triumph over Cherry Creek — stands in contrast to the girls, who won the 5A title in 2025. The girls have four titles in the past seven years and eight overall, second all-time behind Eads’ nine.

“I’m incredibly honored to return to Mullen as head coach,” Crosby said in a statement. “This community means everything to me. My goal is to create a culture of toughness, teamwork, and accountability — and to bring pride back to Mustang basketball.”

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

What does an accolade-laden Colorado dude have to do to get a Power 4 basketball offer nowadays?

Scherer balled in another universe for the Eagles the past couple of winters. He swept the state’s individual awards last season — CHSAA 6A Player of the Year, Gatorade state player of the year, MaxPreps state player of the year and The Post’s Mr. Colorado Basketball — while leading Valor Christian to the championship.

Then he duplicated that accolade four-peat as a senior while steering the Eagles back to the title game. For that, the 6-foot-2 point guard only got one Division I offer, from Eastern Washington, where he signed in November.

“Sometimes I think our college coaches get caught up in the measurables — how big is he, what’s his vertical and this and that,” Rangeview head coach Shawn Palmer said. “There’s some truth to that. But can the kid play at a high level, and does he understand the game? Cole does both.

“He traveled the country with his AAU team as well, so it’s not like he didn’t do it out of state on the circuit, too. … I think our local college basketball programs missed the boat on getting him committed to their program when it was pretty clear last year he was the state’s best player.”

The transfer portal and NIL landscape have altered the college options for players like Scherer, especially in a flyover state for boys hoops like Colorado.

For his part, Scherer is excited about the opportunity EWU presents, and his chance in Cheney, Wash., to prove all those Power 4 coaches wrong.

“I’m excited to get out there,” Scherer said. “A couple of their guards have entered the transfer portal and left, so I’m just honestly relying on God, on His plan, and I’m going to keep working to showcase what I have.”

After his prolific junior season, Scherer didn’t rest on his laurels.

The gym rat, who spent hundreds of hours in the gym over the past few years with his trainers, Jordan Jhabvala and Nick Graham, was prepared for the increased defensive game-planning teams threw at him this season.

The result? He led the state at 26.9 points per game, topping last year’s scoring average (22.0). He also increased his rebounding (6.7 from 5.6), assists (4.9 from 4.0), steals (2.5 from 2.2) and blocks (1.1 from 0.9).

Scherer finished with 2,039 career points as Valor Christian’s all-time leading scorer. He ranks 13th all-time in Colorado history, according to the CHSAA record book, and fourth all-time among players from the state’s two biggest classifications.

“He continued to evolve,” observed Valor Christian head coach Jeff Platt. “… And because he made the right plays to make his teammates better, it elevated their play. When teams tried to take Cole out of the game, we had other guys step up because Cole bought into playing how he’s going to have to play in college. He did that while still scoring at a high rate.”

Scherer is just the fourth player to win both Mr. Colorado Basketball and the Gatorade state player of the year multiple times, joining Denver East’s Dominique Collier, Regis Jesuit’s Bud Thomas and Mr. Big Shot himself, George Washington’s Chauncey Billups.

He led Valor Christian to double-digit victories in nine out of 10 playoff games over the last two seasons, the exception being the Eagles’ 65-63 loss to Eaglecrest in the Class 6A championship this season. Even though Valor Christian came up short of a repeat, Scherer remained unstoppable at Denver Coliseum, where he didn’t come off the floor for one second while averaging 34 points over three games.

In the championship, he posted a double-double with 35 points and 10 rebounds, his motor continuing to hum at a high rate until the final buzzer.

Scherer said he’s “always liked the bigger moments more,” and Platt agreed.

“He never flinched,” Platt said. “We just came up a little short that night (against Eaglecrest). Finishing the way he did, it epitomized his competitive level throughout the last four years.”

In the Final Four, Scherer ripped Rangeview for 39 points and 12 rebounds. Palmer’s game plan was to trap Scherer every time he had the ball. But Scherer seemed to always have an answer, even against the impressive athleticism of the then-undefeated Raiders.

