AURORA | The time schedule for the Class 5A Great 8 round of the boys state basketball tournament was released by the Colorado High School Activities Association Thursday morning.
A few hours after eight teams advanced to the quarterfinals with victories — including top-seeded Regis Jesuit and No. 2s Cherokee Trail and Eaglecrest from Aurora — they found out when they will play Friday at the Denver Coliseum, where they will seek berths to the semifinals in Boulder.
The first of four games is slated for 4 p.m., which will see an all-Aurora matchup between coach Ken Shaw’s Regis Jesuit team — which blitzed fourth-seeded Grand Junction 67-42 Wednesday night — and coach John Olander’s Eaglecrest squad, which prevailed in another meeting of city teams as it downed Rangeview 45-32.
Cherokee Trail — which has qualified for the Great 8 for the first time since moving up to 5A five seasons ago — has the third game on the schedule, a 7 p.m. tip-off against top-seeded Mountain Vista. The Cougars (18-7) edged Cherry Creek 61-59 for their third win over the Bruins on the season, while the Golden Eagles (22-2) ripped Monarch 75-60.
Sandwiched in between the two games featuring Aurora teams at 5:30 p.m. is the match up between No. 6 Arapahoe (18-7) — the highest seeded team remaining in the final eight — and No. 1 Denver East (23-2), while the 8:30 p.m. nightcap features another underdog, No. 5 Legend (20-6), against second-seeded Fairview (22-3).
The four winners advance to the March 15 semifinals at the Coors Events Center on the campus of the University of Colorado in Boulder.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at [email protected] or 303-750-7555
2013 CLASS 5A BOYS BASKETBALL GREAT 8
Friday, March 8 at Denver Coliseum
NO. 2 EAGLECREST (20-5) vs. NO. 1 REGIS JESUIT (21-4), 4 p.m.
No. 6 Arapahoe (18-7) vs. No. 1 Denver East (23-2), 5:30 p.m.
NO. 2 CHEROKEE TRAIL (18-7) vs. No. 1 Mountain Vista (22-2), 7 p.m.
No. 5 Legend (20-6) vs. No. 2 Fairview (22-3), 8:30 p.m.
