AURORA | When Gary Childress and his former Grandview boys basketball team would win 18 games in the regular season, they would be rewarded with a home game in the Class 5A state tournament.
But after 16 years with the Wolves and multiple playoff appearances, Childress is in 4A with Vista PEAK and they do things differently in the lower classification.
The Bison finished 13-1 to win the Colorado 7 championship and turned in an 18-5 overall record in Childress’ first season on the bench, then received a No. 3 seed in the 4A playoffs, which open Friday. In 5A, a No. 3 nets a team a first round bye and home floor advantage in the second round, but in 4A, that means a trip to play two games at a school seeded higher.
So Childress and Vista PEAK — including several players who went through the same scenario last season — head to second-seeded Sierra for a 5:30 p.m. opening round game against sixth-seeded Falcon, with the chance to play either Sierra or seventh-seeded Silver Creek on Saturday.
“I understand why we didn’t get a higher seed; I would have loved to be able to host, but the quality wins just weren’t there to merit that,” he said.
Still, he believes his team has the talent in players such as seniors Noah Butler and Isaiah Young to make a good playoff showing.
Sophomore Dylan Holt — averaging 9.5 points and a team-best 6.7 rebounds per game — missed the last two weeks of the season with an ankle injury, but is back in the lineup and joins Butler (14.4 ppg) and senior JT Johnson (11.7 ppg) as the chief offensive threats for the Bison.
Vista PEAK also has a number of role players that have helped the team run an effective up-tempo system for the entire season, though Childress believes the Bison will face many teams similar to them in the playoffs and will have to execute better in the halfcourt.
Indeed Falcon, a 13-10 team out of the Pikes Peak League, appears to be very similar to Vista PEAK, which could create quite a first-round matchup.
To help support the team, Vista PEAK is providing a Spirit Bus free of charge to take students to the game in Colorado Springs.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-75o-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
2015 CLASS 4A BOYS STATE BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS
Feb. 27 (at Sierra High School)
No. 6 Falcon (13-10) vs. NO. 3 VISTA PEAK (18-5), 5:30 p.m.
No. 7 Silver Creek (14-9) at No. 2 Sierra (20-3), 7 p.m.
Feb. 28 (at Sierra High School)
Falcon/VISTA PEAK vs. Silver Creek/Sierra, 7 p.m.
