DENVER | Kenny Foster left it all on the floor Saturday night in what turned out to be his final game in a Smoky Hill uniform, but it wasn’t quite enough to overcome Mountain Vista.
The seventh-seeded Buffaloes battled and battled down to the final seconds — including a number of crazy deep 3-pointers from Foster, who finished with a game-high 30 points — before going down to the second-seeded Golden Eagles 77-72.
In the most up-and-down game of the night, Smoky Hill also got 13 points from junior Quinten Rock, 12 from sophomore Jalen Weaver and 10 from sophomore Jordan Whitaker, but coach Anthony Hardin’s team saw its season end in the quarterfinals for a second straight season.
While the Buffaloes finished at 20-6, Mountain Vista took the Chuck Williams Region spot in the Final Four March 8. The Golden Eagles meet the last remaining Aurora team — third-seeded Rangeview — at 7 p.m. at the Denver Coliseum.
Fourth-seeded Overland fell to No. 5 ThunderRidge and No. 6 Grandview, the 2018 5A state champion, got ousted by Rangeview.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Sentinel Prep Sports
(2) MOUNTAIN VISTA 77, (7) SMOKY HILL 72
Score by quarters:
Smoky Hill 18 13 17 24 — 72
Mtn. Vista 21 16 13 27 — 77
SMOKY HILL (72)
Quinten Rock 5 0-0 13, Jalen Weaver 5 0-0 12, DeAngelo Horn 2 0-0 6, Jordan Whitaker 4 2-2 10, Kenny Foster 11 4-7 30, Anthony Cortez Latham 0 1-2 1, Dasani Darnell 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 7-11 72.
MOUNTAIN VISTA (77)
Simon May 4 3-4 14, Corban Gamble 2 4-4 9, Ben Grusin 5 10-12 20, Rhys Pulling 4 1-2 10, Luke Boeyink 3 3-4 11, Eric Kimmell 0 1-2 1, Spencer Thomas 4 0-1 8, Reece Kelly 2 0-0 4. Totals 24 22-29 77.
3-point field goals — Smoky Hill (11): Kenny Foster 4, Quinten Rock 3, DeAngelo Horn 2, Jalen Weaver 2; Mountain Vista (7): Simon May 3, Luke Boeyink 2, Corban Gamble, Rhys Pulling. Total fouls — Smoky Hill 24, Mountain Vista 14. Fouled out — Smoky Hill: Jordan Whitaker. Technical fouls — None.