AURORA | A capsule preview of the 2024 Class 6A boys basketball state tournament Great 8 contest between Eaglecrest and Fruita Monument scheduled for Feb. 29, 2024:
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2024 CLASS 6A GREAT 8 BOYS BASKETBALL STATE PLAYOFF GAME
No. 8 Eaglecrest (18-7) vs. No. 1 Fruita Monument (25-0)
Feb. 29, 5:30 p.m. at Denver Coliseum
BREAKDOWN: Eaglecrest and Fruita Monument square off in the postseason for the first time in at least two decades and have rarely, if ever, faced each other in the past. …The Raptors have an outstanding postseason resume over the past 12 seasons, as they have been to three state championship games and won two of them (in Class 5A in 2013 and 2017 with a loss in 2016) as they have made at least the Sweet 16 in every season in that span with eight trips to the Great 8 and four to the Final Four. Eaglecrest is in search of its first semifinal bid since 2017. …Fruita Monument is further in the postseason than its been at least the last 12 seasons, as it lost in the Sweet 16 last season (to Eaglecrest’s Centennial League rival, Smoky Hill) as well as in 2018 and 2019 after a series of opening round defeats. The program has two championship game appearances as it won the 3A state title in 1983 and lost in the 3A final in 1986.
EAGLECREST: Coach Jarris Krapcha’s eighth-seeded Raptors finished third at the Centennial League Challenge to finish the regular season and how have a three-game winning streak after a 59-49 win over No. 25 Castle View in the opening round, followed by a 53-49 victory over No. 9 Ralston Valley in a tight Sweet 16 contest (story, here). Junior LaDavian King exploded for 25 points in Eaglecrest’s first postseason game, while freshman Kris Coleman’s 13 points led the way in the second contest. King has an average of 16 points in the two postseason games, while Coleman and senior SirDevin Roberts are at 9.5 and junior Garrett Barger at 9.0. …For the season, the Raptors are led in scoring by King at 17.4 points per game, while Barger is the other player in double figures at 11.8 points per contest. Junior Lucas Kalimba still carries an average of 9.6 points per game, but he just returned to the lineup after missing the majority of the season due to injury, while Roberts has contributed 8.1 points per contest. Barger pulls down a team-best 6.4 rebounds per game, while King paces the squad in assists (3.8) and is tied with Roberts in average steals per game (1.2).
FRUITA MONUMENT: Coach Michael Wells’ Wildcats have yet to taste defeat during the season, with 23 wins in regular season play in addition to victories in the first round over No. 32 Highlands Ranch (55-43) and No. 17 Broomfield (61-44). Six-foot-6 junior Daniel Thomason has poured in an average of 20.5 points per game in the two victories, while sophomore Jhett Wells is next at 17 per contest and senior Max Orchard at 8.0. Thomason had double-doubles in both postseason wins with 13 rebounds against Highlands Ranch and 10 against Broomfield. …For the season, the Wildcats get the most points per game from Thomason at 16.5, followed by Wells with 15.0 and Orchard 11.5 per game. Thomason also heads the Fruita Monument ranks in rebounding (7.3 per game to 6.5 for Orchard), while Orchard and senior Austin Reed both average 2.4 assists per game and sophomore Jhett Wells averages a team-best 2.1 steals per game.
WINNER GETS: The Eaglecrest-Fruita Monument winner moves into the Final Four on March 8 to face the winner of the quarterfinal between No. 5 Rock Canyon and No. 4 ThunderRidge.