“It’s hard to imagine trapping a guy almost every time he touched it in the full-court and the half-court, and he still ends up with 39, which shows you what kind of player he is and how frustrating it is to coach against him,” Palmer said.

In Scherer, Palmer sees parallels to other Colorado high school boys basketball stars of recent memory who were overlooked by Power 4 schools.

The Rangeview boss brought up guys like Grandview’s Eric Garcia (a standout at Wofford) and Eaglecrest’s Colbey Ross (a star at Pepperdine), both of whom went on to play professionally overseas. Late bloomer Dalton Knecht of Prairie View started at Northeastern Junior College before eventually making his way to UNC, then Tennessee. Now he’s with the Lakers.

And more recently, Palmer noted how Rangeview’s Obi Agbim and Overland’s Graham Ike paved their way to major college basketball after playing at Wyoming. Agbim spent time at the juco level and in the RMAC before Wyoming and hit the transfer portal after starring for the Cowboys this season. He’s now reportedly headed to Baylor. Meanwhile, Ike just finished a second consecutive strong season at Gonzaga following his first two years in Laramie.

Palmer predicts that if Scherer plays to his potential at EWU, it may not be his final college destination.

“Cole maybe could’ve waited to commit (and got more offers), but to his credit, he went with the program that believed in him,” Palmer said. “I think he’s going to be a very successful college basketball player. And you never know where he might end up.”

The year was 2010, and the Albuquerque, N.M., native had just made a career leap of faith after working for four years as a police officer in Leawood, Kan. He landed a job as an unpaid assistant women’s basketball coach at Johnson County Community College, where that first season he did whatever was asked of him.

Washing uniforms. Filling up the water. Playing on the scout team. It was basically a glorified manager role — and one that laid the base for a Colorado high school coaching career that brought Krapcha to Eaglecrest, which he led to the Class 6A boys hoops title this season.

“I contacted every single small school in the Kansas City area — community colleges, NAIAs — emailed them, called them,” Krapcha recalled. “Basically, every single one, I got no response or was told no. Then (JCCC head coach Ben Conrad) offered to meet with me.

“(Taking that job) ended up being one of the best decisions ever.”

Krapcha, The Denver Post’s All-Colorado boys basketball Coach of the Year after guiding the Raptors to their third title in school history and first since 2017, used three seasons at JCCC to trampoline him to a job in Colorado, his wife’s home state.

He spent one year at Mitchell, then three years at Doherty, before taking the Eaglecrest job in 2018, fresh off the Raptors’ Class 5A title that sent legendary head coach John Olander into retirement.

In his 12 years coaching local prep hoops, every one of Krapcha’s teams made the playoffs. He’s racked up a 205-90 record, five Great 8 appearances and two Final Fours en route to this year’s 65-63 dethroning of Valor Christian in the championship at Denver Coliseum.

It’s been quite the journey since those early days back in Kansas, when he went from briefly working in insurance to night shifts as a police officer.

“I wasn’t real happy at that time, and I knew I needed to do something different — something I enjoyed where I’m excited about being at work every day,” Krapcha said. “I hope my younger self would be pretty proud of the career path. From where I started to where I’m at today is pretty special.”

Conrad, who just won his second NJCAA Division II championship at JCCC, said he had had a feeling about Krapcha. Which is why he hired him without a whiff of basketball experience since his high school playing days.

“When he left here, I would’ve bet a lot of money that as long as he had a chance from a personnel standpoint, that he would be very successful,” Conrad said. “Because I knew how hard he would work and that he had a good basketball mind.”

Krapcha’s three seasons at Doherty, one of which led to a Great 8, got him on the radar for when the Eaglecrest job opened. Following in Olander’s footsteps, it took a few years for Krapcha to make the program his own, but Eaglecrest athletic director Vince Orlando was confident the Raptors would find a groove.

And they have, with four Great 8 appearances in the last five seasons, paving the way to this year’s trophy. Eaglecrest finished 26-2 and was the Centennial League champion.

“When we hired him, he never shied away from the expectations that Eaglecrest basketball was — he embraced it,” Orlando said. “Now, he’s shaped the program in his way that is sustainable on a yearly basis.”

