The Denver Coliseum has always held a place of special importance for John Olander.
The Eaglecrest boys basketball coach has become mighty comfortable in recent years at the venerable venue, though he is always appreciative of the difficult journey it takes to get there.
So Olander spent a few extra moments lingering in his team’s lockerroom March 4, soaking everything in in his last trip there as the Raptors head coach. He will step down at season’s end, but his top-seeded Eaglecrest team gave him at least one more game on the bench — and the promise of maybe two — with their 72-53 Great 8 victory over ninth-seeded Denver East.
When the final horn sounded, Olander celebrated the victory with his team and Eaglecrest’s faithful in the stands. It was the fifth straight time Olander’s team made it into the final eight.
“It’s just so hard to get here; I remember coming here when they played the round of 16 here and I always thought I wanted to be that program that people are always here watching,” Olander said.
“Now that the (round of) eight is here, I really enjoy coming here and I’m proud that we’re that team that comes here a lot. It was so hard to get here the first time.”
Indeed, the Raptors have become well-versed in how to win at the Denver Coliseum — where the tournament will continue with the semifinals March 10 and the championship game March 11 — as they’ve won four of their last five trips to the venue. That makes Eaglecrest the only team to appear in the Final Four four times in that span, topping Overland — which beat Eaglecrest last season in the state final — and Denver East at three trips apiece.
To make the state championship game for the third time in that five-year span (including the title-winning 2013 season), the Raptors (22-4) must get past No. 5 Rock Canyon in an 8:30 p.m. semifinal contest March 10.
The Jaguars stunned Grandview and prevented an all-Aurora and all-Centennial League semifinal (see story, page 22), while No. 2 ThunderRidge and No. 3 George Washington also won in the Great 8. The Grizzlies and Patriots precede the Eaglecrest-Rock Canyon matchup with a 7 p.m. semifinal.
The championship game is set for 8:30 p.m. March 11.
The roadblock to another Final Four was considerable for Eaglecrest, however, as it faced a Denver East team that had just defeated Smoky Hill in the Sweet 16 and presented a lot of challenges in terms of size and athleticism.
But senior Ikenna Ozor had a huge first half with 12 points, as the Raptors defended furiously and built a 16-point edge against the Angels, despite zero points from leading scorer Colbey Ross, who was saddled with two early fouls.
Senior Joshua Walton — who matched Ozor with 14 points drained a 3-pointer in the closing minute of the opening half to send his team into the break up 37-21.
“It could be a different person any night with this team,” Walton said. “It doesn’t really matter who steps up and gets the job done.”
Ross appreciated his teammates’ effort while he sat out and he helped close out the victory with 19 points — most from the free throw line — in a second half that couldn’t end soon enough.
The Angels never got closer than 13 points in the second half.
“That just shows how close we are; if I’m not playing good or I’m in foul trouble, somebody else is going to step up,” said Ross, who will play in the Final Four for the third time in four varsity seasons.
“This is a really good feeling, I’m so happy for me and my teammates,” he added. “This is a special moment for the kids who didn’t get to play here last year and it’s definitely big for Coach O.”
To set a potential championship sendoff for Olander and the Eaglecrest seniors, the Raptors must first get past a Rock Canyon team that handed them a 60-55 defeat way back on Dec. 6, 2016.
“Rock Canyon is a really good defensive team, so it’s going to be a slugfest,” Olander said. “They’ve got guys who can shoot it and handle it, so they aren’t too much different than us as far as what you see on the court. We’ve played each other every year for the past four or five years, so it’s not going to be anything new. It’s going to come down to whichever team can make some shots and make a few more plays.”
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
