DENVER | The Grandview boys basketball team caused a stir when it knocked out No. 4-seeded Arvada West in the Sweet 16 round of the Class 6A playoffs and sought to create a bigger shockwave in the Great 8.
The 13th-seeded Wolves stayed virtually even with fifth-seed Rock Canyon for a quarter and some change Friday morning at the Denver Coliseum, but the Jaguars eventually proved to be too much and took the Final Four spot with a 66-52 victory.
Senior Noah Sevy scored 12 points to lead the way for coach Ryan Turk’s team, which also got 10 from sophomore Ismael Kabongo and eight from senior Omar Atieh. Grandview finished 18-8 overall and earned its first trip to the Great 8 since 2020, when it advanced to the Final Four before its matchup with Rangeview as canceled by the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m so proud of our guys,” Turk said. “Obviously it didn’t go the way we wanted, but we accomplished a lot this year. I’m just full of pride and joy for these kids.”
A back-and-forth opening quarter saw the Wolves take a late lead on a layup by senior Matthew Samson, but Rock Canyon got a hoop from Kai Valentine to go in front 13-12.
Avery Vasquez and Davis May (game-high 20 points) made 3-pointers early in the second quarter to push Rock Canyon in front and the advantage reached 10 points at the deficit. The Jaguars’ significant size differential forced many shot adjustments from the Wolves, who got very little to fall (other than two Atieh 3-pointers) in an eight-point period.
“We have a lot of great looks and I think there were some nerves definitely in there,” Turk said. “That’s what the game is about, did you put it in the hoop or not. We didn’t get it done today.”
The Jaguars went in front by as many as 16 points, but that advantage was halved by the Wolves in the first four minutes of the final quarter.
Sevy knocked down two free throws after a technical foul called on Valentine to make it an eight-point game, but Rock Canyon got a three-point play from Jacob David on the other end and broke the press on several occasions for layups that created an insurmountable deficit.
“We got the wind taken out of our sails after we got into single digits,” Turk said. “We had a huge turnover that cost us and they made a good play, broke the press and finished.”
Despite the loss, Grandview finished with its most wins since the 2019-20 season.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2026 CLASS 6A BOYS BASKETBALL STATE GREAT 8
(5) ROCK CANYON 66, (13) GRANDVIEW 52
Score by quarters:
Grandview 12 8 13 19 — 52
Rock Canyon 13 17 19 17 — 66
GRANDVIEW (52)
Noah Sevy 4 4-4 12, Jiovanni White 3 0-0 6, Charlie Atkinson 2 0-0 4, Matthew Samson 1 0-0 2, Ismael Kabongo 5 0-0 10, Omar Atieh 2 2-2 8, Obi Morris 1 3-4 5, Jason Stroope 0 1-2 1, Brendon Lynn 1 0-2 2, Devin Alexandre 1 0-0 2, Theo Byrd 0 0-0 0, Rhet Charles 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 10-14 52.
ROCK CANYON (66)
Jacob David 3 3-6 9, Cooper Elwood 3 3-6 9, Davis May 8 2-2 20, Avery Vasquez 4 0-0 10, Kai Valentine 2 3-4 7, Jack Christensen 2 0-0 4, Damian Fischer 1 0-0 3, Nolan Freivogel 0 0-0 0, Jackson Peppler 0 0-0 0, AJ Eggemeyer 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 11-18 66.
3-point field goals — Grandview (2): Omar Atieh 2. Rock Canyon (5): Davis May 2, Avery Vasquez 2, Damian Fischer. Total fouls — Grandview 17, Rock Canyon 14. Fouled out — Grandview: Jiovanni White. Technical fouls — Rock Canyon: Kai Valentine