DENVER | A No. 6 seed in number only, Denver East crashed the No. 1 seed party in the Class 5A boys basketball Final Four.
The Angels played a steady second half and overcame top-seeded Regis Jesuit 53-48 in a Great 8 contest Saturday night at the Denver Coliseum to earn a trip to the semifinals on March 13 at the Coors Events Center in Boulder.
Coach Ken Shaw’s Raiders led for much of the way, but fell behind late in the third quarter and couldn’t quite catch Denver East to finish the season 23-3 overall. Senior Taylor Kallsen scored 17 points, junior Geoff Kelly added nine and seniors Bryan Staerkel and Elijah Sanford eight apiece for Regis Jesuit.
Denver East moved into the Final Four, where it will face top-seeded Overland in a rematch of a semifinal from last season won by the Angels, while top seeds square off on the other side of the bracket when Eaglecrest plays ThunderRidge.
Times for the Final Four games will be announced Sunday by the Colorado High School Activities Association.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
(6) DENVER EAST 53, (1) REGIS JESUIT 48
Score by quarters:
Denver East 12 15 13 13 — 53
Regis Jesuit 16 12 8 12 — 48
DENVER EAST (53)
Jordan Willis 2 1-3 5, Jack Buckmelter 4 2-2 11, Deron Harrell 1 1-2 3, Brian Carey 10 3-5 25, Wesley Ogsbury 0 0-0 0, Ben Potts 2 1-2 5, Samba Dioum 2 0-1 4, Ed Myers 0 0-0 0, Hassani Moore 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 8-15 53.
REGIS JESUIT (48)
Taylor Kallsen 6 0-0 17, Geoff Kelly 3 3-4 9, Bryan Staerkel 3 0-0 8, Elijah Sanford 2 4-6 8, Kip Boryla 1 1-3 3, Tony Caseria 1 0-0 2, Vaughn Samson 0 0-0 0, Marc Reininger 0 1-2 1. Totals 16 9-15 48.
3-point field goals — Denver East (3): Brian Carey 2, Jack Buckmelter; Regis Jesuit (7): Taylor Kallsen 5, Bryan Staerkel 2. Total fouls — Denver East 16, Regis Jesuit 17. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — None.
