The Centennial League Challenge boys basketball tournament — which will determine the league title — began Feb. 14 with first round games, in which Aurora teams went 4-0.
Top-seeded Eaglecrest, which went undefeated in regular season league play, built a double-digit lead over eighth-seeded Cherokee Trail after three quarters and held off a Cougars’ rally for a 58-52 victory. Lucas Kalimba tallied 15 points and Anthony Nettles added 11 for Eaglecrest, who countered a trio of double-digit scorers for Cherokee Trail in Jake Scott (16), Caleb Jensen (11) and Nathan Baack (10).
Next up for Eaglecrest is a 7 p.m. Thursday home game against fourth-seeded Overland, which downed fifth-seeded Arapahoe 45-36 at home in the opening round. In a low-scoring contest, Kymani Eason was the lone double-digit scorer for the Trailblazers with 13 points, while seniors Siraaj Ali and TJ Manuel had nine apiece. The teams played to overtime in the regular season meeting and Eaglecrest prevailed.
On the other side of the championship bracket is second-seeded Smoky Hill and third-seeded Grandview, who will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday on the Buffs’ floor.
Smoky Hill moved through the first round with a 78-45 victory over seventh-seeded Mullen, while Grandview played host to No. 6 Cherry Creek and came away with a 78-66 victory. Smoky Hill won a 57-48 contest over Grandview Feb. 7 in the regular season meeting.
On the consolation side of the bracket, Cherokee Trail plays at Arapahoe at 7 p.m.
Placing games for the tournament are all scheduled for Saturday at Mullen High School. The seventh-place game begins at 10 a.m., followed by the fifth-place game at 11:30 a.m., the third-place game at 1 p.m. and the championship game at 2:30 p.m.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