Eaglecrest senior center Garrett Barger, an All-Colorado selection, says that shaping came from the accountability Krapcha demands from his players. Barger felt that repeatedly throughout the season as Krapcha pushed him to be the interior force the Raptors needed to win at Denver Coliseum.

That included calling out Barger in a team film session following the Raptors’ win in the playoff opener against Rocky Mountain, when the 6-foot-9 big man’s game sputtered with just nine points and four rebounds.

“In that meeting, he made it a point that if I’m not pushing hard, if I’m not a double-double threat every game, the season’s going to end,” Barger said. “I took that to heart, and realized that. If I wasn’t trying as hard as I should’ve, he’d get on me. … He was tough on me, but that helped me realize my full potential this season.”

Barger’s play, along with the emergence of Douglas County transfer guard Ant Nettles — who keyed Eaglecrest’s 19-game win streak to end the season after becoming eligible to play on Jan. 3 — enabled the Raptors to pass consistent gut-checks. Nettles’ scoring made up for the loss of last year’s star, LaDavian King, who transferred to Rangeview.

Eaglecrest won four games in overtime along the way, including the dramatic Final Four triumph over Mountain Vista, when Nettles forced an extra frame with his last-second running jumper.

“The overtime games in the season built some character for the playoff run, and it gave us the experience we needed to win the whole thing,” Krapcha said.

All-Colorado Coach of the Year finalists

Jon Rakiecki, Windsor: Led the Wizards to their first title in 101 years in Class 5A.

Todd Schayes, Kent Denver: Guided Sun Devils back to Class 4A title game after losing in 2024 and won the crown.

Mike Puccio, Green Mountain: His Runnin’ Rams made their first title game since ’97 before falling to Windsor.

Cole Scherer, Valor Christian

Sr. | PG | 6-foot-2

Stats: 26.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 2.5 steals, 1.1 blocks, Class 6A runner-up

After winning state Gatorade player of the year and Mr. Colorado Basketball as the junior leader of Valor Christian’s Class 6A title-winning team, the Eastern Washington commit had an unstoppable senior year and won both individual honors again. He played every minute of the three games at Denver Coliseum, where the state’s leading scorer averaged 34 points and lit it up from 3 and on his dribble-drives.

LaDavian King, Rangeview

Sr. | PG | 6-2

Stats: 16.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.5 steals, Class 6A Final Four

A year after King propelled Eaglecrest to the Final Four, he transferred to Rangeview and was a centerpiece in the Raiders getting to the same spot with an undefeated record before they lost to Valor Christian. Like Scherer, he was a force from behind the arc, shooting 40% from 3 and also strong and physical on his dribble-drive and with his finishes at the rim. Committed to play at Radford University.

Garrett Barger, Eaglecrest

Sr. | C | 6-9

Stats: 12.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.7 blocks, Class 6A state champion

For Eaglecrest to win the title after last season’s last-second heartbreak in the Final Four, they needed Barger to be a double-double threat every game. He did that down the stretch with an impact that extended beyond the stat sheet as he influenced play in the paint on both ends of the floor. He had two double-doubles in three games at Denver Coliseum as the Raptors’ emotional leader.

Madden Smiley, Windsor

Jr. | G | 6-3

Stats: 20.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.1 steals, Class 5A state champion

Smiley led the Wizards to their first title in 101 years and erased the disappointment of losing in the finals last season to Mesa Ridge. He was an equal threat from distance, midrange and at the rim as a well-rounded offensive catalyst who made his teammates better. And on the defensive end, he was capable of locking up the other team’s best player and creating transition offense.

Cal Baskind, Mountain Vista

Sr. | G | 6-0

Stats: 20.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.2 steals, Class 6A Final Four

The backcourt centerpiece of Mountain Vista’s one-two punch alongside junior forward Oliver Junker, Baskind’s play and leadership pushed the Golden Eagles to another deep tournament run. The Continental League player of the year shot 42% from 3 with a big-school best 90 buckets from beyond the arc. Speedy and technical on defense, Baskind continuously rose up in clutch moments in 2024-25.

