AURORA | Seeding in the Class 5A boys state basketball tournament isn’t an exact science, but Montbello didn’t look like a No. 7 seed Saturday afternoon at Rangeview.
Despite a frantic rally by the explosive and seemingly misplaced Warriors, the second-seeded Raiders held on for a 70-67 victory that earned them a place in 5A’s Sweet 16.
Senior Jeremiah Paige poured in 29 points and senior Trey Bridges added 19 — including two free throws in the final seconds — and junior Jalen Davis 10 as Rangeview (21-3) set up a home Sweet 16 game at 7 p.m. Wednesday against third-seeded Chaparral (13-11).
“They are a pretty talented No. 7 seed, very talented,” said relieved Raiders coach Shawn Palmer, who saw a 20-point lead nearly disappear in the closing seconds.
“I think there’s just a lot of good teams out there and it’s hard to see where they are in their conference and where they really deserve to be seeded. …I’m happy with just winning.”
No. 7 seeds performed well almost across the board in the second round, as Smoky Hill upset No. 2-seeded Regis Jesuit, Lakewood came up just one point short of No. 2 and defending 5A state champion Eaglecrest and Montbello gave Rangeview quite a scare despite bringing a 12-12 record into the contest. The only overmatched No. 7 turned out to be Horizon, which lost by 29 points to No. 2 Highlands Ranch.
In the early-going, the Rangeview-Montbello game looked like a mismatch, as the Raiders forced bunches of turnovers and Paige lit it up on the offensive end with a variety of dunks and pair of second-quarter 3-pointers.
Paige finished the first half — just four less than the entire Warriors team — and Bridges added 12 as the Raiders took a 19-point lead into the break. Junior Tarren Storey-Way’s 3-pointer early in the third quarter put Rangeview up 46-26, but Montbello pulled back eight points by the end of the period.
The Warriors’ dynamic duo of juniors Troy Green (26 points) and Malik Hart (19 points) — with a sprinkling of Karamoko Cisse (12 points, eight in the fourth quarter) — kept chopping into the Raiders’ lead, hitting a variety of jump shots and getting nearly every rebound on the offensive glass.
Montbello shot 12-for-12 from the free throw line in the second half to help its cause, while Rangeview struggled on the other end, shooting just 6-for-14 from the charity stripe, including three misses from the normally accurate Paige. Bridges knocked down a pair with 13.4 seconds left to provide the winning margin.
Next up for Rangeview is a rematch with Chaparral on the same floor where the Raiders topped the Wolverines 74-70 three months earlier.
“They have one player who didn’t play in that first game, but I think we’re a different team, too,” Palmer said. “Dec. 6 seems like a long, long time ago. They’re better and we’re better, so it should be a good game.”
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel
(2) RANGEVIEW 70, (7) MONTBELLO 67
Score by quarters:
Montbello 10 14 22 21 — 67
Rangeview 19 24 15 12 — 70
MONTBELLO (67)
Troy Green 10 6-8 26, Karamoko Cisse 3 6-8 12, Anthony Carter 1 2-2 4, Malik Hart 8 2-2 19, Isaiah Martin 3 0-1 6, Jante Gadson 0 0-0 0, Jalon Martin 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 16-21 67.
RANGEVIEW (70)
Jalen Davis 3 3-7 10, Trey Bridges 7 4-6 19, Tim Wyatt 2 0-1 4, Jeremiah Paige 9 9-13 29, Tarren Storey-Way 2 3-4 8, Tyrei Randall 0 0-0 0, Kris Hollins 0 0-0 0, John Saltzman 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 19-31 70.
3-point field goals — Montbello: Malik Hart; Rangeview (5): Jeremiah Paige 2, Trey Bridges, Jalen Davis, Tarren Storey-Way. Total fouls — Montbello 21, Rangeview 16. Fouled out — Montbello: Anthony Carter, Hart. Technical foul — Rangeview: Paige.