AURORA | A capsule preview of the 2024 Class 6A boys basketball state tournament Great 8 contest between Smoky Hill and Mountain Vista 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. 7 Smoky Hill (19-6) vs. No. 2 Mountain Vista (21-4)
Feb. 29, 8:30 p.m. at Denver Coliseum
BREAKDOWN: Smoky Hill and Mountain Vista collide in the state playoffs for the second time in the past six seasons, with the last meeting coming in 2019, when they also met in the Great 8. The Golden Eagles prevailed in that contest. …Smoky Hill has made at least the Sweet 16 round for eight straight seasons and advanced to the Great 8 four times in that span, but hasn’t qualified for the semifinals since 2006. The program remains in search of its first state championship. …Mountain Vista lost in the 6A semifinals last season as well as in 2019, 2014 and 2013 and also has never won a state title. The Golden Eagles also made the Great 8 in 2022.
SMOKY HILL: Coach Anthony Hardin’s team is currently on a five-game winning streak, which includes an overtime win in the championship game of the Centennial League Challenge over No. 16 Overland, followed by a pair of postseason victories. Smoky Hill downed No. 26 Horizon 66-57 in the opening round and followed that up with a 70-61 overtime defeat of No. 10 Regis Jesuit in the Sweet 16 (story, here). Junior Damian Dirden (whose free throw sent the Regis Jesuit game into overtime) has averaged 13.5 points in two postseason contests, while sophomore Carter Basquez next at 12.5 points per game, senior Ray Gasaway at 11.0 and junior Lorenzo Contreras at 10.0. Senior Kevin Sylla missed the first playoff game, but scored 15 points in the Sweet 16. …For the season, Sylla leads the team scoring, rebounding and blocked shots (13.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.0 blocks per game), while junior Kaylan Graham is next in scoring at 12.7 points per game and Basquez has accounted for 11.8 per contest. Contreras (8.1 ppg) paces the team with 5.8 assists and 2.6 steals per contest.
MOUNTAIN VISTA: Coach Brian Wood’s Golden Eagles bring a five-game winning streak into the Great 8, a run that includes an overtime win over quarterfinalist and No. 4 ThunderRidge followed by a 92-68 1st round victory over No. 31 Fairview and a 75-67 defeat of No. 15 Monarch in the Sweet 16. Sophomore Oliver Junker has averaged 13 points and 17.5 rebounds per game in the postseason thus far, while junior Cal Baskind has been the leading scorer in both games and averaged 21 per contest with senior Jacob Hoefs next at 17 point per game and senior Rowan Baker at 14.5 per outing. The Golden Eagles made 15 3-pointers in their opening win and added six more in the Sweet 16. …For the season, Baskind paces the team at 18.7 points per game and is also its steals leader at 2.8 per contest, while Junker is the leading rebounder (11.2 rpg) and shot blocker (3.3 bpg), while Hoefs dishes out a team-best 5.3 assists per contest. Mountain Vista has knocked down 146 3-pointers as a team on the season.
WINNER GETS: The Smoky Hill-Mountain Vista winner advances to the March 8 semifinals to play the winner of the Great 8 contest between No. 6 Valor Christian and No. 3 Chaparral.