Coach

Jarris Krapcha, Eaglecrest

The Raptors’ eighth-year boss finished the year on a 19-game heater; his Raptors outlasted defending champ Valor Christian in the title game.

Honorable Mention

G Ant Nettles, Sr., Eaglecrest; F Oliver Junker, Jr., Mountain Vista; G Tanner Braketa, Sr., Ralston Valley; G Christian Williams, Soph., Chaparral; G Bryce Riehl, Sr., Mesa Ridge; F Eric Fiedler, Jr., Regis Jesuit; G Caiden Braketa, Jr., Ralston Valley; G/F Simon Lunsford, Sr., Green Mountain; F Caleb Fay, Jr., Kent Denver; G Ty Yoder, Sr., Resurrection Christian; G Elvis Lloyd, Sr., Kent Denver; G Jackson Brandt, Soph., Prospect Ridge Academy; F Graham Riggs, Sr., Resurrection Christian; G Sam Mielenz, Soph., Green Mountain; F Tatum Kocerha, Soph., Simla; F Kade Speckman, Jr., Lutheran; F Drew Paine, Jr. ThunderRidge; G Ethan Berninger, Sr., Dakota Ridge; G Carter Basquez, Jr., Smoky Hill; G Jeremiah Hammond, Jr., Cherry Creek; F Brady Wynja, Sr., Valor Christian; F Marceles Duncan, Fr., Rangeview; G Archie Weatherspoon V, Soph., Rangeview; G Kris Coleman, Soph., Eaglecrest.

The Raptors didn’t lose since that moment, ripping off 19 straight victories that culminated in a thrilling 65-63 Class 6A boys basketball championship victory over Valor Christian on Saturday at Denver Coliseum.

Along the way, Eaglecrest won four times in OT, including an improbable comeback over Mountain Vista in the Final Four. And then the Raptors erased a six-point deficit late in the third quarter, using a total team effort to nullify the star power of a 35-point, 10-rebound performance by Valor Christian point guard Cole Scherer.

“We’ve had a lot of close games and we’ve been behind (during the streak), but we’ve won every time,” Eaglecrest head coach Jarris Krapcha said. “Our guys have been there before, and they knew we had to stay tied together when we’re playing other good teams. They knew there was going to be adversity… but because of our history this season, they believed we could win.”

Nettles led Eaglecrest with 14 points, while senior center Garrett Barger had 12 points and senior guard Jason Noone had 11. Lucas Kalimba had nine points and four rebounds, while fellow senior forward La’quince York had nine rebounds and six points. And sophomore guard Kris Coleman, tasked with keeping the lid on Scherer in the second half, also had eight points as the Raptors got key contributions in key moments across their roster.

Not a bad prep career capper for Nettles, whose primary role for the Raptors while he was ineligible was to be a scout team player in practice who emulated the upcoming opponent’s top scorer.

“I was devastated (by having to sit out), but we got through it,” Nettles said. “I just put my head down, went to work, waited for my time.”

While Nettles’ playoff breakout proved golden, the Raptors’ bench also outscored Valor Christian’s bench 16-0, and smart team defense kept Scherer from exploding in the second half.

It’s not often a 35-point effort by one player deserves defensive praise, but Saturday’s game was an exception as Scherer was again the main catalyst driving the Eagles’ offense with help from senior forward Brady Wynja’s double-double (14 points, 12 rebounds).

“(Senior) Gavin Gallegos started on Cole, and he’s got the length, moves good laterally and he’s pretty athletic,” Krapcha said. “But we wanted to put multiple bodies on him because it’s a lot of work to guard him. They’re going to send him off many down screens, staggers, zoom-actions.

“They do such a good job of getting movement and getting the ball back in his hands. It wasn’t really one guy, because we were switching screens, too. Cole played great. He’s the best scorer in the state for a reason.”

A series of runs swung the momentum back-and-forth early in the game.

