AURORA | A capsule preview of the 2024 Class 5A boys basketball state tournament Great 8 contest between Ponderosa and Vista PEAK Prep scheduled for March 1, 2024:
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2024 CLASS 5A GREAT 8 BOYS BASKETBALL STATE PLAYOFF GAME
No. 7 Ponderosa (18-7) vs. No. 2 Vista PEAK Prep (21-4)
March 1, 8:30 p.m. at Denver Coliseum
BREAKDOWN: Vista PEAK Prep and Ponderosa will face off in the postseason for the second time and the first since the second round of the 2017 then-4A playoffs, a game won by the Bison. …Ponderosa has qualified for the postseason for the third consecutive season and six times in the past seven, including a Great 8 appearance in 2018 when the round was played at Pueblo Central High School. The Mustangs won the program’s only state championship in 1988. …Vista PEAK Prep is on a streak of 12 consecutive postseason trips since the creation of the program and has made the quarterfinals for the first time after it was stopped in the Sweet 16 five times.
PONDEROSA: Coach Max Schuman’s Mustangs carry a four-game winning streak into the Great 8 contest and that includes a pair of postseason victories, beginning with a 53-51 victory over No. 26 Thompson Valley in the first round, followed by a 77-57 defeat of No. 10 Montrose in the Sweet 16. Senior Carson Keach has been Ponderosa’s top scorer in average between the two postseason contests at 16.5 points per game, while senior Noah Wilhelm has scored 12 per game and seniors Dylan Karsteter and Riley Woolen 10 apiece per contest. …For the season, Wilhelm leads the way with an average of 17.6 points per game, followed by Keach (15.3 ppg) and Karsteter (12.3 ppg). Wilhelm holds a close edge over Karsteter (6.4 to 6.2) in rebounding average, while Keach sets the pace in assists per game (4.1) and steals per contest (2.8).
VISTA PEAK PREP: Coach Keenon Clement’s Bison carry a six-game winning streak into their Great 8 contest, which includes a 76-35 victory over No. 31 Palisade in the opening round, followed by a 57-34 Sweet 16 defeat of No. 15 Discovery Canyon. Senior Javon Lowman has been Vista PEAK Prep’s leading scorer by average over the two postseason contests at 12 points per game, followed by senior James Brown III at 11.0 ppg and senior Kyree Polk at 10.0 ppg. …For the season, senior Alante Monroe-Elazier paced the Bison with a scoring average of 14.8 points per game, followed by Polk at 12.6, Brown III 11.2, Lowman 9.2 and senior Julian Carrizales 8.8 ppg. Polk pulls down a team-high 8.6 rebounds per contest and paces the squad in blocks per game at 1.8, while Monroe-Elazier and Carrizales have matching averages of 3.0 assists per game and Carrizales comes away with 1.8 steals per contest.
WINNER GETS: The Ponderosa-Vista PEAK Prep winner moves into the March 7 Final Four and will play against the winner of the Great 8 contest between No. 3 Windsor and No. 6 Lewis-Palmer.
