DENVER | The Eaglecrest boys basketball team finds itself at home in the clutch moments of fourth quarters or overtimes this season.
Not that the Raptors particularly want the drama — it just seems to find them — and they know how to come through it. That’s what pushed them all the way to Thursday afternoon’s Class 6A semifinal at the Denver Coliseum and that’s what got them through to Saturday’s state championship game.
Senior Anthony Nettles made a floater in the closing seconds of regulation to tie the score, then hit a 3-pointer to begin overtime and second-seeded Eaglecrest took control the rest of the way in a 79-69 win over sixth-seeded Mountain Vista.
The Raptors (25-2) advanced to the 4 p.m. 6A boys state championship game Saturday to play No. 5 Valor Christian, which knocked off top-seeded and previously unbeaten Rangeview 61-51 in the other semifinal. A win by the Raiders would have created an all-Aurora area championship game for the first time since Eaglecrest and Overland played for the 2016 state title.
Nettles finished with a game-high 25 points, while sophomore Kris Coleman added 17, senior Garrett Barger 12 and senior Lucas Kalimba 11. Senior Jason Noone added nine in a well-balanced offensive performance.
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 PLAYOFFS (SEMIFINALS)
(2) EAGLECREST 79, (6) MOUNTAIN VISTA 69 (OT)
Score by quarters:
Mtn. Vista 18 15 11 13 12 — 69
Eaglecrest 9 23 11 14 22 — 79
MOUNTAIN VISTA (69)
Carlos Arocho Gonzales 2 2-2 6, Hudson Rooney 3 4-4 10, Wes Baskind 1 0-0 2, Cal Baskind 9 0-0 21, Oliver Junker 5 6-6 16, Duncan Crespo 0 1-4 1, Hunter Dell 4 0-0 11, Payson Land 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 21-28 79.
EAGLECREST (79)
Jason Noone 1 6-6 9, Anthony Nettles 8 6-8 25, Lucas Kalimba 4 3-4 11, Gavin Gallegos 2 0-0 5, Garrett Barger 4 4-6 12, Kris Coleman 7 2-4 17, La’Quince York 0 0-0 0, Demari Manns Demari Manns 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 21-28 79.
3-point field goals — Mountain Vista (6): Cal Baskind 3, Hunter Dell 3. Eaglecrest (6): Anthony Nettles 3, Kris Coleman, Gavin Gallegos, Jason Noone. Total fouls — Mountain Vista 23, Eaglecrest 14. Fouled out — Mountain Vista: Oliver Junker. Technical foul — Mountain Vista: Carlos Arocho Gonzales