Eaglecrest jumped out to an 8-2 lead and was ahead 18-12 early in the second quarter, but Valor Christian went on a 10-0 push to take its first lead of the game. The Raptors retaliated with an 11-1 run of their own to re-assert control and take a 29-23 lead into halftime. At the break, Barger & Co. were dominating inside, with a 20-6 advantage in points in the paint, while the Eagles shot just 32% from the field.

But in the third, Valor Christian regained the momentum. They opened the second half on a 10-4 spurt, and took a 46-41 lead into the fourth. Eaglecrest’s offense finally found its rhythm, and the Raptors (26-2, Centennial League champions) got enough stops to re-take the lead for good on a Nettles 3 with 5:08 to play.

Down the stretch, Eaglecrest struggled at the free throw line — the Raptors finished 20 of 34 there — and committed some head-scratching fouls. Plus, Coleman found out with 2:20 left, removing a prominent defensive presence from the floor.

But the Raptors got a pair of free throws from York, three more from Nettles and five clutch strokes by Noone in the last 33 seconds to ice it.

“I felt confident stepping to the line,” Noone said. “Me and my dad, we used to watch the Coliseum games when I was growing up and see kids miss free throw after free throw. So me and my dad, we’ve had me preparing for this my whole life. I was ready.

“My dad would always have me make 20 free throws in a row after every practice, and I wouldn’t leave the gym until I did it. I was shaking (on Saturday), but it was all muscle memory.”

The win marks Eaglecrest’s third title (also 2013 and ’17 under previous head coach John Olander) in its fourth championship appearance overall, and third in the last decade.

Krapcha, who took over for Olander in ’18, noted his team was able to reset mentally after both an uneven performance against Rocky Mountain in the playoff opener and then the dramatic last-second comeback against Mountain Vista in the Final Four.

“They got to school on Friday, and everyone’s patting them on the back about how awesome the game (against Mountain Vista) was,” Krapcha said. “I told them in the weight room on Friday it was a great moment, it was a lot of fun. … But it’s over. Now we’ve got to win the next one.”

The Raptors did just that, a triumph that Krapcha argues should put the Raptors in the conversation of perennial big-school boys heavyweights. Eaglecrest doesn’t yet have the same pedigree as programs like Denver East (12 titles, most recently ’23) or ThunderRidge (4, ’22).

But the Raptors, who lost in last year’s Final Four and have made Coliseum trips four of the last five years, are getting there.

“We’ve continued something consistent that’s already built (under Olander),” Krapcha said. “Why can’t we be in the conversation?”

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

“Play Like Clay,” the fresh shirts said, red lettering against white fabric.

The longtime coach wanted his group to embody its senior point guard, Clay Tierney, as it tried to avenge a 2024 Class 4A boys state title game loss and end the school’s 29-year championship drought.

The subtext was just as obvious: Play like Clay … in his absence. Because Tierney suffered a full tear of his left ACL two weeks ago while playing at the end of the Sun Devils’ regular season.

Except with a couple of days and a surprising bounce in his step, Tierney developed another plan.

Then he refused to be denied.

So, too, did his team.

The “Run Devils” blasted out to an early lead Saturday and held off Colorado Academy for a 71-54 championship-clinching win inside Denver Coliseum. They did so with the engine that powered their frenetic pace all season out there on the floor, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers and doing the kind of stuff point guards do.

Leading. Finding the open man. Deflecting passes. Hitting a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the first quarter and another from the corner to punctuate a put-away third-quarter run.

Play like Clay. The Sun Devils did just that. And they celebrated the school’s first championship since 1997 afterward.

“I don’t really have any words for this,” Tierney said. “It was amazing. Just looking around, seeing my teammates. We’ve worked for this. All summer, early mornings and late nights. Just playing as much as we could to get back to this moment. And it all came together.”

Not before it appeared to get ripped away from Tierney.

He thought there was no way he’d convince his parents, coaches and doctors he could play.

He brought his parents to practice to watch him run. He ran sprints at home during the evenings for them to prove he could.

His teammates, too, thought he was nuts.

“I thought he was joking,” said star junior Caleb Fay after a game-high 20 points in the title game.

