AURORA | A capsule preview of the 2024 Class 5A boys basketball state tournament Final Four contest between Vista PEAK Prep and Windsor scheduled for March 7, 2024:
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com.Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2024 CLASS 5A FINAL FOUR BOYS BASKETBALL STATE PLAYOFF GAME
NO. 3 WINDSOR (22-4) vs. NO. 2 VISTA PEAK PREP (22-4)
March 7, 12:45 p.m. at Denver Coliseum
BREAKDOWN: Vista PEAK Prep and Windsor meet in the boys basketball playoffs for only the second time and the first time since 2020, when the Bison defeated the Wizards in a second round contest. The teams have met in each of the past three regular seasons, however. Windsor won 53-47 in 2022 and 66-60 last season, while Vista PEAK Prep won this season’s meeting 65-48 on its home floor. Seniors Kyree Polk (18 points), Javon Lowman (17), Alante Monroe-Elazier (13) and Julian Carrizales (11) also scored in double figures in the victory for the Bison, while sophomore Madden Smiley (22) and senior Johnathan Reed (10) were the double-digit scorers for the Wizards. …Windsor has advanced to the 5A semifinals for the second straight season and were denied a trip to the finals with a 79-52 loss to eventual state champion Mesa Ridge last season. In the last decade-plus, the Wizards made the Great 8 in 2016 and 2021 and made the Sweet 16 in 2013, 2015 and 2018. According to Colorado High School Activities Association records, Windsor has two all-time state championships, but the last came in 1924. …Vista PEAK Prep — which played its first varsity season in 2012-13 — has made its first trips to the Great 8 and Final Four this season. Previously, the Bison lost in the Sweet 16 in then-4A in 2014, 2016 and 2017 as well as in then-5A in 2020 and in the current 5A in 2023.
WINDSOR: After a 3-3 start with a lineup minus several graduated contributors, coach Jon Rakiecki’s Wizards have suffered just one loss since the calendar turned to January — and that came to Eaglecrest, a 6A semifinalist, back on Jan. 6 — while they have now won 17 straight contests. Northern League champion Windsor’s path through the postseason thus far has taken it through No. 30 Standley Lake (68-35), No. 14 Thomas Jefferson (65-49 behind junior John Backhaus’ 20 points and 12 apiece from sophomore Madden Smiley and junior Tadese Keyworth) and finally No. 6 Lewis-Palmer 74-68 (as Smiley poured in 31 points and had 13 rebounds and sophomore Deacon Schmitt added 12) as it won the Joe Garmatz Region. …For the season, Smiley — son of University of Northern Colorado men’s basketball coach Steve Smiley — averages 16.8 points per game, while he is joined in double figures by Backhaus (10.2 ppg) and senior Johnathan Reed (10.0 ppg). Reed is a shade off a double-double average with a team-high average of 9.5 rebounds per game, while he also paces the team with 4.4 assists per ballgame and Smiley comes away with 2.3 steals per contest.
VISTA PEAK PREP: Coach Keenon Clement’s Bison lost a showdown with top-seeded Northfield (80-74) back on Feb. 2 with the 5A City League championship on the line and haven’t looked back since, as they have won their last seven games by an average margin of 26 points. Vista PEAK Prep claimed the Jim Dorsey Region title with an opening win over No. 31 Palisade (76-35), followed by a 57-34 Sweet 16 win over No. 15 Discovery Canyon and then a 57-41 Great 8 victory over No. 7 Ponderosa. The common theme has been defense, as the Bison have allowed an average of just 36.7 points per game in the postseason and it has held foes to single digits in seven of 12 postseason quarters. Offensively, 6-foot-10 senior Kyree Polk has averaged 12.3 points per game in the postseason (in addition to 13 rebounds per contest), followed by seniors James Brown III 10.7 ppg, senior Julian Carrizales 9.7 ppg and senior Alante Monroe-Elazier 8.7 ppg. …For the season, a very balanced lineup features five players averaging 8.9 points per game or better in Monroe-Elazier (14.6 ppg), Polk (12.8 ppg), Brown III (11.2 ppg), senior Javon Lowman (9.0 ppg) and Carrizales (8.9 ppg). Polk paces the team in rebounding (8.8 rpg) and blocked shots (1.9 bpg), while Monroe-Elazier is the assist leader at 3.1 per contest and Carrizales is good for 1.7 steals per game to lead the way.
WINNER GETS: The Windsor-Vista PEAK Prep winner extends its season and gains a spot in the 5A state championship game at 11:45 a.m. March 9 against either No. 1 Northfield or No. 4 Mesa Ridge.
Palisade: Javon Lowman 16, James Brown III 12, Kyree Polk 10, Julian Carrizales 9, Alante Monroe-Elazier 8, Mitchell Oliver 6, Savon Alexander 5, Larry Mosley 4, Ma’lyk Watson 4, Devontay Bursey 2
Discovery Canyon: James Brown III 10, Kyree Polk 10, Javon Lowman 8, Mitchell Oliver 8, Alante Monroe-Elazier 6, Julian Carrizales 5, Larry Mosley 5, Savon Alexander 3, Mekhai Davis-Burks 2
Ponderosa: Kyree Polk 17, Alante Monroe-Elazier 12, Julian Carrizales 11, James Brown III 10, Javon Lowman 4, Larry Mosley 2, Mekhai Davis-Burks 1