DENVER | Most Class 6A boys basketball programs would want nothing to do with traditional power ThunderRidge, which seems to always be at its best in the postseason.
Facing the four-time state champion Grizzlies doesn’t both Eaglecrest, however, in fact the Raptors relished a chance to face them again in the postseason after they suffered a heartbreaking overtime Final Four defeat a year ago.
Second-seeded Eaglecrest got that chance Saturday night at the Denver Coliseum in the nightcap of eight contests and used a 20-point fourth quarter to finally put away seventh-seeded ThunderRidge in a 70-54 victory that marked the second postseason win in the past three seasons head-to-head for coach Jarris Krapcha’s team.
“We’ve played them three years in a row in the playoffs and that’s obviously one of the top programs in the state year in and year out,” said Krapcha, whose team also won a first round matchup with ThunderRidge in the 2022-23 season. “To come in and beat those guys is special.”
The Raptors were paced by senior Garrett Barger with 18 points, while senior Anthony Nettles added 16 (boosted by two key 3-pointers in the final period) and senior Lucas Kalimba 13 as Eaglecrest advanced to a Final Four matchup March 13 against No. 6 Mountain Vista, which it defeated in the regular season.
Barger had a huge smile on his face when it was over, as it helped to take some of the sting out the 64-62 overtime defeat Eaglecrest suffered to ThunderRidge last season in the semifinals.
The Raptors will play in the same round this season, despite the transfer of standout LaDavian King, who is in the Final Four on the other side of the bracket with top-seeded Rangeview.
“It feels great to get back here and especially to beat the team we lost to last year,” Barger said. “It’s surreal right now. It’s such a good feeling.”
Eaglecrest had played two close contests in the playoffs — wins over No. 34 Rocky Mountain and No. 15 Arvada West — but put some distance between itself and ThunderRidge (20-6) early.
The Raptors went up by double figures at 20-10 late in the first quarter on a layup by Barger, who had six points in a tone-setting period. The advantage grew to 11 early in the second quarter on a three-point play by senior La’Quince York, but the Grizzlies whittled it back to within three late in the half.
Six-foot-8 junior post player Drew Paine — ThunderRidge’s leading scorer at nearly 20 points per game — had a lot to do with the Grizzlies’ rally with 14 points in the first two quarters. But he was held completely off the scoreboard in the second half (as he missed four free throw attempts), which hindered the Grizzlies’ comeback attempts.
The play of freshman reserve Sam Walkowiak (who had a game-high 21 points) helped ThunderRidge hang around, but Eaglecrest shut the door with a 20-point fourth quarter.
The Raptors ran off the first 12 points of the period, which included two dagger 3-pointers from Nettles from opposite wings, plus quality work in the paint and at the free throw line by Kalimba, sophomore Kris Coleman and others.
“That’s how most of our games have been, back and forth,” Barger said. “But we’re the best fourth quarter team in the state. We fight until the end and we’re so deep, we can play until the final minute. They came out and they were super tired in the fourth quarter and we were all fresh and ready. We’re resilient.”
Added Krapcha: “I feel like with our depth, we’ve had some really good fourth quarters. That’s something we lean on.”
Indeed, Eaglecrest’s depth showed as eight different players got in the scoring column as opposed to just four for ThunderRidge.
Next up is a rematch with a Mountain Vista team that Eaglecrest defeated 69-66 Jan. 14 in a game in which it rallied from a six-point deficit with 1:20 left. The Golden Eagles (21-5) had to survive an upset bid by another Aurora team — No. 22 Overland — in the Sweet 16, then defeated No. 3 Chaparral in an all-Continental League Great 8 matchup.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2025 CLASS 6A BOYS BASKETBALL STATE PLAYOFFS (GREAT 8)
(2) EAGLECREST 70, (7) THUNDERRIDGE 54
Score by quarters:
ThunderRidge 12 19 16 7 — 54
Eaglecrest 20 16 14 20 — 70
THUNDERRIDGE (54)
Kael Carney 3 0-0 7, Aman Binu 5 1-2 12, Ulysses Brown 0 0-0 0, Joey Walkowiak 0 0-0 0, Drew Paine 7 0-0 14, Sam Walkowiak 8 4-5 21, Blake Cremeen 0 0-0 0, Sean Morton 0 0-0 0, Nick Quartaro 0 0-0 0, Justice Wolff 0 0-0 0, Dieuvenson Sorenson 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 5-7 54.
EAGLECREST (70)
Jason Noone 1 0-0 3, Anthony Nettles 5 4-7 16, Lucas Kalimba 6 1-1 13, Gavin Gallegos 2 0-0 4, Garrett Barger 9 0-0 18, Kris Coleman 1 4-6 7, La’Quince York 1 5-7 7, Demari Manns Davis 1 0-0 2, Reece Brown 0 0-0 0, Grant Reeves 0 0-0 0, Jayden Bradley 0 0-0 0, Kuol Abuk 0 0-0 0, JayAnthony Green 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 14-21 70.
3-point field goals — ThunderRidge (3): Aman Binu, Kael Carney, Sam Walkowiak. Eaglecrest (4): Anthony Nettles 2, Kris Coleman, Jason Noone. Total fouls — ThunderRidge 15, Eaglecrest 16. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — None.