Instead Tierney got a hard-won thumbs up from a doctor, found a brace with extra support and tightened it as much as he could.

For a couple games, the knee felt fine. By halftime of the title game, it most certainly did not.

“It started hurting really bad,” Tierney said. “I didn’t tell anybody. I was like, ‘I’m going to play the rest of this game. Too late at this point.’”

Schayes has been at this since 1994. In the decades since the 1997 title, his teams have been consistently good but lost four times in state championship games.

When the drought finally ended, he stood on the court with his hands on his hips, taking in the scene as tears welled.

“It’s been a long 29 years,” Schayes said. “Twenty-nine successful years. In the last 29 years, I’ve gotten married, we have two wonderful children. I have a fantastic sixth-grade teaching job. I’ve had fantastic basketball teams. …

“It hit me that we crossed the finish line.”

The Sun Devils did it in quintessential fashion.

They got 13 of Fay’s 20 in the second half as the Mustangs tried to stay within reach, but the rugged junior had plenty of help. Nine Sun Devils scored, including 15 from senior Elvis Lloyd, and 11 points, six rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists from Gil Schayes.

That kind of balance, depth and togetherness is what the long-time coach says made this group special.

“You had Gil, you had Caleb, you had Devon (Johnson), who is a four-year varsity player,” Schayes said. “So Caleb doesn’t have to put the cape on. … It does take a team and we have eight or nine kids that can put the ball in the basket.”

None more than his point guard, who called the final afternoon of his hoops career, “the best moment of my life.”

“It’s insane,” Schayes added. “I’m going to get emotional. They just want to be there for their teammates.

“It was an act of epic … (a) miracle that he was actually out there.”

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

A team mired in a 4-7 start transformed into a Class 5A contender overnight. And now, after taking down No. 21 Falcon 77-67 in Friday night’s Final Four Cinderella showdown inside Denver Coliseum, the 16th-seeded Rams are one win away from their first state title in 33 years.

“We’re making a legacy here. We’re putting our names in the history books and it means the world to us,” Lunsford said as a raucous student section serenaded his teammates in a corner of the Coliseum.

“I said last week that the (Green Mountain) state championship teams, we talk about them all the time. We represent them when we wear the (striped warmup) pants. So, we’ve got them in mind and we’re excited.”

Those guys are, too.

In fact, several members of Green Mountain’s two championship teams — 1980 and 1992 — were in the building to watch the latest version of the Runnin’ Rams do their thing.

That Lunsford, a three-sport star and starting quarterback for Green Mountain’s football team, is among those Rams is a minor miracle.

The 6-foot-3 senior suffered a gruesome injury in Green Mountain’s 3A quarterfinal win over Severance on Nov. 22. The total damage: a broken right fibula, torn ligaments in his ankle, a displaced right ankle and a shot at a state football title taken away.

And yet less than two months later, after surgery and rehabilitation, there he was suiting up for the Rams just in time for the heart of conference play on Jan. 13.

“He’s not human,” said Green Mountain coach Mike Puccio, one of three Rams alumni on the coaching staff. “He’s a dog. He’s an animal. And he’s worked really hard at it. The rehab, the mental fortitude, he’s had a long journey. And for him to come back and do what he does is special.”

Green Mountain (18-9 overall) has gone 14-2 since Lunsford’s return, including four straight playoff wins and an upset of No. 1 Lutheran in the second round.

“It means the world,” Lunsford said. “I can’t believe it. I’m at a loss for words. Football was taken away from me like that. So it’s so nice to play in state.”

The Rams’ length, shooting and speed in transition on Friday night proved too much for Falcon (18-9), which shot just 3 of 13 from 3-point range and gave up seven 3s.

Junior point guard Tre Gutierrez got the Rams train rolling with 14 points and two assists on 5-of-7 shooting in the first half. He finished with 24 points, four assists and two steals.

Lunsford helped close the door with 12 of his 24 points in the third quarter. That included a pair of 3s and a resounding two-handed stuff in transition for a 58-36 lead with 1:19 left in the frame.

Jack Swanson added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Rams, who will face the winner of Friday’s nightcap between No. 2 Mesa Ridge and No. 6 Windsor in the 5A final at 7:15 p.m. Saturday. It’s the Rams’ first title game trip since 1994.

“It’s been a rollercoaster,” Puccio said. “When your best guy is out … Tre has to get better. Tre has to lead the team. They can’t rely on Simon. Well, then you get Simon back. Then they got to get to know each other. And now here we are and we’re kind of rolling on all cylinders, and it’s been magical.”

Falcon made a late push to draw within 10 in the final minute, but it turned out to be too little, too late for a team chasing its first title game trip in program history.

Tyler Cox scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Falcon, while Jeramiah Potts had 11 points and Logan Logan and Aiden Wood had 10 points apiece.

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

After losing in the Class 4A title game last year, and on a streak of four title defeats dating back to 2007, this weekend is setting up to be the Sun Devils’ championship breakthrough.

No. 1-seeded Kent Denver crushed No. 4 Prospect Ridge Academy in Friday’s Final Four at Denver Coliseum, cruising to an 84-70 victory that puts the Sun Devils on the doorstep of their second state crown and first since 1997.

For 32nd-year Sun Devils head coach Todd Schayes, a sixth title appearance is sweet — and no, he’s not thinking about the last four defeats in the big game. Win or lose, he’s keeping Kent Denver’s success in perspective.

“You mean do I watch 30-for-30s on (ex-Houston basketball coach) Guy Lewis?” cracked Schayes. “Whether it’s (ex-Bills coach) Marv Levy, or Guy Lewis, it’s never about me. It’s about the kids that I’m coaching. To get there (to the championship) is frickin’ hard, and I soak in every one.

“If we’re fortunate enough to win (on Saturday), I’m still going to have to wake up on Sunday and do the dishes, take the dog out.”

George Karl addressed the Sun Devils on Thursday, and the inspiration from the former Nuggets coach worked on Friday as they owned every facet in a game where they led for all but 16 seconds.

They controlled the paint (60 points to the Miners’ 28). They took care of the basketball (23 Miners turnovers to eight by the Sun Devils). And they capitalized on Prospect Ridge Academy’s mistakes, with 31 points off those Miner turnovers.

Kent Denver led by eight points after one quarter, then 16 at half. After the Miners briefly made a push in the third quarter, Kent Denver reasserted itself en route to the 14-point-victory that was not as close as the final score indicated.

It was a similar outcome to when the two teams met on Feb. 11 in Metro League play — a 91-72 Sun Devils win in Broomfield. On Friday, Kent Denver’s usual suspects carried it again. Junior forward Caleb Fay had a game-high 26 points, while senior guard Elvis Lloyd added 23 points and coach’s son Gil Schayes (Colorado School of Mines commit) chipped in 13.

“When you’ve had the adversity that we had last year in the title game, and in the last three or four weeks we’ve had a bunch of illnesses and injuries — it makes it a lot more fun when you can push through that,” Todd Schayes noted.

Kent Denver improved to 24-3. The Sun Devils’ lone losses came to 6A Rangeview and Legend, as well as 3A power Resurrection Christian, which is undefeated and making a deep run in its own state bracket. Resurrection Christian beat Kent Denver 76-61 in last year’s championship, which has served as fuel for the Sun Devils all season.

“That definitely motivated us,” said Lloyd, a Hobart College commit. “We don’t want to lose this one. We want to have a different feeling than last year, and that’s what we’ve been working towards.”

Lloyd knows the Sun Devils’ status as the Goliath of the 4A bracket doesn’t mean anything until the trophy is in hand.

“Coach tells us, ‘You don’t win games on social media, you win them on the court,'” Lloyd said. “So we’re staying focused, we’re not getting big heads, and we know there’s more work left to do.”

The Miners, who were appearing in their first Final Four, finished 20-7. Prospect Ridge was led by 18 points by senior Liam Schilling, while sophomore guard Jackson Brandt and freshman Josiah Bote each had 15. The Miners only started significantly cutting into the lead in the final minutes after Kent Denver put its reserves in.

In Saturday’s title, the Sun Devils face the winner of No. 6 Coal Ridge and No. 10 Colorado Academy. It won’t be the last game for the 60-year-old Schayes, who is a longtime sixth grade English and history teacher.

“I don’t play golf and I don’t play tennis, so unless I pick up pickleball, I think I’m going to do this a little bit longer,” he said.

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

1. G Josh Perkins, Regis Jesuit/Gonzaga

He tallied 25 points and 15 assists across three games as a freshman on a Sweet 16 team in 2016.  As a sophomore, he had 13 in a title-game loss to North Carolina and tallied double-digit point totals in two other games that tourney. Had two double-digit-scoring games as a junior on a Sweet 16 team and three double-digit games on an Elite Eight team as a senior.

2. F Nick Fazekas, Ralston Valley/Nevada

The three-time WAC player of the year was only the sixth NCAA player with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds while shooting 50% from the field and 80% from the stripe. He led the Wolf Pack to four NCAA Tournament berths from 2004 to ’07, including starting on a Sweet 16 team as a freshman, and averaged 20.3 points over his final three tournament games.

3. F Glen Gondrezick, Boulder/UNLV

Playing for the legendary Jerry Tarkanian, Gondrezick was a starter on three tourney teams that went to two Sweet 16s and a Final Four from 1975 to ’77. He had four games of double-digit scoring along the way, including a 21-point effort in the tournament opener against San Francisco in ’77. Those years laid the base for the Runnin’ Rebels’ national crown in 1990.

4. F Tom Chambers, Fairview/Utah

Before he went on to become a four-time NBA All-Star and two-time All-NBA player across 16 seasons as a pro, Chambers was a part of three tournament teams with the Utes. He was a star on two of those squads, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 1981 after Utah won the WAC. He averaged 19.3 points across his final three tourney games with two double-doubles.

5. G Matt Bouldin, ThunderRidge/Gonzaga

A four-year starter for the Zags, Bouldin was a starter on their Sweet 16 team as a junior while scoring in double digits in each of the two tournament wins to get Gonzaga to that point. He scored 17 points in the Zags’ opening-round win as a senior in 2010, the season he led the Zags to another WCC title and was the conference player of the year.

6. G Sean Ogirri, Denver East/Wichita State

Ogirri finished his career at Wyoming, but he’ll forever be remembered for his sophomore season with the Shockers in ’06. He led Wichita State to the Sweet 16, landing on the cover of Sports Illustrated. In the tourney opener, he poured in a game-high 23 points, then had 12 points in the second round before sputtering in a Sweet 16 loss to George Mason.

7. G Dalton Knecht, Prairie View/Tennessee

The overlooked Knecht turned two years at Northern Colorado into a breakout junior season at Tennessee in 2024, leading the Lakers draft him in the first round. In last year’s tournament, Knecht was a force up to and through the Volunteers’ loss to Purdue in the Elite Eight. He averaged 26 points over four games, including 37 with six 3s in the final defeat.

8. G Chauncey Billups, George Washington/CU

Before the all-time great Colorado product went on to the NBA, where Mr. Big Shot was Finals MVP in 2004 amid a Hall of Fame career, he starred at CU. As a sophomore in ’97, he led the Buffs to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 28 years. He scored 24 points in the opener, then 11 points the next game as CU lost to No. 1 North Carolina.

9. F Graham Ike, Overland/Gongaza

He played his first two years at Wyoming, sat out a season, then found a role with Gonzaga. In last year’s tourney, Ike was a force in the paint. He had two double-doubles across the opening round and the Sweet 16 loss to Purdue, and came within one rebound of another with 15 points and nine boards in the second round. He’ll be dancing again with the Zags this year.

10. Devon Beitzel, Centaurus/Northern Colorado

The centerpiece of Northern Colorado’s first and only tournament appearance in 2011, which now officially never happened after the appearance was nullified due to academic fraud and recruiting violations. Still, Beitzel put on a performance that can’t be forgotten, with 25 points on 6-of-10 shooting from deep in a 68-50 loss to San Diego State in the opening round.

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.